Let's Stay in For the Movies!

I love going to the movies and one of my favorite things about going is the food.  Just give me a bag of movie theater popcorn or some pretzel bites and cheese sauce and I am happy—I don't really even need the movie! :)  After recently watching the Oscars and deciding to re-watch all of the movies we own, I thought a movie night dinner would be terrific.

Drink...

Adult Soda (Campari and Soda)
Thinking of a drink to go with my movie night dinner was a little difficult because all I ever drink at the theater is soda.  Then, I thought, "Hey, what about an Icee?"  But, we don't have a blender.  Then, I considered just making Kiddie Cocktails because they are basically soda made even better.  However, I decided to go with Doug's idea of making an "adult soda."  This was a great idea and Doug has been wanting to try Campari for a while now—perfect!  But not really perfect because I found that I am not the biggest fan of Campari.   It was a little bitter, but the next day I tried it in an Americano (one part Campari, one part sweet vermouth, splash of club soda, and a twist of lemon) and I liked it much better.   
Ingredients:

• Campari Liqueur
• Club Soda
• Orange (for garnish)

 Directions: 

1. Fill a glass with ice.
2. Fill 1/3 the glass with Campari.
3. Fill the other 2/3 with club soda.
4. Stir and garnish with an orange slice

Dinner...

Pretzel Bites & Pizza Bites

When you go to the movies you can't eat with a knife and fork, so I went with all finger foods for this one!

Pretzel Bites with Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

*recipe from Smells Like Home

These were my best batch of bread yet!!! Finally, a success! The pretzels were not as good as Auntie Ann's or Wetzel's, but they were better than the frozen soft pretzels you can buy in the grocery store.  The cheese sauce, however, was not the greatest.  I think I'll stick to my processed cheese for pretzel bites and either use Velveeta or nacho cheese next time! 
Ingredients for the Pretzels:

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• Pretzel or Kosher salt

Directions for the Pretzels:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, and yeast on low speed for 10 seconds.  Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and butter.  Mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it to a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a wide 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Slice each rope into 1-inch pieces.  Place a damp towel over the pretzel pieces to prevent them from drying out while you roll and cut the other pieces.
5. Using a slotted spoon, lower a handful of the pretzel pieces into the boiling water and boil them for 30 seconds, flipping them around in the water with the spoon a couple of times. Remove the pretzel pieces from the water using the spoon, drain as best you can, and place them on the baking sheets. Brush the top of each pretzel with the melted butter and sprinkle with the pretzel/Kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 – 12 minutes. Brush with remaining melted butter before serving. Serve warm.

Ingredients for the Cheese Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (not packaged pre-shredded cheese—shred your own)
• Kosher salt

Directions for the Cheese Sauce:

1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.
2. Slowly whisk in the milk until no lumps of flour remain.  Stirring constantly, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the shredded cheese until all of the cheese has melted.  Add a pinch of salt, if needed.  Serve warm.  Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave on medium power at 30 second intervals.

Pizza Bites

*recipe from Pennies on a Platter

These were good and ridiculously easy to make.  I would make them again, but make my dough thinner and somehow close them up tighter because I lost a lot of cheese in the baking process.
Ingredients:

• pizza crust dough (I used Trader Joe's pre-made garlic and herb dough and it was good.  Next time I think I'll try their plain dough though)
• mozzarella cheese, about 20 cubed pieces
• sliced pepperoni
• pizza sauce for dipping
• olive oil
• Parmesan cheese 
• Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  
2. Lightly grease a 9-inch cookie sheet or cake pan.  
3. Divide the pizza dough into roughly 20 equal-sized pieces.  
4. Take one of the dough pieces and press in a cube of cheese and two slices of pepperoni. (I made some just cheese too—You could add any ingredients you like on pizza!) Pull the edges of the dough down around the filling and seal.  (Make sure your seal is tight!  I had a lot of cheese ooze out!)
5. Place in the pan, seam side down.  Repeat with remaining dough. 
6. Lightly brush the tops of the dough with olive oil. (Or spray the olive oil with your Misto like me!)
7. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce if desired.

 Dessert...

Caramel Popcorn Balls

*recipe from Gracious Rain
What is a movie night without popcorn, right?  I decided to have my popcorn for dessert this time.  These popcorn balls were tasty but SUPER sugary!  Also, the popcorn got soft from the caramel.  I am not sure if that was how it was supposed to be or if I did something wrong.  I still ate the whole thing anyway.  It tasted good—I just had to brush my teeth afterward :) 
Ingredients:
(makes 7 balls)

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• Large bowl of popcorn (about 3-4 quarts)
• Lollipop Sticks

Directions:

Add caption

1. Heat brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt to a simmer.
2. Boil rapidly for 2 minutes.
3. Pour over popcorn and stir until all the popcorn is covered.
4. Allow to rest until cool enough to handle.
5. Cover hands with sandwich bags and form popcorn mixture into balls.  (I put mine on lollipop sticks so they wouldn't be so messy to eat)
6. Cool completely.

