Special Occasion Dinner?What I Made for Valentine?s Day

Jason and I don’t usually do anything special for Valentine’s Day because our anniversary is next month. Because of that, I at least try to do a nice meal (and it gives me an excuse to make a dessert!) I’ve made this pasta once before and it’s a beautiful special occasion meal and the left-overs aren’t too shabby either. Your friends will be impressed when you take this in your lunch box to work the next day. As far as the kids were concerned, this ran a close race with mac and cheese…they loved it. By the time I’d fixed everyone’s plates, Andrew had already finished his and was asking for seconds. Matthew shoveled it in while exclaiming, “dis good!” and “yummy, yummy!” over and over again, which is always a good sign. This is somewhat of a messy recipe to make because you dirty a lot of dishes, but it’s worth it and your husband will probably like it so much that he will offer to do the dishes.

 As much as I like to bake, I’ve never made homemade brownies before, so I thought I’d see if they’re really better than the box mix (that’s sad, huh?) After sampling the batter (repeatedly, i.e. licking the bowl) I decided that if the brownies were as good as the batter, this would be my go-to recipe from now on. As usual, I seriously tweaked the recipe but used the unorthodox method of making the batter that is used in Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours” cookbook. Disclaimer: if you put the espresso powder in the brownies, your two year old is likely to run nonstop through your house, climb your furniture, and act like he is on speed after eating one (at least mine did). The espresso powder makes a difference in the brownies, though; it really brings out the flavor of the chocolate and makes it pop.

Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Asiago Cream Sauce

Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce:

2 cups heavy cream

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 T. asiago cheese

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. water

1 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Pasta:

16 oz. bow tie pasta

salt, to taste

olive oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter

1 c. diced red onion

1 c. chopped green onions

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 c. crumbled cooked bacon

1 c. heavy cream

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 T. grated Romano cheese

freshly ground pepper, to taste

To prepare the sauce, heat the cream in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Add the chicken bouillon cube and Asiago cheese and stir until the bouillon cube is dissolved. Dissolve the cornstarch into the water and stir into the sauce. Continue to cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside. You may cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To prepare the pasta, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, saute the chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet until chicken is cooked throughout.Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Chop the red and green onion finely. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter until translucent. Stir in the garlic and bacon and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and cream. Cook until the cream is heated through, stirring constantly. Add the sun-dried tomato sauce and continue to cook until all is heated through. Pour over the pasta and toss until evenly coated. Place in a large pasta bowl and sprinkle with chopped parsley and Romano cheese and pepper. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Brownies

1 c. all purpose flour

1 t. salt

2 sticks plus 2 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

6 T. Dutch process cocoa powder, optional

1/4 to 1/2 t. espresso powder

2 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

4 large eggs

1 c. chopped pecans, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour and salt together in a small bowl. Put the butter in a double boiler and top with the chopped chocolate (or put in a saucepan placed over another saucepan of simmering water). Stir frequently until the butter and chocolate are just melted and smooth. Add one cup of sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder and stir gently just to incorporate and then remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool.

Put the remaining one cup of sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, stir in the eggs. Using a spatula, add half of this mixture to the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly but gently until they are just incorporated. Return the mixer bowl containing the other half of the egg mixture to the mixer and beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, or until they double in volume. Fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture with a light touch, stopping just short of blending them completely. Sprinkle the flour/salt mixture over the top of the chocolate mixture and fold it in gently only until it disappears. Fold in nuts, if using. Pour batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until the middle is just set. Cool to room temperature or refrigerate before serving.

Source: Adapted from Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia from “Baking: From My Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan