....is a Chicken & Cheddar Biscuit Date

A date night adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Chicken

1 Quart Chicken Stock
1 Sweet Potato, Peeled & Chopped
1 Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
1 Yellow Onion, Chopped
1/4 Cup Parsley, minced
2 Large Red Potatoes, Peeled & Chopped
2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
6 Tbsp Flour
2 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
6 Tbsp Butter
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Cups Mushrooms, Sliced

Biscuits
1 1/3 Cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp COLD Butter
1/3 Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Buttermilk*

*If you don't have buttermilk you can use a 1/4 C cream or Milk add 1 tsp Lemon Juice.

In a large pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the Sweet Potato, Celery and Potatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until veggies are done. 

Remove Veggies with a slotted spoon and reserve stock. Pull apart Rotisserie Chicken (that's right we cheated), combine Chicken and Veggies and set aside.

In a dutch oven or roasting pan, melt the Butter. Add the Onions and the Mushrooms and saute for about seven minutes, or until both Onions and Mushrooms are soft. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Keep cooking for about five minutes, making sure to scrape the Flour from the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t burn. Now, slowly pour in the remaining stock, whisking as you pour. Crank up the heat to high and whisk your heart out for about five minutes as the sauce thickens and boils. 

Add the Thyme, Parsley, White Pepper and Nutmeg and stir. Pour the sauce over the Chicken and Veggies (in a dutch oven or casserole dish) and set aside while you make the Biscuits. 

You could also make the sauce earlier in the day and stick it in the fridge until later….just be sure to make the Biscuits right before you serve it!

First of all, when you make Biscuits you really need COLD fat. The colder the fat, the flakier the biscuits. Now, preheat the oven to 450. In a large bowl, combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt. Cut in Butter (use a Cheese Grater!) and fold with a spatula until the mixture resembles cornmeal. 

Stir in the Cheese. Break the Egg into a measuring cup and add the Buttermilk to the Egg. Whisk and then pour the mixture into the flour mixture and mix so that you have a relatively smooth ball of dough. 

Pull apart into 4 pieces and and make slightly flattened balls. Place biscuit rounds on top of the filling and prick with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the chicken mixture is bubbling. Serve hot.

CPB

Mine

....is Roasted Veggies and Goat Cheese

This was a super simple and oh so wonderful meal from.... you'll never guess.

2-3 Zucchini, Sliced
2-3 Yellow Squashes, Sliced
2 Large Portobella Mushroom, Stem Removed and Sliced
1/2 Red Onion, Sliced Thick
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Fresh Crumbled Goat Cheese
6 Pitasor Tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.

Scatter Veggies over baking sheet and then drizzle Olive Oil and Vinegar over all and toss well. Sprinkle with Salt.

Roast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat Pitas (OR Central Market Tortillas!) then slice and stuff each with 1/4 cup goat cheese. When veggies are done, stuff into pitas and eat warm.

....is Checkerboard Birthday Cake

Mrs. M made me a birthday cake!
She had these fancy pans that came with a form to pour rings of two kinds of cake. The cake then gets stacked, 3 layers high and with the alternating pattern the result is: a checkerboard!

Mrs. M hard at work icing.

....is Birthday Gnocchi

Happy Birthday to Mine! This was my birthday pick for dinner. Mrs. M obliged & it was amazing. I did help, I made the Browned Butter with Sage but she did all the messy work.
She also made me a cake... pictures to follow!

Gnocchi
1 large Butternut Squash (about 2.5-3 lbs)
2 1/4 Cups Flour (plus additional for rolling out gnocchi)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg, Slightly Beaten

Browned Butter
1/2 C Butter
5-6 Fresh Sage Leaves
Parmesan, Grated

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice Squash and roast on a lined baking sheet for 30-40 minutes until very tender. Remove and let cool.

Once cool, puree Squash in a blender, food processor or kitchenaid mixer.

Transfer to a large bowl and add Flour, Egg and Salt.

Mix until a dough forms then knead on a heavely floured surface until smooth. (I helped to about here)

Divide Gnocchi dough in half or thirds and roll each half into a large, thin rope.

Cut the rope into small one inch slices.

Once the water is boiling, drop the gnocchi in and boil until they float. You can do this in batches, dishing them out with a slotted spoon, I recommend putting them on a lined cookie sheet and keeping them warm in the oven at 200 degrees.

(Mrs. M did all the hard work here and got a little messy, all the Gnocchi rolling takes some time and patience)

We differed a little from the recipe here, the Butter did not brown to quickly.

I treated it like a roux and constantly stirred the butter over Medium heat, it took me at least 20 minutes - Burnt Butter is not the same as Browned Butter.

I also used more Butter than the original recipe and once it had browned I removed it from the heat and used the drippings to fry the Sage, then added the sage directly to the brown butter as the Gnocchi was finishing up.

Serve Gnocchi with Browned Sage Butter and Parmasean.

....is Grumpy Ginger Cake

Eat, Live, Run

1 Cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Ginger, Minced
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
4 Tbsp Butter, Melted

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and Flour a nine inch baking pan and set aside.

Whisk together the melted Butter, Vanilla, Egg, Yogurt, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Lemon Zest and Ginger. Whisk hard until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl, stir together the Flour, Salt and Baking Soda. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Press into the prepared pan and bake for fifteen minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

....is a Green Goddess Date

This recipe was super quick and delicious. My boyfriend has a little crush on the Eat-Live-Run girl thanks to this recipe. :)

(I increased the recipe to serve 6.)
15 oz Fresh Fettuccine
1-1/2 Cup Peas

1-1/2 Edamame

5 Tbsp Lemon, Juiced
3/4 Cup Cream
3 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper
3/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1-1/2 Cup Dry Jack Cheese, Grated

Cook pasta in boiling salted water. If using fresh pasta, this will only take about 30 seconds–don’t overcook! Set aside.

In a skillet or pot, melt the Butter and Whisk in the Lemon Juice. 

Add the Cream, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes and Cheese and stir over low/medium heat until slightly thickened. Stir in Peas and Edamame. Pour over cooked pasta,  and a water if it seems dry. Finish with a grind of black pepper.

CPB.

Mine

....is Mr. M's Fried Rice

2 Sausages, Sliced
1/3 C Carrots*, Shredded
1/3 C Peas
4 Cups Cooked Rice
3 Eggs
1 Bunch of Green Onions, Diced
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Onion Powder
Salt
4Tbsp Soy Sauce

* I'm not a Carrot fan, so I substituted these for Sweet Potato
AND
use 2 tsp Sesame Oil if you don't use sausage

Brown the Sausages until cooked.

Add Carrots/Sweet Potatoes and Peas.

Mix in Cooked Rice.

Make a crater for the eggs and let them cook a bit before mixing them throughout. 

Add in remaining ingredients, serve with Siracha and enjoy!