Cooking with Janet

Our friend Janet was visiting for the weekend and we decided to put together a Saturday night dinner with friends.  She is an experienced cook and is more into, should I say, freestyle cooking.  Not following a recipe of course make this novice nervous but it definitely was an enjoyable night in the kitchen.

We spent some time going through cookbooks and I found a soup and a side dish from  Lidia's Italy  and she located her favourite guinea fowl recipe from the internet.  It was changed to Cornish hen after our shopping and also by the time we were cooking, it became Janet's recipe.

Roman Egg Drop Soup


Now that I have become such a pro in making chicken stock, there has to be a soup of course.

The recipe was simple except for one ingredient, the spinach.  I had to wash, stem and cut the spinach into small strips.  Janet's explanation was that the ladies can then enjoy the soup gracefully.  I did not know we were expecting any ladies...haha.

It was a perfect starter for dinner: light but heartwarming.

 http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/772

Janet's Roasted Cornish Hen with Mushroon Sauce


I would share her recipe but all I remember was her busy stuffing lemon wedges inside the Cornish hen and lots of spices  It was cooked perfectly: moist and juicy.  And for that I will dedicate this blog to Janet. There is nothing I hate more than dry chicken. The mushroom sauce would have been better if I did not try to imitate Julia Child by pouring too much port in it.  Oops.

Green Beans with Almonds


Another simple idea by Janet that is simple yet delicious.  She blanched the almonds and skinned them before adding to the green beans, the mixing of the two textures was brilliant!  I had the leftovers a few days later and still yummy!

Stuffed Artichokes


This was my idea.  And it was a lot of work.  Hollowing 6 artichokes took me over 30 min and I ended up with very very dirty fingernails and sore fingers.  Thankfully Janet was preparing the stuffing at the same time.

For the amount of work we put in, I had to say the outcome was only mediocre.  I am not sure if I will be serving that again soon.  Not to mention artichokes are expensive!

http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/817


We did end up with an amazing dinner and served on time. Who says too many cooks will spoil the broth - just look at this:

Soup 8/10

Cornish Hen 8.5/10

Artichokes 7.5/10

Green Beans 9/10

Maybe it is time for you to cook a Saturday night dinner with a friend?