3-Course Valentine's Day Dinner

I'll have to tell you, Valentine's Day didn't turn out quite how I expected. I've kind of been battling cold-like symptoms all week and waking up Sunday morning was no exception. In fact, it was probably the worst. I couldn't hear out of my right ear because of the congestion, my throat felt like a cactus, and I had a pulsing headache. But I knew I had to make the most of it.

When I finally did get out of bed, Andy had made breakfast (he tried to serve it to me in bed, but I felt like crap and I had 2 hovering dogs so it wouldn't have been a good idea). He kept it warm in the microwave and I came out to a big ol' waffle, bacon, sausage, and eggs. Yum!

Then I went to the computer to check my e-mail and stuff and I came across a card in an envelope and the newest issue of Bon Appetit. I open the card and it says that he bought me a 2-year subscription! I was elated. And the card was too cute as well... it had a bulldog just cheesing (kind of like how our dogs do) and it was just quite cute.

And so I continue the day, in sickness, but in a grand little mood. I made a 3-course dinner, from Bon Appetit's Valentine's Dinner menu and it was just marvelous.

First Course: Large Coconut Shrimp w/ Sriracha


Second Course: Beef Tenderloin w/ Potato "Risotto", Cumin-Carmelized Carrots, & Steamed Green Beans



Third Course: Chocolate Devil's Food Cake w/ Sour Cream Fudge Icing


My absolute favorite part of the meal was definitely the potato "risotto". It was creamy, delicious, and the potatoes were the best potatoes I've probably ever eaten. I could eat the everyday for the rest of my life and be happy. Andy loved the meal and we enjoyed spending the day together and he really gives me more reasons to love him everyday!

No recipe today, but if you'd like to know how any of these things are made, you can definitely check out Bon Appetit's Valentine's Day Dinner menu... I'd highly recommend trying the potato "risotto", if anything!!!

Cioppino-Style Dungeness Crab

Alright, I'm completely happy that today is Friday. It's been a long, tiring week, and although I still have to work tomorrow, I can deal with it because I have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off of work. So not too shabby right? Especially because I've got Valentine's Day covered this year. I'm planning a 3-course dinner, but I don't want to ruin the surprise of the meal, so I'll have to let you all in on it on Monday! But it's just going to be fabulous!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's Jan. 2010 Issue - "Cioppino-Style Roasted Crab"

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, pressed (I just bought a garlic press from IKEA this past weekend and I LOVE it!)
3/4 cup chardonnay
1/4 cup sweet white wine
2 cups bottled clam juice
2 15 oz. cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
2 Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned and broken down

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven under medium heat and add onion & garlic. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn by stirring frequently.

Add both wines and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes. Add the clam juice, tomatoes w/ juice, 1 cup water, bay leaves, parsley, and red pepper. Bring this mixture to a boil as well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the crab pieces and roast, uncovered, in oven for about 15-20 minutes more. Serve in deep bowls/plates and with crunchy baguette.

Seriously, I was kind of skeptical about this recipe. I've never had crab in this way. Cioppino, itself, is an Italian fish stew of sorts, and substituting crab for the fish was just exceptional. I don't think I want to eat crab any other way, EVER! Well, maybe not ever, but this was just amazingly good. I had to drink the broth from my plate because it was so tasty and the crab was just excellent. Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Salad

Now I know you all are probably going to get tired of me talking about my upcoming wedding... but let's face it... this is my blog and I can talk about anything I want to. Haha, but seriously, I think it helps with my stress level if I just dump it down onto here because I think Andy is thinking I'm a little nuts right now. But anyway, we had a snow day from school yesterday and I started a wedding binder. It's mostly consisting of ripped up pages from magazines that "inspire" me or are cool ideas for certain aspects of the wedding. I find myself not doing homework and thinking about wedding plans, so it's a distracting hobby that's for sure.

