Wedding Pasta

In all honesty, I'm a little embarrassed I haven't made this before. It's a recreation of the pasta dish my wife and I had at our wedding. This is what I made for Valentine's Day this year. I would not have thought of it if Laura hadn't ordered a pasta dish from a restaurant near us that was strikingly similar.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that you can really do almost all the parts simultaneously. The chicken takes a while to cook, so you can start that, boil the pasta, then make the sauce, and the chicken should be done and rested by the time you're done. Obviously, how long it takes you is going to depend on your skill level and how much you have prepped ahead of time, but I think this is a good dish to use if you want to practice how to finish a meal all at the same time.

I can't believe that it has taken me over 4 years to recreate our wedding night entree. Well, here it is now, and it's pretty damn good.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp of oil
¾ tsp of salt, divided
1 lb of bowtie pasta
2 tbsp of butter
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp of flour
4 C heavy cream
1 C shredded parmesan
½ C sundried tomatoes
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

Heat a cast iron grill pan on medium to medium-high heat for 5 minutes to make sure the heat is even. If you don't have one, a griddle or skillet will work just fine. Coat the chicken breasts with oil and sprinkle with ¼ tsp of salt. Cook for about 12 minutes per side, or until an inserted thermometer reads 160° F. Let the chicken rest while you prepare the rest of the dish.

In a large stock pot, boil and salt 1 gallon of water and cook the bowtie pasta until al dente, about 9 minutes. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until lightly toasted. Add the flour and stir constantly until the butter is all soaked up and the mixture has taken on a golden brown hue.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and slowly pour on the heavy cream, whisking constantly until the flour mixture is all worked in. Sprinkle on the remaining ½ tsp of salt and add the shredded parmesan. Stir in the cooked bowtie pasta, cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces, and add it along with the sun dried tomatoes. Season with black pepper and serve with a semi-dry riesling.

Help! I forgot it's Valentine's Day!

Well, actually I didn't. I put up a post about it last week. But you might have, and you might be scrambling for a great dinner idea that you can put together easily and quickly so no one will suspect your oversight. Never fear, dear reader, for I have just the thing for you!

Last year I put up a recipe for Pistachio Crusted Lemon Chicken and it is just the thing to get you through Valentine's Day. This recipe takes very little time to prep and little time to cook. It's healthy and won't have you feeling bloated so you will have plenty of energy for the rest of the night.

If you can't get your hands on lemon olive oil, don't worry, it will still taste great with regular olive oil. Can't get no-salt pistachios? No worries! Just use regular or lightly salted ones and cut out the added salt from the recipe!

So calm down, take a deep breath, tonight is going to go great! (With a little help from me, of course.)

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Massala

I'm putting this up as a suggestion for Valentine's Day, but this one is great year-round.

On Valentine's Day, you might not have time after work to make a nice, romantic meal, and a slow cooker recipe that will be almost ready as soon as you get home seems like a pretty smart idea. With a long parts list and exotic flavors, it still feels plenty special while requiring minimal work and prep time.


Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 6-8 hrs

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs*
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated or minced
1 cup greek yogurt**
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry powder
1 cup of coconut milk
Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Trim any excess fat off the chicken thighs and cut into bite size chunks. Place in your slow cooker with everything except the coconut milk. Mix thoroughly and set on low for 6-8 hours. Pour in the coconut milk and stir till thoroughly combined. If you want to thicken the sauce, take the lid off and put your slow cooker on high for 15 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.

Serve, garnished with cilantro, over basmati rice and/or with some warm naan bread. If you are worried about the heat, serve with a dollop of greek yogurt or with a cooling side salad of cucumber and mint.


* This recipe calls for chicken thighs instead of breasts because chicken thighs, with their higher fat content and connective tissue, stand up to long, slow cooking better than lean breast meat.

**When selecting a greek yogurt for this dish, I would recommend a higher milk fat yogurt. While a slow cooker on low might not get hot enough to "break" or curdle a lowfat or fat-free yogurt, unfortunately mine does, a full-fat yogurt will give you some insurance and protect you from an unatractive and grainy sauce.

Roasted Sea Bass with Herbed Quinoa

This is my last recommended meal for Valentine's Day. Like my beef and vegetarian suggestions, I've provided instructions on how to get both parts of the meal out at the same time. This dish is another show stopper that will be sure to impress your significant other this Valentine's Day.

Ingredients:

Sea Bass:

12 oz sea bass filet
1 t of salt
1 T of shredded dill
Lemon slices
1 T of butter

Quinoa:

½ C of quinoa
1 C of vegetable stock
1 T of shredded dill
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Start with zesting the lemon you are using for the sea bass since you can use that lemon zest for the quinoa. Butter the bottom of an oven proof dish, be it skillet, casserole, or baking dish, and place the sea bass, skin side down, on the dish. Evenly salt the sea bass and evenly distribute the dill and the lemon slices on top of the sea bass.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the fish flakes easily or reaches an internal temp of 145.

While the sea bass cooks, boil the quinoa in the vegetable stock until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir in the dill and the lemon zest and salt to taste.

To serve, portion the sea bass and the quinoa and enjoy a pescaterian dinner for two.

Pan Seared Filet Mignon with Herbed Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Filet mignon is always a show stopper. It comes in these nice easy portions, it's low fat (for beef), with little to no connective tissue. It can stand up to almost any cooking method, including one of my favorites, high heat! A finishing butter adds a little fat to the steak which, since it contains little fat itself, helps it taste juicier. Using the same finishing butter to flavor your potatoes helps pull your dish together and helps it really impress.

Ingredients:

Herbed Creamy Mashed Potatoes:

1 lb of butter potatoes
¼ C of herbed finishing butter

½ C of heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Filet Mignon:

2 ¼ lb filets
2 T of olive oil
Salt
2 T herbed finishing butter

Directions:

To get everything on this plate out at the same time, let's start with prep. First, peel and chop your potatoes into small even chunks, then coat your 2 filets in olive oil and salt liberally. Start your cooking by placing the potatoes in a saucepan and covering with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 15-20 minutes or until the chunks are easily pierced by a fork or crushed with tongs.

While the water heats up, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, until water boils off instantly when spritzed on the surface. Sear your steaks for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until desired internal temp is reached. Remember that some heat will carry over and so they will continue to cook for a little bit once removed from heat.

Once the steaks are finished cooking, the potatoes should be nearly done, so cover the steaks and let them rest while you finish up the potatoes.

Drain the potatoes and place them in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the butter and the cream and whip until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, portion the potatoes on the plate, place each steak on one plate and put a 1 tablespoon slice of butter on top of each steak. I served my plates with a side salad dressed with a citrus dressing.

Seared Tofu with Creamy Mushroom Risotto

This is my menu for a vegetarian Valentine's Day dinner. I think that the umami in the marinade on the tofu pairs well with the similar flavors in the mushrooms, and both components have complimentary creamy textures.

This meal makes it pretty easy to get everything out at about the same time, with just the risotto warming while you finish the tofu.

Start by getting together all the ingredients you will need for making the Mushroom Risotto and the Marinated Tofu. This will make assembling the dishes, faster, easier, and way less stressful.

Prep the tofu, place it in the marinade, and set it in the fridge to marinade while you make the risotto. Once the risotto is finished, place it on your smallest burner over the lowest heat to just keep it warm, then pan sear the tofu.

Arrange the seared tofu on your plates, portion out the risotto, and enjoy a nice romantic evening with your significant other. Pro tip; serve the dinner with the same wine you used in the risotto, it will tie the flavors together nicely.