Here is the whole spread for the evening:
Cheese Straws
Baked Brie
Bruschetta with baked parmesan toasts
Homemade pasta with a parmesan cream sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, and chicken
Homemade ice cream sandwiches- Sorry for not having any pictures! They were eaten way too fast.
Peach sangria
I was in the kitchen for most of the day, making many, many chocolate cookies for the ice cream sandwiches, and delicately and quickly spreading strawberry ice cream on them so they didn't turn into soupy messes.
Next came the bruschetta, which I decided to make early so the flavors of the tomato, garlic, and basil could meld and develop.
The pasta was relatively easy to prepare, although if you don't have a good stand-up mixer and pasta maker (which I don't), you are going to get a good arm workout in. The pasta tasted delicious, although I could have rolled the dough out thinner (it was a tad thick), but I was exhausted and was ready to continue with the rest of the dinner. I steamed the broccoli, and cooked the mushrooms and chicken separately and added them last. This is a recipe I learned from my best friend, who makes this all the time for an easy dinner. The sauce is really eyeballed, but i would say it's about 2 cups of cream, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (you can add more if you want a thicker sauce or you feel that the parmesan isn't coming through enough), sauteed garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Adding all of it together at the end makes for a simple and delicious dish.
The baked brie is something I make frequently, although this time I cut smaller rounds out of the larger wheel to make them more bite size for an appetizer. I topped them with honey and pecans before wrapping them in puff pastry.
The cheese straws used the same puff pastry as the baked brie, but they were cut into long strips, sprinkled with shredded cheddar, parmesan, salt and pepper, and then twisted and brushed with butter.
The sangria was very easy too. Put a whole bottle of your favorite white wine in a pitcher, add jarred peach syrup to taste and add a few slices for garnish and for color if it's in a clear container.
The dinner was a lot of fun to make and I would make all of the recipes again. This dinner definitely got my itch to cook out for a while.
Tonight, I am making my infamous chicken corn chowder to help Grant get better. Nothing makes you feel better than a hot bowl of soup. I will definitely take pictures of this meal- it's a go to because it is simple and always a hit, and with this rainy weather, I could use some food that accompanies a night in with a good book perfectly.
