It's Cold Outside!

Even though I'm perfectly ready for spring, the weather has other ideas. For the past couple of days, the sky has been spitting drizzle, freezing rain and snow, leaving the streets a complete mess. How do I deal with this? I stay inside and don't do anything. Except cook, of course!

When it's cold and snowy outside, I want something warm and hearty. Pot pies are the perfect answer. When I was little, we would have homemade chicken pot pie, but I decided to play with some ingredients and make it a little more interesting.

Lamb and Pea Pot Pie

1-2 T. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 lb. - 1 lb. ground lamb

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp. allspice

2 T. flour

3 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. water

5-6 small red potatoes, diced

1 c. frozen peas

Pie Crust (homemade or store bought sheets)

Milk, for pie crust

Note: You can use ground beef instead of lamb, but the lamb is really delicious. Try it!

Heat 1 T. olive oil in large skillet over low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and let cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Bump up the heat to medium and add the lamb. Add the turmeric, allspice and garlic. Cook until the meat is browned.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the flour and 1 T. of the chicken stock. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat until it is simmering. Add the potatoes. Simmer gently until the liquid reduces and the potatoes cook through, about 20-25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spoon the filling into a prepared pie shell (frozen or homemade). Add another sheet of pie dough, covering the filling. Gently press the two sheets of pie crust together. Trim off the excess dough. Fold the pie dough over (this is the dough that is hanging over the pie dish) and tuck it under into the dish.

Cut three small slits in the top of the dough. Brush the top of the pie all over with some milk. Bake for 30-40 or until pie is golden.

Date Night

Even though I've been with Jim for three years, we still like to go out on dates or have date nights at home. Food almost always ends up playing a major role in our dates. Most of the time, our dates revolve around food.

In the past two weeks, we went on two different kinds of dates. On one, we stayed at home and made a delicious pasta dish and lemon souffles. On another, we went to Encore!, Upper Crust Bakery's Wine and Dessert Bar. Both were fun and not too expensive.

Date Night In:

Jim's had his eye on perfecting his souffle making skills, so for our most recent date night at home, that's what we made for dessert. For dinner, I found a recipe in Fine Cooking for pasta with brussels sprouts, gorgonzola and brown-butter pecans. I altered the recipe, which I usually do, but this recipe was pretty fantastic. The brussel sproats are roasted, giving them a great flavor.

Pasta with Brussel Sprouts, Gorgonzola and Brown-Butter Pecans

4 c. brussel sprouts

3/4 lb. farfalle pasta (or any other fun-shaped pasta you like)

1 1/2 T. butter

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 c. heavy cream

4-5 oz. gorgonzola cheese*

1 T. fresh lemon juice

3 1/2 T. olive oil

*Note: If you can't find gorgonzola, you can use blue cheese for a similar flavor.

Move an oven rack to the lower third of the oven and place a rimmed baking sheet on it. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Bring large pot of water to a boil.

Trim the brussel sprouts by taking any wilted outer leaves off and cutting off the bottom part. Slice the brussel sprouts lengthwise 1/4'' thick. In a large bowl, toss the brussel sprouts with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Take out the baking sheet and spread the brussel sprouts in an even layer on the sheet. Roast the brussel sprouts for 15-20 minuts. Turn halfway through.

While those are roasting, cook the farfalle until al dente. Meanwhile, melt 1/2 T. butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped pecans and let cook until the butter is brown and bubbling. The pecans will toast as this happens, usually after 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the onions and let cook until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream. While stirring, bring to a simmer. When it is at this point, take the skillet off the heat and add 3 oz. of the gorgonzola cheese to the cream sauce and stir until the cheese melts.

When the pasta is done and has been drained, toss the pasta together with the roasted brussel sprouts, the gorgonzola cream sauce and the lemon juice. Top with the brown-butter pecans and remaining gorgonzola cheese.

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The lemon souffles were the perfect dessert. Jim did a great job! I don't think any of them fell.

Date Night Two:

Starting at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Upper Crust becomes Encore, a wine and dessert bar. Featuring a menu almost completely made up of desserts and cocktails, it's for those with serious a sweet tooth. We got the Encore Fantasy, which features five of their most popular desserts: Strawberry Passion (strawberry ice cream cake), Chocolate Decadence (flourless chocolate cake), Seasonal Sorbet, Ultimate Sundae (fudge brownie) and handmade chocolates.

It was pretty good. What I liked most about it was getting to taste a lot of different desserts. If I go again, I will definitely pick from their list of individual desserts.

For a date, it's not badly priced. Of course, this is just dessert, so you'll have to eat dinner beforehand!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I always love taking one meal and playing with the leftover ingredients the next night. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. For instance, Jim and I made pot roast on a Sunday night a couple of weeks ago and ate it every night until Thursday. Then, we made "pot roast pasta"--basically pot roast veggies and meat mixed in with egg noodles and a cream sauce based off of the jus from the pot roast. I ate it that night because I had to, but it wasn't my favorite, probably because I was really sick of pot roast.

Thank goodness last night's reinvented dinner work wonderfully. On Wednesday, Jim made his delicious pan-fried chicken, which I've posted about before. The next night, we decided to make buffalo chicken pizza with the leftover chicken breast. Yum! It's super easy if you've already got the chicken cooked from the night before and it is quite delicious.

Your favorite pizza dough will work just fine. This can be a mix, canned pizza dough, or a ball of dough from your favorite pizzeria. If you live in Columbia, I recommend stopping by Shakespeare's and asking for a ball of their large pizza dough. It costs less than $1 and it's great crust dough.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Pizza dough

1-15 oz. can tomato purée

2 T. wing sauce

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 T. butter

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced (or you can find mozzarella pearls)

1 to 1 1/2 pan-fried chicken breasts, cut into slices or chunks (recipe found here in previous post)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the pizza dough to make a "large" pizza. It's not really technical, just roll out the dough until you like the size and thickness. Take a fork and poke holes throughout the crust to prevent air bubbles. Place the crust in the oven for 10 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato purée, wing sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the chicken.

When crust is done precooking, take out of the oven. Spread the chicken sauce mixture evenly over the crust. Place the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pizza as well. Finally, spread the diced onions and green onions over the pizza.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is starting to brown and bubble.