Anyway, I loved this salad because it's so simple and quick. And I made on a night that I worked until 10:30pm, so I didn't get home until 11 and I was ready to eat. This came together in minutes and was quite delicious.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Tasty Art's blog

2-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips
mung bean sprouts
1 can of pineapple chunks, drained
1 carrot, grated or shredded (I did both)
1 head of iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped
pinch of sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of brown sugar

Wash all your vegetables (lettuce, carrot, and mung beans) and bring together in a large bowl. Add pineapple and chicken. Toss everything together pretty good.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients to make a quick Asian dressing. You can either serve the lettuce on plates/bowls and then add dressing or toss dressing into large bowl to get everything coated pretty well. I just added it to the large bowl and combined everything.

Like I said, easy peasy. This was delicious, refreshing, and didn't give me that "I scarfed this down so fast because I was hungry and now I'm bloated feeling" before bed. Needless to say, it was about 11:30pm by this time and I didn't need a full stomach to put myself to bed. Enjoy!

Ham & Cheese Stuffed Pretzels II

So, we've set a date! April 27th, 2013! Yes, I know what you're thinking, 3 years is a LONG ASS time! But ya know, when we've got to pay for an extravaganza ourselves, go to school, work, and have to pay our current bills... it's kind of hard to save a pretty penny for an amazing wedding. But it'll happen and we'll live happily ever after... or at least that's a start. Right?

And on a side note... I am completely pleased with the turnout of the Superbowl! Yes, I lived in Indiana for about 8 or so years, but I absolutely HATE the Indianapolis Colts and am glad that they fell to the truly better team, the Saints!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Flamingo Bear's blog

1 packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
2 & 1/2 cups wheat flour
10-15 slices honey ham, chopped
1 & 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
6 cups water
4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
kosher salt

In a large bowl, mix yeast, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and warm water. Mix until sugar is dissolved and let sit about 8 to 10 minutes, until foamy.

In another bowl, mix together remaining brown sugar and milk until brown sugar is dissolved.

Add 2 & 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to yeast and stir with a wooden spoon until soft ball of dough forms.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Place in clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Turn dough out onto floured surface and divide into 4 pieces. I froze 2 and used the other for the a good sized plate full of pretzels.

Roll each piece into a long rope and flatten/spread out. Place ham and cheese on top of dough and roll up. Seal seam with water if needed. Cut into segments of desired size. Let rest for 30 minutes on baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Lower heat and add baking soda. Cook pretzels in batches of 2 or 3 for about 30 seconds and let rest back on baking sheet.

Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until pretzels are light and puffy. Brush with melted butter and top with kosher salt.

You can also make a quick honey mustard dipping sauce by mixing the dijon mustard with the honey.

This was a great snack! I don't know if I'd do it again with wheat flour, it gave it an interesting taste, but in a good way. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Sandwich

To be honest, this was supposed to be a hot dog. But after trying to brown the damn things, they fell apart. So I had to think on the fly and work with what I had. So I just broke apart the meat and just had it just ground up and it turned out to be just fantastic!

It's only 1 week into being engaged and I'm already stressed out with the planning. Go figure. I'm just one of those people that has to be organized, neat, and thought out. So I thought I'd do a max spending budget on things for the wedding this week and guess what? I'm already over my $10,000 budget. Looks like it's been bumped up to $15,000 and now spring of 2013 is the unofficial date. But... I do know that Glassworks here in Louisville will be the site of my choice. They're pretty popular so I figure I'll have to book that soon because last time someone mentioned about booking something there, they had like a 2 year wait. But anyway, check out the site... the actual ceremony will be on the roof (trust me, me and mother nature will have a talk to make sure it'll be a nice sunny day) and the reception on the 1st floor.

Anywho, on to the food...

