The couple that cooks together....

One of my favorite aspects of my relationship is how much my boyfriend and I love food and wine. The man actually works in the restaurant industry, so he is constantly in a foodie environment. We love to go out to eat at new places, as well as go food shopping and cook together when we have the time. Thursday night was one of those nights! We're both big seafood-lovers, so our dinner was very fish-centric.

This was my boyfriend's invention. Scallops covered in breadcrumbs and butter, cooked in bacon in all its fat and juices. In other words, heaven!

Next: shrimp cooked in lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, and white wine ... classic and classically delicious :)

And our standard side dish: garlic bread!

Served alongside oven-roasted mushrooms, then doused in an amazing sauce made from butter, marsala wine, and olive oil!

New Marketplaces!

I have been on a hunt for fresh new stores to expand my grocery shopping beyond our local chain, Publix. Last week I started going to The Fresh Market, which I would describe as a mini, more organized version of Whole Foods. I've only been to Whole Foods a handful of times and my impression is always the same - too big, too expensive, and too chaotic. Quite frankly, one doesn't need ten different types of quinoa. The Fresh Market seems to be in it's own category. Although relatively small, the selection of fresh produce, proteins, wine, and imported products is spectacular. I spent about an hour last week browsing all the aisles, and I was pleasantly surprised to find many Italian or Swiss food products common to my college years.

I ended up buying two pieces of bourbon glazed salmon, chicken breast wrapped around ricotta and spinach and covered in breadcrumbs, haricots verts, and baby bella mushrooms for dinner. I can't take too much credit with this picture - my boyfriend took over once I unpacked my groceries! Yum :)

I also baked some basic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting (topped with rainbow sprinkles) for my attorney's little girl's birthday - but I made sure to use my favorite chocolate cake recipe which always includes a healthy serving of sour cream, the key ingredient to keeping any chocolate cake rich and moist :)

This past weekend, I made my way to two well-known, New York-style farmer's markets, one called The Boys and the other, aptly named The Girls. The Boys is small but fully stocked with a lovely bakery, cheese, wine, fruit, veggie, protein, and ready-prepared food sections. I had every intention of coming home with a bag bursting with freshly ripe berries, broccoli florets, and whatever else my little veggie/fruit loving heart desired ... however I made a beeline for the wine selection and came home staggering with bottles of Chianti, Merlot, and Marsala. (Fairly typical.) I also bought some lovely linzer cookies with apricot in the middle, but I got a little too excited and forgot to snap a pic. Here is just one section of the bakery side.

Vino!

The Girls was a smaller, more country-type store, with various knicknacks, every flavor of fresh ice cream imaginable, and mile-long shelves of every jam and jelly in existence. I'm not kidding - there was even a homemade fig-jalapeno jelly on stock.

I also had the best strawberry milkshake of my life at The Girls, which is locally known for offering people to pick their own strawberries (sadly not in season on my visit), so their main menu features strawberry milkshakes, strawberry shortcakes, and strawberry ice cream - all homemade with natural ingredients and a comforting lack of preservatives or artificial ingredients, something that seems to be all too prevalent in everyday groceries.

I was in a Mexican mood for dinner over the weekend, so I purchased the usual suspects;  ground beef, sour cream, corn, refried beans, shredded cheese (Mexican 4-cheese blend) corn tortillas, and fresh limes to make one of my favorite recipes - tostadas. I have made them before (here) and my basic recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven, but I generally tweak it each time, depending on the ingredients at hand. In the case of this past weekend, the avocados I had bought were not ripe in time, so I substituted corn to add a sweet element amidst the salt and crunch of the other components.

Delicious! I love how crunchy the tortillas get when baked in the oven, both sides doused with a healthy serving of extra-virgin olive oil. Topping it with enchilada sauce-soaked ground beef, sweet corn kernels, dollops of creamy sour cream, melty cheese, and smooth refried beans - yum! These are filling and so quick to put together whenever you have a Mexican craving.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! The man and I celebrated with a little midnight dessert (is there a better time to eat dessert?!)...

And I love this :)

Dinner Photography....

I am lucky enough to have a lovely man who also happens to be an amazing chef. We love to cook together and we've made some amazing meals thus far...or sometimes he cooks while I watch and drink wine :)

11/17/2011 
Scallops with maple-glazed bacon with roasted asparagus, zucchini, and squash platter.

12/01/2011 
Garlic bread, lobster tails, breaded veal cutlets, mussels, creamed spinach, crab ragu.

12/15/2011 
Garlic bread, breaded shrimp, flounder française, portabella mushrooms in marsala wine.

01/30/2012 
Filet mignon, roasted asparagus, steamed mussels, breaded shrimp, garlic bread, portabella mushrooms with creamy spinach.

Sparkling wine and strawberries for the birthday boy :)

02/02/2012 
Roasted bell peppers and asparagus, breaded flounder filets, garlic rice, crab mix shells, shrimp with peach, orange, and wine sauce.
 

Yay!

The BF Edition!

My boyfriend, killer chef, happens to make the best midnight-breakfast-sandwiches ever! Here are some he has made for me so far :)

Homemade Tagliatelle al Ragù (Bolognese)!

My biggest challenge yet: handmade pasta! Made on 01/23/12.

First off: 6 large eggs, 5 cups of all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Make a well 6 inches across inside the mounds of flour and crack the eggs into it, along with the olive oil.

Whisk together the eggs with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour.

The mixture slowly forms a paste.

Keep whisking away.....

Eventually it forms a ball of dough, so set it aside to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough, reflouring the surface often, until it is very thin.

Using a pizza cutter, slice off the edges to form a perfect square.

Slice thin strips.

Put all the tagliatelle together on a floured tray and leave to dry for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Yay!

Drying out a little...

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and drop the pasta in for 2-5 minutes. (My boyfriend does a good job) :)

Dropping it in!

All done! Serve with Ragu alla Bolognese! and a bottle of merlot ;)

The finished plate!

Thanks to Joy The Baker! :)

Happy Anniversary!

Last night it was my parents 27th wedding anniversary. In honor of this, my boyfriend and I made dinner and here is the result: :)

Lobster tails in butter and white wine, garlic cheddar biscuits, garlic bread, green beans in olive oil, sea salt, and balsamic vinegar, portabella mushrooms in marsala wine, rib eye steaks, grilled oregano eggplant slices, and of course a lovely Italian red!

And dessert (of course!) - Mini fruit tarts and brownies.

And some Italian cakes ...

Congrats Mom & Dad!