Friday, February 15, 2013

Valentine's Day 2012


 So I got home late from work, and I'm very tired. The goal: A romantic Valentine's dinner for two made from whatever I can find in the refrigerator - in about an hour.

 
 
 Excellent find number one: a little left over red wine called "Anticipation" with a red rose on the bottle. Also, a little bit of white wine...hmmm
 
First, some ricotta cheese mixed with dried fruit bits and Trader Joe's Rosemary Rasin Crisps becomes the appetizer.

Then, the last bit of spring mix goes under 2 ripe pears, some chopped dates, chopped roasted pecans left from the other night, and the last of the goat cheese with fig, topped with vanilla fig balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper.

 Now for the main course. In the vegetable bin are leeks, red bell peppers, and yellow grape tomatoes, I have some vegetable stock that I made last weekend, and there is that little bit of white wine...
So I take out the arborito rice, put the stock in a pot and set it on the stove to heat up, chop the leeks and saute them in a tiny bit of butter with a little olive oil, then add chopped red peppers, saute a bit more, then add the rice (1c) and saute that mix for a few minutes, then add the wine - about 1/2 cup I'd guess, and cook till it's absorbed. From there, I add 1 cup of warm stock at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed. Near the end of the cooking I add about a cup and a half of halved yellow grape tomatoes, salt & pepper and cook until the tomatoes start to soften.

I mixed in about 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesean, then topped with a little more.

Valentine dessert - must contain chocolate I think - and I need something quick - so - while the risotto is cooking, I pull some biscotti out of the freezer (brought to a party by a friend - I threw them in there so I wouldn't eat them all in one sitting), slice up 2 clementines, and melt some 60% bittersweet chocolate. Then I dip and drizzle.
Success. Fast. Tasty. Romantic.
Yum.