foodie wednesday: date night {guest post}

Hello Lifestyle Maven Readers, Julie from Julip Made here. I adore Cailen and constantly find myself adding her recipes to my "to make" list. I am delighted to be guest posting for her while she is off marrying the love of her life! In the spirit of romance and in honor of the lovebirds, I've created a cozy, romantic meal for two.

cozy
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

This is the type of meal you want to eat curled up in front of the fire with a bottle of Brunello and candles.  Also, boys, don't forget the fresh flowers... they NEVER get old!

julipmade84
Recipe here.
julipmade12

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. Italian sausages, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 1 medium eggplant, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 1 onion, medium dice
  • 1/3 cup red cooking wine
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • **SECRET INGREDIENT** Dash of maple syrup
  1. Saute the sausage with a dash of olive oil in a french oven over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. Add some more olive oil and saute the onions for a few minutes then add the eggplant.  The onion should be translucent and the eggplant should be just starting to brown on the edges.  
  3. Throw in the garlic and saute until fragrant (approximately 30 seconds).  Add the red wine and turn up the heat, reducing most of the liquid.
  4. Add the canned tomato, bay leaf,salt and pepper, and the dash of maple syrup.  This is the secret ingredient as it will cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
  6. Once sauce has thickened, mix in with pasta and sprinkle Parmesan on top.  Enjoy!
julipmade13
Recipe here.

I hope you enjoy this meal and if you want more recipes stop by!  Cailen, I wish you and Craig all the best in your new life together filled with love, laughter, and lots of romantic meals like this one.

Cheers,
Julie

.

date night & brunch recipes

last night craig & i enjoyed an impromptu date night at one of our favorite local restaurants.  bell's tavern.  this locals-only joint serves up delicious italian food.  what did we opt for?  my personal fave...their baked ziti.  yum!  2 glasses red wine + bleu cheese pecan salad + baked ziti = happiness : )

ok, so, today, i've been busy cooking & cleaning to get ready for weekend visitors!  two college friends are coming out saturday through sunday to see our place and enjoy some college-esque fun.  i won't bore you with the cleaning details, but i'll share what i cooked (much more fun).

i made an egg strata (i.e. egg "custard" poured over bread, onions, sausage, etc. and then baked until golden brown and delicious) and also made up some cranberry orange muffins.  so, here's what went down...

egg strata

4 eggs
1/4 cup light cream (or half&half)
1 tbsp ranch dressing
1/2 large vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 large tomato, sliced
2 slices (day old or frozen) bread, cubed
4 (small) links turkey sausage, cooked & chopped
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
salt & pepper
olive oil (about a tsp)

preheat oven to 375 degrees, spray 8" by 6" pyrex with PAM or olive oil

saute onions in a drizzle of olive oil.  season with salt and pepper.  once onions begin to caramelize, mix in sausage and rosemary.

i love rosemary with sausage!

beat 4 eggs together with cream and ranch.  season with salt & pepper.

mix bread & onion/sausage filling together in pyrex.  sprinkle with cheddar.

pour egg mixture over and decorate with slices of tomato.  garnish with a bit more rosemary.  season with salt & pepper.  (it's important to layer in seasonings for optimal flavor, not just add all at once : )

bake for 40 min until edges are browned and top is bubbly!

fyi: for 1/6th of the strata, it's only 160 calories!  for 1/4th, it's 235 cal.

cranberry orange muffins

ok, i used a mix for these, but i have a secret about how to improve ANY mix.  add-ins.

this boxed mix would probably be a bit lack-luster, but i added in fresh orange zest to brighten the flavor and give it that "made from scratch" appeal.

other ideas:
blueberry muffin mix - add lemon zest (or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice)
carrot cake mix - add coconut, chopped pineapple and/or raisins
banana cake mix - add cinnamon, nutmeg and maybe chopped pecans
brownie mix - add chocolate or pb or butterscotch morsels, chocolate chunks or chopped candy bars

do you have any cooking tricks or short-cuts?.

