You can have a 3 course fancy date night dinner, which is under 15 dollars for two servings of every course. Yes, it's true.
ITEMS USED:
INGREDIENTS:
Appetizer Ingredients -
3 tablespoons (42g) extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces 280g Grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices good crusty bread, toasted
1/3 cup (90g) ricotta, divided
Chicken leg Ballotine and Cauli Puree Ingredients -
2 chicken leg quarters
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons (7g) whole grain mustard, divided
2 slices swiss or provolone cheese, divided
8-10 basil leaves
1 medium head cauliflower
3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg *optional*
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
1/4 cup (5g) fresh chopped parsley
1 red fresno chili or any other chili
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
6 cloves garlic grated
Salt to taste
Caramel Pears and Yogurt Ingredients-
1/4 cup (56g) butter
1 cup brown sugar 225g loop
2 pears
Small container yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Fancy Date Night Method
To start with the appetizer, add in your olive oil to a skillet and heat until extremely hot. Add your whole grape tomatoes and see them pop as they get a little charred and softened up. Then add your thinly sliced garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for about a minute.
Take your two slices of bread and toast them. On the two toasted slices, spread some ricotta, top with your tomatoes, some extra olive oil, flaky salt and pepper, and some herbs for garnish.
For the main course, begin with chicken leg quarters. Use your knife to remove the thigh and drumstick bones, careful to avoid removing too much meat when taking out bones.
To the now boneless chicken leg quarters, spread some wholegrain mustard on the inside of the chicken, add some salt to taste, a slice of swiss cheese, and your basil leaves. Then, the leg quarter up and tie with kitchen twine to hold the rolled-up shape in place. Replace with your other chicken quarter.
In a large skillet, add enough oil to coat the bottom. Season the chicken all over with salt and sear in the hot skillet on all sides for about two minutes. Once nicely browned on all sides, place the pan with chicken now skin-side up into the oven set to 400ºF for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
To make the cauliflower puree, separate the florets from a medium head of cauliflower and boil them for about 8-10 minutes or until very soft. Strain the florets but save the water and place them in a blender with salt and nutmeg (freshly grated if possible). Begin blending, adding a little bit of water just until it begins to blend easily. Start adding your butter about a tablespoon at a time with the blender going until all your butter is added.
To make the chimichurri, finely chop your fresh parsley, Fresno chili, the zest and juice of a lemon, your grated cloves of garlic, and cover with your best olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix until thoroughly combined.
For plating, remove the kitchen twine from your chicken and slice into three evenly sized rounds. Lay a thick dollop of your cauliflower puree onto the plate on one end and with the back of your spoon spread it in one swoop to the other end. Add your three rounds of chicken, spoon on your chimichurri, and optionally garnish with some herbs.
For dessert, with a 10-inch skillet, add in your butter and place into an oven set at 400ºF until the butter is melted. While that’s melting, peel your pears and cut them in half, scoop the cores out. Once the butter is melted sprinkle over your brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Place the pears, flat side down, onto the brown sugar/butter mixture, and place back into the oven for 25 minutes.
Once the 25 minutes have passed, baste each pear every two minutes for 10 minutes. Pull out your pears after 10 minutes. For plating, spread a dollop of unflavored yogurt, one of your halved pears cut side down, spoon over your caramel sauce, and optionally some granola on top.