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb. andouille sausage
1/2 lb. hot italian sausage
7 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained and diced
4 oz. goat cheese crumbles
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 small zucchini, cut into thin slices lengthwise
1 tablespoon basil paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
small baguettes/buns
sriracha sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

If your sausage is in casing, cut them out of the casing and dump contents into food processor. I bought mine just ground up so I didn't have to fool with any casing. Then add red peppers and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until everything is well combined.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage mixture under medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes, but not cooked all the way. Then bake in oven for 10 minutes.

While the sausage is in the oven, in a separate skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil paste, and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. This is like a quick bruschetta that sets the sandwich off, in my opinion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut your baguettes in half and brush cut side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and start building your sandwich. Bottom baguette, sausage mixture, zucchini, tomato mixture, and top with top of baguette. Return to oven for about 5 minutes to crisp bread more.

Serve hot and with sriracha sauce!

This was absolutely delicious. The sriracha sauce adds a kick along with the spiciness of the sausage. Everything about this was just great! Enjoy!

Baked Tilapia

Well, so far the week has been great. It's going by quickly, that's for sure. Had an organic test (got a B!) and tomorrow a Microbiology test (not looking forward to this one). I'm still in "engagement fever", and I don't see it slowing down. I probably have to tell the story 3-5 times daily, but I don't get sick thinking about it, or our future life! Enough about me, it's about the food! This tilapia was great! Fast, easy, gone in a flash!

Ingredients:

2 Tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons butter, melted
juice from 1 lemon
1 & 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 425 F and put tiliapia fillets in a glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together butter, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika. Pour mixture over tilapia fillets.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until fish is white and flaky. Serve with a side of roasted veggies (I did roasted fingerling potatoes) and enjoy!

This was seriously gone in minutes. It was so juicy and delicious! The fish was done perfectly and the flavor was just jam packed! The only thing wrong with it was it was gone so quickly! I may make double the fish next time I do this!

Spicy Spaghetti

Ok... so I know my last post was quite depressing, but on a lighter note... I'm in a better mood. Friday, Andy and I went out to dinner, to our favorite place (Varanese), and under my assumption, it was just a "cheer-up" dinner from my lousy week. Well, turns out Andy had an even bigger surprise for me... HE PROPOSED! I was in complete and utter shock. It was just a whirlwind of a weekend and I won't go into all the cutesy details (mainly because I've repeated this story a million times, and I'm sure I'll post about some time in the near future), but I'll just give you some glimpses of the ring and how he proposed!


They brought out our dessert and this was what was written around my plate of creme brulee (which I didn't get to eat hardly any of because I was shaking with excitement and emotion the whole time!) Andy couldn't help himself and ate a bit of the "M" in "Marry" before I could take a picture with my phone, hehe.


Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's January 2010 Issue - "Spicy Spaghetti w/ Fennel & Herbs"

6 oz. pancetta, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 red jalapenos, halfway deseeded and chopped
1 fennel bulb, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
fresh parsley, chopped
juice from 1 lemon
dash of fennel seeds
1 lb. spaghetti
1 & 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat the pancetta under medium high heat, until it is golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer pancetta to paper towels with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In same skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Then add the garlic and jalapenos. Saute for about a minute, or until fragrant. Add the fennel slices and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, about 2 tablespoons of parsley, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of fennel seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil and bring heat down to low. Cover and let fennel braise for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta until it is al dente and drain. Add pasta back into pot.

Uncover the fennel broth mixture and heat back up under high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes or so, or until the broth is reduced by about 1/2 to 3/4. Add the mixture to the pasta along with remaining olive oil, cheese, and reserved pancetta. Mix together and serve topped with extra cheese and garlic bread!

This was pretty tasty and the jalapenos packed a spicy punch! Enjoy!

Like I said, things are slowly starting to look up for me, and I've definitely got my mind off of the setback I experienced last week. Andy showed me that we're in this for the long-haul and we're going through what we go through together. And despite it all, I can't help but bring a smile to my face knowing that I'm going to grow old with a great person!

The only thing that remains is... what ever am I going to do about my Blog title?!? Hehe... we'll cross that bridge another day.