Miss does a Romantic Date - at Home! ^~

Kalispera readers, and I hope your Fridays are going well! I'm writing this on my lunch break as I'm going to be in such a flurry of activity tonight. Constantine is coming for around seven which is going to give me next to no time to prepare what needs to be The Most Romantic Dinner Ever. Haha. Being a student and trying desperately to keep my savings account in the five-figure range (it's taken me years to get here so don't be intimidated, I'm not as put-together as that makes me sound), I've decided to bring the dinner date home instead of frequenting our usual (expensive) restaurant.I'll share tonight's recipes with you here because they really are fabulous. I encourage you to copy my idea and plan a romantic dinner for your darling ^~ he/she won't see it coming and it's the best way to enjoy each other's company after a long week of work.

{ Miss' Menu }

Insalata Caprese with Mozzarella di Bufala

&

Authentic Italian Osso Buco

&

Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Sound appetizing? I hope so! These are all much easier to put together than their names suggest. The only difficulties would be in the availability of the Buffalo Mozzarella (I get mine at a local Italian Grocery Store), the time you have to cook the Osso Bucco and your confidence when cooking the souffle (I promise they aren't as hard as they seem)! Ready? Here we go:

Insalata Caprese

{literally, the Salad from Capri. It's a fabulous blend of fresh ingredients, best available in summer. It presents beautifully and is perfectly complimented by the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the Mozzarella di Bufala. If you don't have the last ingredient available, the fresh mozzarella available in bags at most grocery stores works just fine, as well}

• 4 beautiful vine-ripened tomatoes
• 1 fresh ball of mozzarella di bufala
• 1 good handful of basil leaves, washed & spun-dry (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (about 1/8 - 1/4 cup)
• 1 sprinkling of sea salt, to taste

Slice your tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala into even slices. Arrange on a plate in circular pattern, alternating tomato, mozzarella & basil leaf. Sprinkle with sea salt and olive oil and serve immediately. It is fabulously easy and one of my favorite things to eat!
Picture Credit: initaly.com

Authentic Italian Osso Buco

{Constantine's parents taught me how to make their authentic Osso Buco and it is a spectacular dish. It gets better with age and despite the massive amounts of chopping that goes into the preparation, it is quite an easy main course to prepare!}

• 2-3 stalks of both carrots & celery, chopped into small chunks
• 2 packages of button mushrooms, washed and chopped into small slices
• 1 can of whole tomatoes in sauce(look for the ones that list only tomatoes as the ingredient! Stay away from pre-spiced sauces, ew!)
• 1 cooking onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Italian Seasoning
• 4 fresh veal shanks
• Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup white cooking wine
• Flour
• Olive Oil

To begin, make your tomato sauce. First sautee half of your onion and 2 of your garlic cloves with a splash (1 tbsp) of olive oil and a sprinkling of italian seasoning. In a metal bowl pour out the can of tomato juice/whole tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into chunks. Once your onions are transluscent, add the tomato chunks/sauce to the saucepan. Add fresh parsley & salt to taste. Lower heat. Do not forget to stir the sauce repeatedly!

Lightly coat veal shanks in flour and saute them in olive oil (1-2 tbsp) until nicely browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and place in casserole dish.

Using same pan that was used to fry your veal, sautee the carrots and celery. Once they are almost done, add the fast-frying ingredients: your garlic, onion and mushrooms.

Add the cup of chicken broth and cup of white wine to your sauteed vegetables. Stir over reduced heat until the the liquid has reduced noticeably.

At this point, your sauce should smell so overwhelmingly delicious that you could almost eat it for dinner with a slice of fresh bread. I do this sometimes when I'm rushed and it's fabulous! Pour your tomato sauce over the vegetables. Stir to combine & be careful not to splash yourself! Aprons are your clothes' best friend in the kitchen. For an interesting twist on the romantic dinner, cook wearing an apron - just an apron ^~ it's silly, but undeniably sexy.

Pour the vegetable/tomato sauce over the veal in the casserole dish. Try to coat evenly and wipe off any splashes that could burn later on in your oven.

Cook, covered, at 350 degrees for an hour and a half. Remove covering and cook for another half hour.

Constantine likes to eat this served over fresh pasta. My father enjoys it with a slice of fresh bread. Serves this with whatever you'd like but be sure to eat it with something to dip into the delicious sauce that is left behind! This recipe technically serves four, but I find Constantine is always good for 1&1/2. I like to make extra because it is -so- good the next day. When it sits overnight the flavors deepen beautifully.

Picture credit: taste.com

Sinful Chocolate Souffle

As an athlete who spends hours every week at the gym I am always very careful with what I eat, but on occasion I'll make an exception for something really special. This dessert will melt in your mouth, impress your guests, and certainly justify the extra half hour of cardio ^~

I'm going to cheat on this one. As the recipe isn't my own I'll show you exactly where I found the one that I use every time I prepare this delicious dessert. Make your own souffle by following the

clear directions found on t h i s site.

Thanks Eating Well for this delicious recipe!

This concludes my menu for tonight. I hope that it inspired you to make something delicious yourself! I don't really cook with a recipe when I make these dishes (save with souffle), so I may have left an instruction out that I do automatically. Please don't be shy to ask questions!

Enjoy!

❤ Miss