Cornish Hens {Date Night In}

Hubs and I stayed in for Vday, as usual, and enjoyed another date-night-in...

 Butterflied Cornish Hens with Sage Butter

{courtesy of Sunny Anderson}

  Matchstick Potatoes

{Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten with a "Krystle Twist"} 

What You'll Need:

Peanut or Canola Oil

2 large oval Idaho potatoes, peeled

Sea salt or Kosher salt

Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Truffle flavored oil {I added this, not necessary but SO yummy!}

What To Do:

Ina says: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour at least 1 inch of oil into a deep pot and heat it to 350 degrees.  

What I did: Skipped the oven altogether. Used  my deep fry pot with canola oil and set it on 350. 

Ina says: Slice potatoes into thin matchsticks (1/8 inch thick) with a vegetable slicer or mandolin.

What I did: Used my mandolin to make super thing slices and then a chef's knife to cut those thing chips into slices. 

Drop them into a bowl of cold water as you cut.

Drain the potatoes and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Drop the potatoes in batches into the hot oil and cook for 3 to five minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pot with a wire basket skimmer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Place on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the potatoes {again, I skipped the oven and kept the finished potatoes on the counter because the process didn't take long enough to justify the oven, for me}. 

What Ina says: Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, serve hot.

What I did:  Put all my potatoes into a bowl and drizzled about 1/2 tsp of truffle oil over the potatoes and tossed to coat. 

These were TOO good!

Chocolate and Raspberry Panini Sandwiches

{Stonewall Kitchen Favorites}

What You'll Need:
8 round slices baguette (about 1/4 inch thick) or your favorite bread
2 T unsalted butter, softened
4 heaping T dark chocolate chips or about 2 oz chopped chocolate
1/2 c fresh or frozen and thawed raspberries

What To Do:
Preheat a panini press or indoor grill on high heat. 
Place the baguette slices on a plate and spread a thin layer of butter on each. Turn 4 slices over and divide the chocolate evenly amon the 4 nonbuttered sides. Divide the raspberries over the chocolate and top the remaining slices of bread, butter side-up. Place the sandwiches in the panin press and cook for 2 minutes or until the bread is golden and the chocolate has melted. 
Service immediately.

 

On another note... 

Hubs surprised me with his creative side and made, you read that right... MADE me a present. It's our anniversary date!
...and I {LOVE} it!

He also took CJ out to buy me a  little something to keep the whole family happy...

...seriously, this purchase was good for everyone! 

What a smart man!

Our Very First "Date-Night In"

For any of you who haven't tried this...
it is a must! 

BabyWise talks about how putting your marriage first is the best thing you can do for your family and, though Hubs and I totally agree with that, we tend to keep it simple by having a cup of coffee at the table sans kiddos or having a conversation without allowing interruptions for an allotted amount of time. Well, tonight we did it up! We decided early Saturday afternoon to have a date night and, since no one was free to watch the tikes, we had a "night in". I did some quick planning {thanks to my favorite cook, Ina Garten}, ran to the store for all the ingredients needed, and started a cooking frenzy from 3p to 8p. Sweet Hubs kept the kids busy and got them bathed and into bed, then Hubs showered while I made the finishing touches on the meal, slipped into a dress, lit some candles, came up with some "Date Night Guidelines" to keep it special {NO talking about kids. No technology. Kind words only, no teasing or sarcasm. Compliment the Chef. Enjoy.}, and put on some piano music {okay, so there may have been a little Bryan Adams mixed in too}. 

It. Was. Wonderful. 

I highly recommend trying this at least once and, if you can swing it, keeping it up once a month. It's cheaper to stay in. You can hone your culinary skills. You have an excuse to cook "fancy" food your kid may not be able to enjoy. You get to reconnect with the love of your life. Why not?!

In case you were wondering... this night was made possibly by Ina Garten's recipes from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook. Scallops Provencal, green beans with roasted red onion and peppers, garlic mashed potatoes, and Meringues Chantilly. All recipes were simple and DeLicIoUs!!!