This is a refreshing citrus vinaigrette with just a hint of sweetness.
Categories
Citrus Vinaigrette
Tag: Date Night Dinner
This evening was a particularly nice spring evening and we kicked off the date night dinner with an appetizer of fried oysters, followed by a wine walk around the neighborhood (so we would’t feel guilty!) before settling in for the main course. The nice thing about this menu is that all the work is up front on the appetizer. The main course requires very little prep, just timing. Main thing is to cut up the potatoes before even starting on the appetizer and pre-heating the oven while making the oysters. I’m all about efficiency, particularly on a date night, so we can maximize the enjoyment part and minimize the food prep part.
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Classic Quiche Lorraine
This is a classic quiche recipe that I got from the Spring 2018 issue Magnolia Journal and one that I use as a base for lots of quiche experimentation. It’s eggs, cream and bacon in a pie shell so how can it be anything other than delicious?
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Hearty Mushroom Soup
Get ready for a flavor bomb mushroom soup recipe. Compared with so many of the recipes found online, this looks deceptively simple and basic, but it’s actually amazing. The proportions in this recipe really serves 2 with maybe a little left over if this is a main course. If you’re serving tiny cups of soup you could get away with 4, but it’s so good you probably won’t want to. So the recipe can easily be doubled. Also, if you like a more creamy consistency (not so many mushrooms), you can either use an immersion blender to incorporate some of the mushrooms or take a cup or more and puree it in a blender and then add back to the soup. Either way, this is a really awesome and hearty mushroom soup recipe.
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Fried Oysters
When I first started making fried oysters as a date night appetizer, I was buying them fresh from the seafood counter. But as we’ve gotten busier and date nights have become less about the production and more about spending time together talking. Unless you’re a pro, shucking 12 oysters for an appetizer is a job. So I’ve been buying [these] from Publix and while I’m all about ‘the fresher, the better,’ I haven’t been disappointed yet.
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Roasted Greek Potatoes
This simple recipe is my go to for Greek style roasted potatoes. They are so good and so versatile to go with so many dishes. When shopping for red or new potatoes, I like to hand select small ones that can be cut in half or quarters to make bite sized pieces. I’ve found that when buying the bag, you tend to get some big ones mixed in that don’t look so great when cutting them up and I’m really all about the aesthetics & the plating, so I want my wedges to look good! I also use an old cake pan to roast mine. It’s the perfect size for dinner for 2 and I also like to try and keep at least 1 cut side down which will give the potatoes a slightly crispy texture on that side.
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Basic Pan-Seared Tilapia
Making a pan-seared tilapia is really easy. The hardest part is deciding what kind of seasoning or sauce you’d like to have on the fillets, but with fresh tilapia, they’re good even with just salt, pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice. This recipe is really just to instruct on the cooking method for pan searing the fillets.
Ingredients
- 1-2 fillets per person
- Salt
- Pepper
- Seasoning of your choice (I like Cavendar’s)
- Lemon for searing and garnish
Directions
- Pat fish dry with a paper towel.
- Sprinkle fish with salt & pepper and seasoning
- Heat 1 Tbsp Olive Oil and 1 Tbsp Butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the skillet time to get hot.
- Sauté the fillets for about 3-4 minutes (depending on thickness) on each side, squeezing lemon juice on them during cooking. Tilapia should be lightly golden and just cooked through. Use a fish spatula (larger, thin & slotted) to turn the fillets without tearing them up.
- Transfer to the plate and serve warm with lemon wedges
After an entire day of laying hardwood floors in Elizabeth’s bedroom, I was pretty wiped out but still hungry for something different for our date night. Laying on the couch to rest my sore back (if you’ve ever laid hardwoods, you know what I’m talking about!), I flipped through the July issue of Bon Appétit
Continuing with my recent obsession with bruschetta and bistro dinner experiences, our Date Night Dinner this weekend was a couple appetizer recipes that are standby faithfuls and that together comprised a meal. I was feeling a little under the weather and didn’t want anything too complicated to make and Laree wanted lighter fare so we decided to go with a Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Feta bruschetta, and another with Shrimp, Tarragon and Arugula. Then, because I wanted something sweet to compliment the flavors and because peaches are in season in Alabama, we tagged on Roasted Peaches with a Balsamic Vinegar Reduction.
For Laree & my Date Night Dinner this week, we basically combined a series of appetizers into a meal. I got inspired for this by a couple of things. First of all, how often have you fixed a killer appetizer that was so good you weren’t hungry for the main course after eating it all up? Happens to us all the time. And with all the spring time fruits and vegetables hitting their peak, I wanted a smorgasbord of fresh and healthy flavors that would satisfy and celebrate the beginning of summer and kind of balance each other out and create a full meal.