Tuesday, February 17, 2009

A Little Romance

Steve was out of town on Valentine's Day (more on that, later) so I decided to banish the children to the family room this evening, and fix my sweetheart a fancy dinner. Needless to say, the boys were super excited to have their dinner on t.v. trays, while watching "Go Diego, Go!". I cannot begin to tell you how fabulous it was to sit and enjoy a nice meal, without having to stop once to say, "Mind your manners!" or "Eat your dinner!" After a few minutes of this pure bliss, Steve and I wondered aloud, why we haven't been doing this more often. I do believe we have had dinner like this once before, and enjoyed it just as much. So, our goal now is to have an "adults only" dinner once per week. Gives us some quality time together since we rarely (if ever) get out, we're not spending money going out to eat, and it gives me an excuse to try new recipes.

Tonight, I made a simple salad of organic greens, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and crispy-warm goat cheese rounds...delish.
For the main course, I made a Caprese Flat Pie, compliments of Katie Lee Joel. The recipe can be found here, as well as a great little video of how it is made. Katie is the wife of Billy Joel, and you may have heard of her cookbook, called The Comfort Table. I can't wait to add her book to my collection - - I think she is just wonderful. The Caprese Flat Pie looks pretty fancy, but it couldn't be any more simple. The ingredients: puff pastry, pesto, fresh mozzarella, Roma tomatoes, and some egg wash. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never cooked with puff pastry before, but now that I have, I can't wait to use it again. Here's the finished product:

It was really tasty, and I'm already imagining a bunch of other combinations. For dessert - - some pink champagne, and a couple of squares of Lindt (hi Kirsten!) chocolate. Perfect.

After we put the boys to bed, we were discussing dinner and how much we enjoyed it, at which point Steve remarked, "It was kind of surreal!" That tells you a little bit about how often we get out (ahem...never), which is kind of sad, really. We don't have many child care options, and I don't know about you, but we aren't too crazy about spending money frivolously these days. The truth is, this is just another one of those choices we can make for ourselves...we don't need to hire a babysitter and blow a bunch of money out on the town...we can easily have a lovely evening together in the comfort of our own home and not spend a dime. I already can't wait to do this again next week!

7 comments:

kirsten said...

That's an excellent idea- and one I should try.
The food looks delicious.

How did you make those goat cheese rounds?
Which is your favorite Lindt bar? I've got a new one I should send to you called Sea Salt that just got released- if you like the combonation of Sweet and Salty (ie chocolate covered pretzels that kind of thing) than you'll love this dark choc.

Heather said...

Oh my goodness, Kirsten...that sounds delish - - I love sweet and salty. The chocolate we had last night was milk with the creamy center (red package) - - I love that one. The goat cheese rounds are simple - - make sure the goat cheese is nice and cold. Slice it up - - 1/2 inch or more - - then dip the slices in lightly beaten egg. Then, dredge in bread crumbs. I used some Panko (love those) mixed with some garlic powder, basil, and a little salt and pepper. Then, brown both sides of the round in a pan drizzeled with canola oil, over medium heat. They end up nice and crunchy on the outside, and warm and creamy on the inside.

Cheryl said...

Ooolala...what a nice romantic photo. How sweet to just have an adults only dinner. This is a perfect example of how one can manage to have quality time with a spouse, try new receipes and not have to pay a sitter and outrageous restaurant prices. You certainly did a wonderful job and the meal looks so good.

Terri said...

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! I may have to give it a try...maybe if I can get the kids to stay somewhere we tried this once with pizza in the living room after the munchkins "went to bed" and ended up with two faces staring at us out the bedroom door saying were hungry. Mom are saving us some please don't eat it all. LOL gotta love them.

Melissa said...

You set such a lovely table Heather!! And the food looks fantastic - simple or no, it looks quite fancy. :)

Rob and I have had quiet dinners a couple of times, after the girls are in bed. We've done that when his Mom has sent lobsters down...although the girls love seafood so much I'm not sure we could get away with that particular dinner again!

Joy said...

YEAH! This is the theme of most of my Pampered Chef shows! Eat at home, eat better and SAVE money!!! Your table is gorgeous!!!

Margaret said...

WOW Heather...the table is gorgeous the food looks delicious, what a wonderful evening for you guys!

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