My Big Secret

Alright, I have a secret to confess . . .
In most places, this secret would not be a big deal at all, but here in Manhattan, I risk becoming an outcast in all my social circles.
For the sake of this blog, I will let my secret out.  Here it is:
I like Olive Garden.
There, it's out.  That wasn't so bad.  I know there are others out there like me, so maybe this will make it easier for them to come clean.  Then, once more people admit it, maybe we could all go out to dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate!
No one in NYC eats at a chain restaurant unless it is a small, NYC only chain, or they are tourists.  So, if you are still too scared to admit your love for chain restaurant food, now you can make it home and eat it secretly in your apartment.

Drink...

Raspberry Lemonade

*recipe from My Baking Addiction
When I go to Olive Garden, I don't typically drink alcoholic beverages (maybe since I haven't been there much since I was old enough to drink).  Usually I order raspberry lemonade.  Their raspberry lemonade is nothing spectacular, and in fact, after doing a little web research, I think theirs is really just Minute Maid raspberry lemonade.  So, I made my own and I think it's even better than Olive Garden's. 
Ingredients:
(makes a pitcher of lemonade)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup of water
• ¾ cup raspberries; pureed and pushed through a fine mesh sieve; plus more whole berries for garnish if desired
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (this equaled close to 8 of my lemons)
• 4-6 cups cold water (this will vary depending on your taste)

Directions:

1. Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar with 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and heat until the sugar in completely dissolved; swirl the pan occasionally. Let cool.
2. Measure 3/4 of fresh raspberries and puree them in your blender or food processor. (I don't have a blender or a food processor, so I just mashed them up with a fork and it worked surprisingly well)
3. Push the raspberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to separate the seeds from the pulp.
4. Once the simple syrup has cooled, combine the raspberry puree, simple syrup and lemon juice in a large pitcher.
5. Add 4-6 cups of cold water. The amount of water you use will depend on your taste, so add as little or as much as you want to achieve your perfect sweet/tart balance. 

Dinner...

Chicken Scampi with Salad and Breadsticks

This meal was really good.  However, I will say, it was one of the more difficult meals I have made on my blog so far.  The chicken dish is a little involved, but more than anything, it was hard to make all aspects of the meal and have everything ready at the same time.  Those Olive Garden cooks must be good :)

Olive Garden Salad

*recipe from Heritage School House

There is something irresistible about Olive Garden's salad.  I have even made their salad the main part of my meal before by only ordering soup, salad, and breadsticks.  This recipe is not exactly the same, but it's close enough.  I'm pretty excited to be able to make it at home and it's easy!
Ingredients:
(serves 6)

for dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons romano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

for salad

• American blend bagged salad mix
• red onion slices
• black olives
• pepperoncini peppers
• croutons
• roma tomatoes, sliced
• parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

1. Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender or processor until well blended. 
2. Toss salad ingredients and top with dressing.

Olive Garden Breadsticks

 *recipe from Full Bellies, Happy Kids

Even people who say they don't like Olive Garden often will admit, "Well, they do have really good breadsticks."  I know, you're thinking, but Megan . . . you said you would never make bread again!  Well, it seems like that's one of those things that I will keep saying, but not actually do.  There are just so many good bread recipes out there, I can't pass them up!  This was one of my more successful bread attempts.  Doug enjoyed the breadsticks much more than I did, but they were pretty good.  The flavor was consistent with Olive Garden, but the texture was off (mine were a little too dense - not light and fluffy).  
Ingredients:
(makes 10-12 breadsticks)

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (between 110 - 120 degrees F)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt 

For basting:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup margarine)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered. Mixture should be frothy.
2. In separate bowl, combine flour and salt.  
3. Add flour and salt to yeast mixture. Add melted butter. Mix with paddle attachment of stand mixer or wooden spoon until fully combined. 
4. Knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth. Do not over-knead!
5.  Grease a cookie sheet. Pull off pieces of dough and roll out into strips. 
6. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and once heated, pop in the bread sticks. In microwave, combine the basting ingredients.
8. After 6 or 7 minutes in the oven, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture. 
9. Then continue to bake. Honestly, I almost never leave them in there for an entire 15 minutes—normally it's closer to 12 because I like them softer and less crisp on the outside, but to each their own. Either way, immediately upon removal from the oven brush the other half of the butter on the breadsticks.
10. Allow them to cool for a minute or two, and enjoy!    

