Date Night: Dinner and a Movie

This past weekend, I made dinner for date night. Date night often can mean dinner out, which is probably going to be at least 10-12 per person, so when I cook for date night at home, I allow my budget to run a little higher, because it is still a marked improvement over even burgers and fries at a local joint. This fancy-looking but simple meal was a real hit for date night!

First, I went to my local farmer's market and picked up some fresh veggies. I looked for something a little exotic but still tried to keep it cheap. I don't need any $9 salad...I went with these rainbow carrots for $2.50. They were beautiful, tasted delicious, and were easy to prepare; I just steamed them like regular carrots, but since they were beautifully rainbow-hued they looked like something from a fancy restaurant menu.

Then came gnocchi. I usually get it at Trader Joe's. It's really simple to make; you boil water, put the gnocchi in, and when they begin to float they're done. I toss in a little pesto (same stuff as on the pizza). They're usually well under $3 for a package, and there are almost always leftovers.

Now, I need to make an honest confession here. The gnocchi were NOT a hit this date night. I think they had soured or something. We took one bite and said, something is funny about these gnocchi. It wasn't the pesto. It was the gnocchi. So I'm going to have to look for a cheap but good alternative for the gnocchi at Trader Joes. Which is probably a good thing, since I realized that the gnocchi had come from Italy. That's too big a carbon footprint for my comfort.

But the best part of the meal was hands down the chicken. Now, the chicken was the usual Whole Foods deal, but this time I baked it in a white wine beurre blanc. Wow. It was that good. You, too, can impress, with a little slightly-past-you-want-to-drink-it-out-of-a-glass white wine.

Take two chicken breasts, season with garlic, a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Stick in an oven at 375 and set the timer for half an hour.

In the meantime, take leftover white wine and add it to a saucepan. Turn on med-high heat, and bring the wine to a boil. Let it bubble a few minutes to let most of the alcohol burn off. Turn the heat down to medium, and begin to add small chunks of cold, salted butter. Whisk hard while adding the butter. Add as much butter as it takes to make it look more like a sauce than wine in a pan.

Remove the chicken, pour the white wine sauce over the breasts, so they're just sort of bathing in the goodness. Return to oven, and finish the 30 minutes of baking or so. Use a meat thermometer to tell you when they're done!

A little butter goes a long way in this recipe. I highly recommend Kate's of Maine or Cabot's. Both are local and use a consortium model to gather the products of smaller farmers. Both are competitively priced with other butters on the market, and are available at Shaw's, Whole Foods, Stop and Shop, and most other retailers.

Final tally on the meal? I guesstimate about 6.25 per person. A good deal for such a fancy date night. Next time, more white wine sauce and less gnocchi.