Last weekend I posted a four course meal that I made for Betsy and I for Valentine’s Day. Well, actually I made it the week before, but I made it. Here is the entire meal:
First Course – Artichoke Fritters
Second Course – Pear and Pecan Salad
Third Course – Mussels and Frites
Fourth Course – Chocolate Lava Cakes
After I posted this I got a few emails and comments from people asking how I organized this meal because it was kind of a lot for one guy to do. One reason why I think people get frustrated with cooking is that it seems like a lot of work. I think a lot of the stress can be taken off though with proper planning.
In this post I’ll give a few tips in case you ever find yourself planning a meal. These tips will help streamline any dinner you have to cook be it four courses or one.
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If you happen to follow me on Twitter you’ll know the actual meal that Betsy and I had for Valentine’s Day wasn’t the four course deal I posted last week. She asked for nachos and Coronas. Sounds good to me!
She may have asked for this dish because these are my nachos:
It doesn't look like real food. But it is. Real good food.
Let me start with a warning. If you make and consume these nachos it’s seriously possible that it will ruin all other nachos for you. I’m not saying that I don’t eat other nachos. I definitely do. But when I get them at a restaurant they tend to be more of a mushy chip dish with too many toppings and stale store bought chips. I still eat all of them, but the warning is that this could be one of those instances where ignorance is bliss.
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Every weekend, I review a cookbook in an attempt to lend some guidance in a field that has become overrun. These days everyone is writing cookbooks and it is incredibly upsetting to buy a dud and have it sit on your shelf for years – staring at you, mocking your poor judgment.
I was first introduced to America’s Test Kitchen on TV. I saw the show awhile ago and was intrigued by the idea because it seems like such a simple concept and yet I had never seen anything like it. When I saw that they were coming out with, “The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2009“, I had a feeling it was going to be a keeper.
What is the test kitchen? The idea behind the test kitchen is so simple. Take some of the best chefs around, give them the food and tools they need, and let them try recipes until they are perfected. The problem with recipes these days are that there are hundreds of different versions and the average at-home chef has no idea which one will actually produce good results.
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Last weekend Betsy and I were running some errands when we passed a small market that had berries on sale. And they looked really good. I couldn’t help but pick up a few pints.
The next morning I was looking for something quick to make because, after all, I had a kitten to play with all day. I also happened to have a few cups of granola left over from the last batch of homemade granola I mixed up.
Add some vanilla yogurt and these were an obvious choice:
It's all in the levels.
Parfaits are fantastic. They are pretty, easy, and healthy. What more could you want in a breakfast meal?! I like to get the tallest glasses I can find and make as many levels as possible, but you could just do one level of each ingredient if you wanted.
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This is not an “Around the Internet Kitchen” dedicated to liquor or the 2004 smash J-Kwon hit “Tipsy.” This post is dedicated to the new love of my life – Tipsy the kitten:
After a substantial amount of paperwork and a trip to Petco, she is finally home and appears to be fairly happy. She never bites or scratches and, in fact, I think she loves us.
Don’t worry. I know. This is not Icanhascheezburger. This site is about food. So here are some links on that subject:
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For the last few days, I’ve been posting the courses in a four course meal I made last weekend. These are the previous courses:
First course: Artichoke Fritters
Second course: Pear and Pecan Salad
Third course: Mussels and Frites
If you are serving a meal in courses, it goes without saying that you better bring it on dessert. Because it is Valentine’s Day, I wanted to do something a bit sexy also. I think these chocolate lava cakes did the trick.
Hot lava!
While these little cakes are delicious and gooey on the inside, they are very easy to make.
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This is the third and main course in a four course meal I made last weekend as an early Valentine’s Day meal. If you missed them:
First Course: Artichoke Fritters
Second Course: Pear and Pecan Salad
The third and main course in this dish is one that I think can be really romantic and is super easy and cheap to make: Mussels in a Tomato Broth. I also made french fries (the real way) and homemade mayo to really give the dish that Amsterdam feel. You could just serve the mussels with some crusty bread though and they would be delicious.
Some bowls of food.
Before I get started on the recipes, I want to note quickly that when I took the above photo I literally thought it was the best food photo I have ever taken. When I uploaded it and checked it out the next day I was very disappointed. Not that it is the worst I’ve ever taken, but I don’t think it is up to par.
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