Cornish Hens with Pancetta – Dinner with Friends

May 11th, 2010

Blogging has many benefits. Among them is meeting other bloggers. Add to that meeting other bloggers and being asked to dinner. Last summer I met fellow blogger Penny of Comforts of Home and Lavender Hill Studio. You can read about our get together here. Not only do we share a name, but we are both from Michigan originally and now live very close to each other. Penny and her husband live in Asheville and have been working on remodeling their new home. I have been following her progress on her blog and was so excited when she emailed and invited my husband and me to dinner. Her house is even more beautiful in person. She is a very talented decorator and her home is warm and welcoming. She is also an excellent cook.

Our dinner was Cornish Hens with Pancetta, fresh asparagus, and roasted baby new potatoes. The cornish hens were absolutely delicious and the presentation was stunning. They were stuffed under the skin with mascarpone cheese and pancetta was draped over the top. They were succulent and flavorful. My picture below does not do them justice. Here’s the thing about being a blogger. There are no etiquette rules for our obsession with snapping pictures of food. I usually have to take several pictures to get just the right angle and lighting. It just didn’t seem right to be standing in Penny’s dining room, shooting picture after picture while everyone was waiting to eat. So I shot just one. It will have to do. The other two pictures are courtesy of Penny. She is a blogger. She understands.

Isn’t that a beautiful plate of food. We had a wonderful time with Penny and Mr. Comforts of Home. We discovered that we have much more than blogging in common and our husbands had a lot to talk about too. We will be entertaining them at Lake Lure soon. Thank you Penny for a wonderful time and for sharing your recipe.
CORNISH HENS WITH PANCETTA
Serves 4
4 Cornish Hens
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2/3 cup mascarpone cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
8 slices Pancetta
Season the inside of the hens with salt and pepper, then place 2 pieces of garlic inside each one.
Lift up the breast skin and spread one tablespoon mascarpone over each breast under the skin. Sprinkle each breast with one teaspoon chopped oregano and pepper to taste.
Place the hens in a roasting pan and place two pieces of pancetta slices on top of each bird. Roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for one hour to one hour and 15 minutes or until juices run clear when the flesh is pierced in the thickest part. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining fresh oregano and let set 10 minutes before serving.
We had strawberry shortcake with local South Carolina strawberries for dessert.

You can’t get much better than that. I love Penny’s plates too.

13 responses to “Cornish Hens with Pancetta – Dinner with Friends”

  1. I saw your lovely dinner on Penny’s blog. Those Cornish Hens with the pancetta are very gourmet. How lucky to find fresh South Carolina strawberries. I’ve enjoyed Penny’s progress on her house and could stay all day looking at her beautiful pictures of her visit to France.

    How fun to be able to get together with another blogger. I’m going to an east Tennessee blogger get-together in June. Katherine at Smokey Mountain Cafe, Chris at Nibble Me This and Larry, Big Dude, are hosting it. I can’t wait.
    Sam

  2. We had a wonderful time when you were here Penny! Next time, we will have to take as many pictures we need to get a good shot. I don’t think our husbands will mind. They are used to having bloggers for wifes :-).
    Hugs,
    Penny

  3. How much fun is it to get together with another blogger, and even more fun to share a table.

  4. Queen B. says:

    ooooooooo………..looks fantastic !

  5. This is a lovely presentation!! I love Cornish hens and usually slip some fresh herbs under the skin. I’ll have to try this recipe.

    I adore Penny and have been following the progress of her new home as well. She is a very sweet lady! I am so glad you both got to meet and have so much in common!

    The dessert looks wonderful, too! 🙂

    xoxo
    Jane

  6. Jann says:

    Well, you are absolutely right,you can’t get much better-that meal looked wonderful. I really think it was great that the two of you met and found you have so much in common.I have met one other blogger and really enjoyed meeting her-luck have it, we were both in Cortona at the same time.I checked out her(Penny’s) blog site, too! The other Penny is as talented as you!

  7. girlichef says:

    Oh, Yum!! I love all of the flavors going on in here! And the shortcake…drool!!! How wonderful that you two have become friends 🙂

  8. Mary says:

    It is always such fun to share a meal with fellow foodies. This all looks fantastic, Penny I and Penny II. Blessings…Mary

  9. Fantastic as always. I love pancetta too! I’m coming to Wilmington in July. If you see a strange man at your door holding a plate. Don’t worry. You don’t have to invite him in. Just throw your leftovers out the window! 🙂

    I left an award for you on my blog along with a link. Hope it will bring some new faces to your blog. Cheers!

    http://tvfoodanddrink.com/2010/05/a-blog-award-for-tv-food-and-drink/

  10. Robin Sue says:

    Penny
    That sounds like so much fun to get together with another blogger! The Two Penny’s- you can do a blog together! Glad you had fun.

  11. I think meeting people is the best part of blogging! There are so many kind souls in this arena. The pictures are fabulous!

  12. Sophie says:

    Meeting peolpe sounds like great fun!! that’s what life is all about!!

    Enjoying each other’s company!! The Cornish hens look lovely & so tasty too!

    And that dessert looks sublime! Yummm!

  13. Karen says:

    How fun! The meal looks delish!

© Penny Klett, Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. All rights reserved.