some dandy date ideas

so with february being the month of love and romance, i figured sharing some date ideas could be both fun and useful.  craig and i love our dates.  whether they're thoughtfully planned meals at home or nights on the town.  or happy hour at bobby's.  dates are fun.  period.

when thinking about what dates i find especially fun, many ideas came to mind (too many), but i narrowed it down to three, as not to overwhelm : )

o day date – coffee shop, wander cute town (if you're in or around the bucks county, pa area doylestown, new hope or lambertville, nj won't disappoint), movie
cute town to wander

visit the county theater : )

o dinner out – cocktail lounge, fabulous dinner (at tinto restaurant in philadelphia or similar amazing foodie haven)

cool restaurant
o at home –fireside picnic, home cooked meal, champagne & something chocolate
so cozy...fireside date : )

the perfect something chocolate for {heart} day



so what's your ideal valentine's day???

.

weekend perfection : )

corner table at xix : )

 

city hall
as i mentioned last week, craig and i spent this past saturday in philly (our fave city).  we had our engagement photo shoot in the morning and then met up with craig's parents to show them xix restaurant (our reception space).  afterwards we walked around to city to check out potential rehearsal dinner locations and then capped our evening with a romantic dinner at our go-to restaurant, tinto.  it was such a fun day!

the photo shoot was fantastic!  our photographers are completely awesome (a husband and wife team), and we got along with them really, really well.  can't wait to see the picts!  (we should get a preview soon, so i'll definitely share them : )

xix dining room

it was such fun showing craig's parents our reception space and telling them all about our thoughts for the wedding.  they hadn't seen the it yet, so it was great to share it with them.  we then enjoyed lunch at xix's bar before heading out to survey the rehearsal dinner locales.


the continental, picture credit {here}

we visited quite a few, but the ones still in the runnings are the continental midtown, alma de cuba, tinto and sampan.  as of now, though, the continental (with its private rooftop bar/lounge and 1950s/60s retro vibe) is our number one!  plus, craig's parents treated us to drinks at the bar, and they were oh-so-good.  i got the "sourpuss" - st. germain (my fave), vodka (my other fave) and champagne (my other other fave) garnished with nerds (yes, nerds the candy.  not my fave, but definitely fun).  it was expertly mixed, and they served it in a small glass, so the shaker kept the remainder cold while you sipped.  nice touch. 


alma de cuba, picture credit {here}

for dinner, craig and i headed to tinto.  i know, i know, i write about tinto a lot, but it's amazing.  and i'll prove it to you.  we ordered the chef's tasting with wine pairing (as we always do) and the food just kept on coming. 

craig at tinto
 we enjoyed:
-first: cheese course with fresh bread and rosemary crackers, mixed greens salad lightly dressed, marinated (homemade) olives and jumbo lump crab crostini
-second: chicken brochettes with red grapes in a rich (omg) gravy shooter and smokey mussels in a peppery tomato stew served with seasoned fries with lemon aioli (we also used the fries to sop up the end of the chicken gravy...)
-third: marinated green beans with almonds, dates and mandarin orange slices and filet of turbo with a buttery citrus sauce
-fourth: marinated chicken confit with truffle mashed potatoes (i love truffle anything) and buttered brussel sprouts - soooo delicious!
-fifth: and then dessert...fudgy chocolate cake with caramelized bananas and a lemony sponge cake with pastry cream and cherries.  omg...so good!
the aftermath...
are you drooling yet?  oh, and did i forget to mention that each course was paired with a (generous) taste of a wine that perfectly complemented the food?!  we were in heaven.  if you can't believe what you're reading click {here}...it does exist, i swear!  and if you're ever in philadelphia, you need to go.  period.
as you can plainly see, it was an amazingly wonderful dinner/day/date.  i <3 philly (and craig).

.