EdHart.me
Here’s a pizza recipe that rocks for an awesome date night experience. Don’t settle for Little Caesar’s when you can make your own gourmet flatbread! For those of you who just want the recipe, I’ll make it quick. For those who want some tips on making flatbreads, hang with me to the bottom of the post!
I was crushed. I was using my ibrik to reduce some pomegranate balsamic vinegar for my signature Balsamic Raspberry Frozen Yogurt and somehow the reduction created some kind of chemical reaction that caused the metal on the bottom to actually blister and seared the vinegar onto the inside of the pot. Just when I was planning on a shot of Turkish coffee to accompany my dessert…
If ever I had a signature dessert, this would be it. While I can’t claim total originality on using a balsamic reduction in a dessert dish, this is one riff that I haven’t run across yet, so it’s as close to it as I’ll probably ever get! The balsamic reduction has hints of dark chocolate and wine and combined with roasted raspberries over frozen vanilla yogurt, this makes a truly unique and killer dessert.
I’ve been craving some middle eastern fare for the past few days and after spending an afternoon in downtown Birmingham at the Magic City Art Connection with the enticing scent of gyros wafting in the afternoon air, I think it’s high time to get my falafel on for date night dinner!
We wanted something a little more casual for this week’s Date Night Dinner and something that we could make while talking and having a little fun. That translates to a meal where we don’t really have to think too hard or have to concentrate on a recipe. Homemade flatbread pizzas fit that bill perfectly!
I’m still on the kabob kick for Date Nights. Kind of reminds me of our steak kick last fall. The great thing about kabobs is that the variety of foods you can skewer and the marinades you can make give you pretty much endless opportunities! And what guy gets tired of throwing stuff on the grill (not to mention the easy cleanup afterwards)?
For last night’s date night dinner, we wanted something with a little bit of an exotic flair and the March 2013 issue of Bon Appétit had a recipe for chicken Khao Soi (basically a coconut and curry style soup dish served over egg noodles) that looked so good on the cover that I absolutely had to try it!
My obsession with brussels sprouts started many years ago. Not having been force fed Brussels sprouts as a kid, I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to like them. To me, they looked like little cabbages and hey, I like cabbage, especially when it’s boiled in salty water and lathered in butter!
This is one of my “go to” recipes when I’m looking for something that’s fast, healthy & totally delicious! Especially if I’ve got some leftover brown rice in the fridge that I’m looking for something to do with. My version here is a knock off of a similar recipe that I saw in Runner’s World back in March and the variations are almost endless.
For me, stir fry comes in 2 categories: sweet and savory. This recipe is in the sweet category with a little heat mixed in. It’s really awesome and if you’re anything like me, you’ll look for a good excuse to have a second helping.
The thing I love about this one is that you can substitute the protein of your choice (shrimp, chicken, beef, tofu) and it’s still just as good. Also, play around with the veggie mix and get what you like. Be creative!
The technique here is key. Once you get the flow down, you can make all kinds of substitutions and come up with your own variation.
First, heat oil in a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Sauté the minced garlic & red pepper flakes briefly and then add the package of frozen veggies. Stir fry until they begin to get tender, around 5 minutes or so. Add the shrimp (read protein of your choice) and cook for 3-4 minutes until pink. Add 1/2 can of pineapple chunks and the juice as well as a generous pour of your jarred sweet & sour sauce. Stir fry together for another 2 minutes until all ingredients are hot & cooked. Serve immediately over brown rice.
My version of this serves 2 people generous portions with sometimes a leftover serving depending on how hungry we are. Use more shrimp & the full can of pineapple chunks (with 1/2 of the juice) and you can stretch it to serve 4. For an added crunch, consider throwing in some unsalted peanuts or cashews.
This is a delicious and really fast recipe and usually only messes up one pan, so cleanup isn’t bad. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do! Let me know what you think.
Friday night is usually family pizza night. With a houseful of children, getting pizza that everyone likes usually means multiple pizzas and compromises all around (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!). And when you’re buying a lot of pizza, it can get pretty expensive, so we usually go the route of Little Caesars, Hungry Howie’s or Domino’s when they’re on special. Pretty standard fare.