This was the menu -
Cocktail (non-alcoholic)
New York Egg Cream
Hors d'oeuvre
Garlic Mushroom Tartlets
Salad Course
Baby Squash with Spinach and Gorgonzola
Entrée
Rosemary Beef Rioja
or
Honey Dijon Chicken
with
Fennel and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Dessert
Chocolate Spiced Pears
New York Egg Cream
Hors d'oeuvre
Garlic Mushroom Tartlets
Salad Course
Baby Squash with Spinach and Gorgonzola
Entrée
Rosemary Beef Rioja
or
Honey Dijon Chicken
with
Fennel and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Dessert
Chocolate Spiced Pears
--------------------------------------------------------------
New York Egg Cream
(Made for a 12 oz. glass)3 Tbsp. chocolate syrup
1/3 cup chilled milk (whole is best)
1/2 cup chilled sparkling mineral water (fill to the top)
cocoa powder for dusting
Pour the chocolate syrup into the bottom of the glass. Add milk and water. Dust the top with cocoa powder. Stir well before drinking.
---
This drink is very easy and is basically like a sparkling chocolate milk. It's unexpected at first but I thought it was really good. It has a cool presentation before you mix it together. I put in cinnamon sticks to stir it with.
My rating is a 8 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 7 out of 10
Garlic Mushroom Tartlets
1 tube crescent roll dough
1 (8 oz.) package fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Open crescent rolls into 2 long rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise and crosswise until you've formed 24 squares. Press squares into a mini muffin pan, forming cups and leaving corners extended above pan.
In a skillet, saute mushrooms, flour, onion, and garlic in butter. Mix and stir 5 minutes until ingredients are tender. Add whipping cream and cheese, mix well. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until all liquid has evaporated.
Place 1 heaping tsp. of mushroom mixture into each cup. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.
---
These reminded me of stuffed mushrooms, but I think were quite a bit easier. You'll have to ask Mark for sure about that because he whipped these up. I think overall they were a hit. Good job babe!
My rating is a 7.5 out of 10
Mark's rating is an 8 out of 10
1 tube crescent roll dough
1 (8 oz.) package fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Open crescent rolls into 2 long rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half lengthwise and crosswise until you've formed 24 squares. Press squares into a mini muffin pan, forming cups and leaving corners extended above pan.
In a skillet, saute mushrooms, flour, onion, and garlic in butter. Mix and stir 5 minutes until ingredients are tender. Add whipping cream and cheese, mix well. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until all liquid has evaporated.
Place 1 heaping tsp. of mushroom mixture into each cup. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.
---
These reminded me of stuffed mushrooms, but I think were quite a bit easier. You'll have to ask Mark for sure about that because he whipped these up. I think overall they were a hit. Good job babe!
My rating is a 7.5 out of 10
Mark's rating is an 8 out of 10
Baby Squash with Spinach and Gorgonzola
4 Acorn (or other variety) squash
9 oz. baby spinach leaves
7 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tops of the squash, scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash, cut side up, in a baking dish and drizzle with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.
Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet and add the spinach leaves. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the leaves are just wilted. Season with salt and pepper and divide between the squash halves.
Top with the crumbled Gorgonzola and return to the oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is beginning to melt. Season with ground black pepper and serve.
---
These were also pretty easy and the flavors went together really well. Plus, I love anything with squash in it. Mark actually doesn't like squash at all and he thought this wasn't bad. The presentation was nice also, but we didn't have a chance to get a picture.
My rating is a 8.5 out of 10
Mark's rating is 7.5 out of 10
Rosemary Beef Rioja
This is the one thing that we thought didn't turn out very good. I won't post the recipe here, but if you are interested, let me know and I can get it to you. I think it could have been a lot better, but the meat was too tough. I'm not sure if we cooked it too long or what. Maybe someday in the future I'll try it again.
My rating is a 5 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 6 out of 10
Honey Dijon Chicken
8 chicken thighs
4 tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 tbsp. honey
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the chicken thighs in a single layer in a roasting pan. Mix together the mustard and honey, season with salt and pepper to taste and brush the mixture all over the thighs.
Cook for 25-30 minutes, brushing the chicken with the pan juices occasionally, until cooked through. (Can be substituted with breast portions and cooked for 20-25 minutes).
---
This is a super easy recipe and is quite tasty. Definitely remember to brush with the pan juices while cooking to keep the chicken nice and moist.
My rating is an 8 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 9.5 out of 10
Fennel and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
1 3/4 lbs potatoes, cut into chunks
2 large fennel bulbs
1/2-2/3 cup milk or cream
6 tbsp. garlic olive oil
salt and pepper
Boil the potatoes in water for 20 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, trim and chop the fennel, reserving any feathery tops. Chop the tops and set them aside. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the fennel, cover and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Drain and mash the potatoes. Puree the cooked fennel and beat into the potato with the remaining oil with the warmed milk or cream. Season to taste and beat in any chopped fennel tops if desired.
---
This was probably the most time consuming of anything we made. They turned out pretty good I thought and the fennel added a subtle, yet unexpected flavor.
My rating is a 7 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 7 out of 10
2 large fennel bulbs
1/2-2/3 cup milk or cream
6 tbsp. garlic olive oil
salt and pepper
Boil the potatoes in water for 20 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, trim and chop the fennel, reserving any feathery tops. Chop the tops and set them aside. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the fennel, cover and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Drain and mash the potatoes. Puree the cooked fennel and beat into the potato with the remaining oil with the warmed milk or cream. Season to taste and beat in any chopped fennel tops if desired.
---
This was probably the most time consuming of anything we made. They turned out pretty good I thought and the fennel added a subtle, yet unexpected flavor.
My rating is a 7 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 7 out of 10
Chocolate Spiced Pears
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
grated rind of 1/2 an orange
1 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly beaten
4 firm, ripe pears
2/3 cup white cooking wine
1 tbsp. sugar
whipped cream, to serve
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the crushed cookies, chopped chocolate, grated orange rind, honey and cinnamon in a bowl until well combined. Add the egg white and mix to bind the mixture together.
Halve the pears and scoop out the core portion to make a small cavity. Fill the cavity with the chocolate and cookie mixture, mounding it up slightly.
Arrange the pears in a lightly buttered, shallow baking dish that will hold the pears comfortably in a single layer. Mix the wine and sugar together and pour the mixture around the pears. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until pears are tender. Serve immediately with a little of the cooking juices spooned over and the whipped cream.
---
This is a recipe that I semi made up because I could find a few of the ingredients from the recipe I wanted so I substituted similar items. It turned out to be very, very good. This was definitely the icing on the cake of the whole dinner. Yum! Try these for sure.
My rating is a 9 out of 10
Mark's rating is a 9 out of 10
1 comment:
Yum! It just takes me back to that night and makes me super hungry ;) All of the food was absolutely DELICIOUS!
Post a Comment