Romantic Valentine's Meal, On A Budget
Love was in the air - and in the Early Show Saturday Edition's kitchen - for Valentine's Day.
The husband and wife team of Lachlan and Allison Patterson accepted our "Chef on a Shoestring" (make that, "Chefs on a Shoestring"!) challenge of preparing a romantic, recession-minded dinner for two on a budget of only $35.
He's executive chef and owner of the Frasca Food and Wine neighborhood restaurant in the heart of Boulder, Colo., and she's a professional pastry chef and co-founder of the Ice Box Bakery brand cookie dough, which bills itself as the 100-percent natural slice-and-bake cookie dough.
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FOOD FACTS
Radicchio: A mildly bitter-tasting leafy vegetable. It's very popular in Italy and has gotten more popular in the United States over the past few years. It's eaten raw with just a bit of olive oil and salt, as well as mixed into a variety of salads. You may also see it on menus grilled or roasted or combined into other dishes, such as risotto.
RECIPES
Radicchio Salad with Shaved Parmesan
INGREDIENTS:
1 large head of Radicchio
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of shaved Parmesan
1 teaspoon finally chopped oregano
Pinch sea salt and cracked pepper
METHOD:
Peel a couple of exterior leaves off of the radicchio (if it's little bruised or blemished). Then cut the bottom off about ½ inch up so the rest of the leaves unfold from the head easier.
Soak the leaves in cold water for 20 minutes to help crisp them, then spin dry in a salad spinner.
Place in a mixing bowl and add the vinegar and olive oil and toss.
Right before serving, add sea salt, cracked pepper and top with parmesan cheese.
Lamb Chops with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
INGREDIENTS:
4 Lamb chops
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 fingerling potatoes
3 tablespoon grapeseed oil
2 teaspoon sea salt
Breadcrumbs
Cracked black pepper
For the lamb:
Crush the garlic with the back of a knife.
In a medium sized sauté pan add the olive oil and garlic. Bring the oil and garlic to a medium temperature to help with the infusion. Cool before pouring over lamb.
Rub lamb with mustard and half of the rosemary and half of the salt.
Season with a few turns of cracked black pepper and cover with the olive oil and garlic mixture and let marinate in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
Dredge the chops in breadcrumbs, and in a sauté pan with a little bit of oil, sauté the chops for about 2 ½ minutes a side until med- med-rare, depending on the thickness of the chop. If needed, finish in the oven.
Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Rinse, and then roast potatoes in a 350ºF oven in grapeseed oil until tender, about 25-30 minutes.
When cooked through, toss with remaining rosemary and sea salt.
For more recipes, go to Page 2.
Heart-Shaped Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi sweet Chocolate Morsels
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar with a mixer until fluffy then add vanilla extract.
Next add eggs, one at a time, making sure they are incorporated but do not over-beat.
Mix in flour mixture then stir in morsels spoon 24 equal amounts on two cookies sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes until golden.
Cool in baking sheet for 4 minutes; then cut 12 cookies with a small cutter in the center and remove to wire racks and cool completely.
ASSEMBLY:
After the cookies cool, use a heart-shaped cutter to cut a small heart out of the middle of 12 of the cookies.
Spread a 1-inch layer of ice cream onto the 12 cookie that you didn't cut out; place the cut out heart cookies on top of the cookies with ice cream to make your "sandwich."
Place ice cream sandwiches in the freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes.
So, how did the Pattersons do in our yearlong "How Low Can You Go?" competition? The "shoestring" chef who comes in with the lowest total gets to cook up our mega holiday meal at the end of the year!
Radicchio Salad with Shaved Parmesan:
Radicchio $2.99
Parmesan $2.24
Oregano $1.49
Total $6.72
Roasted Lamb Rack:
Lamb Chops $9.99
Garlic $0.39
Rosemary $1.49
Dijon mustard $3.19
Fingerling potatoes $4.49
Grapeseed oil $3.99
Total $23.54
Ice Cream Sandwiches:
Butter $1.99
Chocolate chips $1.99
Total $3.98
Total $34.24!
How Low Can You Go?: Our lowest totals so far this year:
Patrick Connolly $33.32
Lachlan and Allison Patterson $34.24
Amanda Freitag $34.34