Tag Archives: olive oil

Date Night Dinner

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We all need a lil night to indulge. Some yummy food, a good bottle of wine, and a night in to cozy up with your hunny. This is the ideal dinner for a candle lit night at home. So get the DVD ready, grab some fresh flowers and get this meal on the table. Lucky for you, there is wine in this recipe so the bottle will be open before your significant other even comes over. I restrained and didn’t use garlic in this dish (for the obvious reasons involving kissing & bad breath), but most certainly will next time. Anyway, Serves 3-4 so you will have left overs unless you double-date it..

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 3 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 2 Tablespoon of olive oil (I cut down to 1 tbsp. because I figured there was enough butter)
  • 2 Tablespoon of butter
  • 2 tsp. of fresh thyme leaves (you know if you have a herb garden or if you are normal and want to use 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (subbed for the half & half I had in the fridge for coffee)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

In a skillet over medium – medium/high heat melt butter and combine with olive oil. Prepare chicken breasts by sprinkling both sides with a little sea salt.
Saute the chicken breasts until golden and cooked through; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms until soft and starting to brown (5 minutes). Add the thyme, wine, and vinegar. Let the wine reduce, then add 2-3 Tablespoons of the half & half, and heat until warmed through. You can serve with a vegetable and some rice.

Chicken Marsala

Happy Eating, XO.

Chimichurri Sauce

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So that steak recipe got my red meat taste buds wet with an appetite to add some flair to my boring protein & veggie dinners. I thought of various ways I can jazz up a steak, or another meat dish in a pinch. I thought a sauce or glaze would do the trick. And since we are watching our weight here at damn delish I thought maybe a béchamel isn’t exactly the way to go. And as much as I would heart a yummy compound butter that’s not really helping my get fit before Spain game plan either. So then I had the proverbial foodie light bulb go off and I thought: Chimichurri sauce is divine. Fresh herbs, easy to make (read: no potential to mess it up) I am sold! Let’s see if your convinced on how this will fancy up any boring old meal. Leave comments below on how yours turns out.

  • 1 cup fresh cilantro (listen I’m not usually a fan but when its blended aka hidden with the other stuff its not half bad, trust me, I am an ex cilantro hater).
  • 2/3 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced (I did 3 because I’m crazy)
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (you know you have some leftover from the steak recipe)
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (won’t add too much heat just a spiked up flavor)

Combine the parsley, cilantro, oregano and garlic in a food processor and pulse until small leaves and pieces remain. Add in the vinegar and pulse once more. With the processor going, stream in the olive oil and mix until just combined. Stir in the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Taste and season additionally if needed. Store sealed in the fridge for up to a week or so.

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Happy Eating, XO.

The “good for you” fries

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I don’t know about all of you, but with the amazing weather we had the other day it made me realize how close summer, and bathing suit, season is! [Insert expletive here.] Because of that, I’ve been trying desperately to come up with some healthy alternatives, ie. these “good for you fries” – green bean fries. Thank god they’re much healthier, because guys, these came out better than real fries! #addicted (Bonus: I didn’t use all of the green beans I bought, so I used the remaining fresh beans with some hummus. Delish!)

  • 1lb fresh green beans (ends snapped off)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp of salt and pepper
  • 1 pinch of paprika
  • 1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (Save a few pinches to top off the fries)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Mix together the oil, salt, pepper, paprika and cheese. Toss in the beans and coat completely. Spread out on the baking sheet and sprinkle a little extra cheese on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes/until brown and crispy.

I served this with a sherry vinegar hanger steak (recipe coming soon from one of our awesome contributors!).

Parm green beans

Happy Eating, XO

Shramp.

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No it’s not a typo. It’s a shrimp recipe that is amped up with all kinds of yummy flavors. Hence shramp. It’s ok if my word blending confuses you because the blend of these ingredients will be sure to make you happy (ha did you like how I did that, oh come on, I have so much fun writing these). Anyway, let’s get down to biz. Its quick and has a short grocery list, enough said. Try it and let us know how it turns out on Twitter, Instagram, or the comments section below. We need more of you guys talking vs. us rambling.
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic (Again that jar stuff I keep referencing and using in like EVERY recipe, if you haven’t gotten it yet, what exactly are you waiting for?)
  • 1 tbsp. of mojo Cuban seasoning (I bought the pre made stuff at Whole foods but heard McCormick’s has stuff in regular (non price gauging) grocery stores as well)
  • 1 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp. of fresh lime juice (bottle stuff has preservatives, just sayin’).
  • 1 lb*. of peeled & deveined shrimp (have the guy do it, I wouldn’t know the 1st clue on advising you to do it yourself).
Mix the first 4 ingredients and marinade the shrimp for 15-30 minutes, however much time you can afford to let it sit for. Then pan sear in a nonstick pan for 3-4 min on each side. When pink and cooked you can serve warm over spinach, the heat will wilt it and the extra sauce from pan acts as a dressing.
*Note: its a tbsp. to each pound of shrimp (or scallops). So if you do less/more than a pound, make sure to cut/increase the seasoning accordingly.
Shramp
Happy Eating, XO.

Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Before you roll your eyes and gag on the words “brussels sprouts” you need to keep reading. These little balls of bitterness are actually really sweet and tasty when roasted with some honey. Trust me, I’ve converted two non-brussels sprout eaters into sprout lovers with this combo. It’s easy to whip up for a last minute dinner date or just a night when you really don’t want any effort involved. The total prep and cook time is 15 minutes. It doesn’t get much quicker than that people.

  • Half a stalk of brussels sprouts (about 3 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil (enough to coat the sprouts)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of honey (again, enough for a nice coating)
  • A dash of salt and cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the bottoms off of the sprouts and slice them in half. Toss them together with the olive oil, honey, and cinnamon until fully coated. Lay them flat side down on a baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake them for about 10 minutes or until browned.

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Happy Eating, XO.