A Seductive Meal

Want to seduce someone???  Just make them some Chicken Tetrazzini.  
This dinner was inspired by a clip I saw on The Soup.  It's a video of a hilarious guest on Maury who says that her man was seduced by Chicken Tetrazzini.  Check out the full clip here.  As for the recipes...they are delicious, but I'm not quite sure how seductive they are.

Drink...

 Amaretto Sour
This is one of my favorite drinks.  This was my first time having it with homemade sour mix.  I was skeptical that it would taste as good as the store bought kind, but Doug assured me it would.  He made it, and it ended up being just as good if not better!
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• Lemon Juice
• Amaretto 
• Cherry
• Orange slice

Directions:

1. Make simple syrup by putting the sugar and water in a pan and heating until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently.  Let cool.
2. Mix the 3/4 cup of simple syrup with 3/4 cup of lemon juice.
3. Pour 2 oz of amaretto into a shaker full of ice.  
4. Add 3-4 oz of the sour mix (to taste).
5. Shake, pour into a glass, and garnish with a cherry and orange slice.

Dinner...

Chicken Tetrazzini and Cornbread Muffins

What else can I say, but Yum!

Chicken Tetrazzini

*recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

If you haven't had this dish before, you should try it right away!  It is delicious and even though it might look intimidating because of the number of ingredients, it is easy to make.  Plus, who knows who you could seduce with it!  
The original recipe calls for peas, but I took them out because I don't like them.  Feel free to add 3/4 a cup of frozen peas, but to me they seem like they would be weird in there.   
I also made mine without mushrooms because Doug doesn't like them, but you should definitely add them.  I have had it before with mushrooms, and it makes the Tetrazzini taste even better!
Ingredients:
(serves 8)

• 8 tbs butter (no one said this was a healthy recipe)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1b white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbs dried thyme
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 12 oz spaghetti
• 1/8 cup dried parsley
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Melt 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs oil in a large nonstick frying pan.  
3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
5. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.  Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces.
6. Add another tbs of butter and another tbs of oil to the same pan.
7. Add the mushrooms and saute until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporate and they become pale-golden, about 12 minutes.
8. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme.  Saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
9. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes.
10. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the plate with the chicken.
11. Melt 3 more tbs butter in the same pan.  Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes.
12. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, parsley, nutmeg, and remaining salt and pepper.  Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.
13. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to the package directions.  Drain.
14. Mix together the pasta, sauce, and chicken and mushroom mixture until well blended.
15. Transfer the pasta mixture into a baking dish.
16. Sprinkle the cheese and breadcrumbs over the pasta.
17. Dot with the remaining 3 tbs of butter.
18. Bake uncovered until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Cornbread Muffins

I said I would never use a pre-made mix on my blog.  However, after several attempts at making bread from scratch, I realized I am just not good at making it.  So...I decided to use a box mix.  I definitely can recommend Trader Joe's cornbread mix.  It's super easy to make and tastes great.  Instead of making it in a baking pan, I just made it in a muffin tin.
Ingredients:
(makes 12 muffins)

• 1 box of Trader Joe's cornbread mix
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup of oil

Directions:

1. Follow the directions on the box.  Pour the batter into the muffin tin. Reduce the baking time to about 20-25 minutes.  When you insert a knife and it comes out clean, they are done.

Dessert...

Before cutting the cake...

After cutting...mmmm

Molten Chocolate Cake

*recipe from Betty Crocker
These cakes are really easy to make and very impressive if you are serving them to others.  Not to mention, they are incredibly good.  I think they would be even better served with ice cream, since the center of them is like hot fudge.
Ingredients:
(makes 9 individual cakes)

• unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs butter
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grease the bottoms and sides of cups in the muffin tin.  Dust with cocoa powder.
3. Melt the chocolate chips and butter over low heat (I melted them in the microwave).  Cool Slightly.
4. In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs and the egg yolks with a whisk until well blended.
5. Beat in 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, melted chocolate mixture, and flour.
6. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.
7. Bake about 12 minutes or until sides are set and centers are still soft (the tops will be puffed and cracked).
8. Let stand 3 minutes. 
9. Run a knife around the edges of each cake to loosen.
10. Place a cutting board or other large flat surface over the muffin tin and flip over, allowing the cakes to come out.
11. Dust the cakes with powdered sugar.

*Serve warm.  If the centers are not molten, bake for less time next time.  If they are too soft, bake a minute or two longer next time.