Chicken Scampi

*recipe from Easy Restaurant Recipes

This is my favorite dishe from Olive Garden and the one I have ordered most often.  When I made it, I was surprised by how similar it tasted to the real thing!
Ingredients:
(makes 5-6 servings)

White Sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 2 tablespoons flour 
• milk

Scampi Sauce

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 tablespoons crushed garlic (real garlic; not salt or the dried stuff)
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
• 3/4 cup Chablis or any white wine that's not too sweet
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white sauce
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• Black pepper to taste

Other Ingredients

• 1/2 package angel hair, cooked according to package directions
• Thinly sliced bell peppers (red, green and yellow)
• Thinly sliced red onions 
• 10 whole garlic cloves
• 2 chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Start by making the white sauce:  
1. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in nonstick skillet. 
2. After it's melted, add 2 tablespoons flour and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. 
3. Slowly add milk and stir constantly to get rid of lumps. When you have added enough milk, you should have a white gravy consistency. Set this aside. 

  2.  Put the 10 garlic cloves in a small nonstick skillet with some oil and 
       braise them for about 20 minutes on low heat. Just put the lid on the 
       skillet and let them cook; they should be golden and really soft when 
       they are done. 
  3.  In a large nonstick skillet, sauté the peppers and onions for a few 
       minutes. 
  4.  Sauté chicken tenderloins (I sprinkled mine with salt and pepper and 
       dredged them in flour before cooking).
  5.  Cook the Angel Hair pasta according to the package directions.
  6.  Make the scampi sauce:
         1.  Heat butter over a slow heat. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning 
              and crushed red pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes on low heat. 
         2.  Add the wine, water, and chicken base. Stir until combined. 
         3.  Add the white sauce mix and stir until slightly thickened.
  7.  Add the braised garlic cloves to the sauce.  
  8.  Pour the sauce over the angel hair pasta and chicken.   

Dessert...

Olive Garden Black Tie Mousse Cake 
*recipe from Food.com 
This is an amazing cake!  I had it at Olive Garden and this recipe is a very good copycat.  It may not be the prettiest cake I ever made, but it sure is one of the tastiest!  It is time-consuming to make, but well worth it!
Ingredients:

BOTTOM LAYER

• 1 (18 ounce) box of ordinary cake mix (devil's food)

SECOND LAYER

• 1 teaspoon Knox unflavored gelatin
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

THIRD LAYER

• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon Knox unflavored gelatin
• 1 ¾ cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOURTH LAYER

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup white chocolate chips (optional) 
• Chocolate frosting to pipe as a border 

Directions: 
There are FOUR layers to make: 

BOTTOM LAYER (cake): 

1. Bake according to directions on box in a 9" spring form cake pan.
2. When the cake comes out of the oven use a paper towel to press it with your fingers and flatten the cake a little. This is the bottom layer out of four layers.

SECOND LAYER (the chocolate mousse):

1. Melt chocolate and cream cheese together. Let cool. 
2. Soften gelatin with cold water for 1 minute, then add boiling water, stir until dissolved and clear. Let this cool while you start whipping the heavy cream and sugar. 
3. As cream starts to thicken, add gelatin. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. 
4.  Add 1/4 of the cream to the chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. 
5. Then fold this into the remaining cream. Once you have it completed, spread this chocolate mousse onto the cake and refrigerate.

THIRD LAYER (the custard):

The first 3 layers

1. Beat egg yolks until pale. 
2. Add sugar, flour, and gelatin, then beat until mixed. 
3. Bring cream and vanilla extract to a boil. 
4. Add a small amount of cream to egg mixture while stirring. 
5. Gradually add until all of the cream has been added and then pour entire mixture through a strainer into the pan. 
6. Continue to cook until custard begins to thicken. 
7. Cool slightly, then pour on top of the chocolate mousse layer and freeze while getting the fourth layer ready.

FOURTH LAYER (the icing):

Please note: this makes a lot of icing so feel free to halve this part of the recipe (I halved it for mine and it was plenty). 

After the 4th layer is added and it's done

1. Bring butter and cream to a boil, pour over chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. 
2. Stir until smooth. Let cool until it starts to thicken. 
3. Remove cake from freezer, remove the cheesecake pan collar, then pour some of the icing and use a spatula to spread it evenly across the top and sides of the cake. 
4. While this is still wet, put chocolate chips onto the side of the cake. (I did not do this because I thought the cake was rich enough)
5. Optional: Melt half a cup of white chocolate chips (in the microwave) and swirl into the icing if you want yours to look like the picture.
6. Refrigerate the cake. 
7. Pipe chocolate frosting around the top as a border.
8. Serve cold. