Bad Movies, Good Eats: Sexy Time Edition

HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS HAPPENED TO YOU? It’s Friday — February 12th, to be exact — and on your way out of the office, someone wishes you a happy Valentine’s weekend.  And with that, the average Bargain Bin Review reader is thinking, “Holy dead man walking! Valentine’s Day is Sunday!”  Because you forgot.  Or, if you’re like me, “it snuck up on you.”

Fortunately, the Bloggin’ Bin Revue is here to help with another installment of BAD MOVIES, GOOD EATS, where our culinary expert Chef Tom, longtime Friend of The ‘Bin, pairs fine dining with terrible movies.  And to help celebrate HEART-ON FOR VALENTINE’S DAY MONTH at the Bargain Bin Review, Chef Tom has put together a special Valentine’s meal. 

Work your mojo, Tom.

 

BAD MOVIES, GOOD EATS: SEXY TIME EDITION

IckinCHIBy Chef Tom.  Hello Bargain Bin Review readers!  Happy February!  The time of year when a man’s thoughts turn to dread.  Why?  Because Valentine’s Day is coming.  The greeting card and chocolate and floral industry has turned February 14 into a marketing clusterf@€k; not to mention all the expectations that come with it. 

I know the economy is tight.  So instead of taking your loved one out for an overpriced evening at a restaurant,(apologies to all my friends working in restaurants, you know I respect all the hard work you guys do) cook dinner for your beloved at home.  What a better way to end the evening with a sub par movie that you’ll both lose interest in and hopefully find something else to keep yourselves entertained, if you know what I mean.

[He means gettin' it on. With sex. - Nolahn]

Now I know not everyone is overly culinarily gifted. So I’m going to tell you the one principle you need to know to make this a successful evening. KISS.

Whenever you're cooking a special meal, think of this.

Whenever you're cooking a special meal, think of this.

Sadly not the amazing metal arena rock band from the 70’s known to Rock and Roll all night and party every day. No, KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid.

That’s where I come in. I’m going to tell you how to keep it simple, yet keep it classy, even for those of you outside of the San Diego metro area. Because it’s only the two of you you’re not going to need a ton of stuff. And because you’re making it yourself you’ll be awesome.

So here we go.

Course #1: Apple Salad w/ Bacon, Walnuts and Balsamic Vinaigrette  

  • 1 Green Granny Smith or similar apple (Fuji’s would work well too)
  • 1/4 lb walnut pieces
  • 2 handfuls (weight probably about a 1/3 lb) of mixed mesclun or spring greens
  • 3 strips of bacon fried crisp and chopped into small pieces
  1. Fry up the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Set aside on a paper towel for later use. Drain most of the fat out of the skillet and toss in the walnut pieces. “Toast” them in the skillet for about 90 seconds. DO NOT BURN! You’re just coaxing some of the deeper oilier flavors from the nuts while giving them a slight bacony flavor.
  2. Make your dressing. (See recipe below)
  3. Core and cut the apple into thin slices.
  4. Chop up the bacon into small pieces.
  5. Right when you’re about ready to serve your salad, in a large mixing bowl, take your greens, half the apple and most of the walnuts. Mix together thoroughly. Add in about 1/4 c of the dressing and swirl it all around with your hand until all the bits have a slight coating of dressing on them. Make a bed on each plate with half of this dressed mix. On top of it to each portion add half of the remaining apple slices, half the walnut slices and half of the bacon. Using a tablespoon drizzle a bit more dressing over the top of the whole salad. Serve.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing  

  • 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed through a garlic press
  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Use a blender to mix the ingredients. It will produce a thicker vinaigrette dressing. One serving will equal 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing. One cup should easily be enough for 6 to 8 servings of mixed green salad. Refrigerate and store in a covered container. Whisk well before serving.

 

Course #2: Gnocchi with butter, parmesan, nutmeg and black pepper  

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1 cup (or more) all purpose flour
  • 1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 oz grated parmesan
  • Pepper
  • Freshly chopped parsley
  • Special equipment: Potato ricer or food mill
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce potatoes in several places and bake until soft, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. The skin should come off easily by simply peeling it with your fingers. Put the potatoes in a ricer or food mill. Rice potatoes onto rimmed baking sheet; spread out and cool to room temperature. If you do not have a food mill or ricer, try grating them with a cheese grater through the big holes.
  2. Line large baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Add 1 cup flour; toss to coat.
  3. Form well in center of potato mixture. Add egg yolk, coarse salt, and nutmeg; stir with fork until mixture is evenly moistened (mixture will look shaggy).
  4. Turn mixture out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together, sprinkling dough with flour very lightly only if dough is very sticky. Form dough into ball; divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece between hands and work surface into 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut each rope into 3/4-inch pieces. Place gnocchi on prepared baking sheet.
  5. Working in batches, cook gnocchi in large pot of boiling salted water until gnocchi rise to surface of water. Continue to simmer gnocchi until cooked through and tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, carefully transfer gnocchi to bowl.
  6. In a skillet melt the butter. Once melted and hot, add the cooked gnocchi to the skillet. Sauté and coat with the butter.
  7. As you plate the gnocchi, sprinkle with parmesan, grate a bit more of the nutmeg on top of it, grind a little black pepper on top of it and a bit of freshly chopped parsley.

 

Course #3: Chocolate and cheese  

  • 1 – 6 oz tub marscapone cheese
  • 1 orange, zested, peeled and segmented
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 – 1/2 pint raspberries or whatever berries look best at your local market
  • 1 bunch grapes green or red
  • 8 oz good dark chocolate in bar form
  1. Zest your orange using a zester, microplane or grater. Do not get any pith or keep the pith to a minimum in your zest. Pith is the white stuff between the orange orange peel and the orange segments. In a bowl mix the zest, honey and marscapone together until well blended. Place in a nice bowl on a plate.
  2. On that plate place the fruit around the bowl in a nice arrangement. take the chocolate bar and beak or cut up into bite sized pieces.

Why am I wussing out on dessert you ask? I’m not, really. However I will tell you this: Chocolate and cheese stimulate the same areas of the brain that cocaine and sex do. I’m just saying. Plus, it’s damn tasty.

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categories Bad Movies Good Eats | nolahn February 13, 2010

3 Comments to “Bad Movies, Good Eats: Sexy Time Edition”

  1. By Gourmet Food, March 10, 2010 @ 1:26 PM

    thanks for that

  2. By Thailand, March 14, 2010 @ 6:47 AM

    First of all, great post! I’ve got a small question bothering me, I really enjoy the layout of your website and tried to download the same layout on my Worpdress site. Yet, there is some kind of strange php error in the footer. Do you have any tips, which settings are you using? Please PM me on Twitter @Thaifan or per e-mail.

  3. By nolahn, March 16, 2010 @ 12:43 AM

    Thanks, Thailand! I tried emailing you, but for whatever reason, the email was bounced back. Drop me a line directly at nolahn@bargainbinreview.com, and I’ll give you a hand.

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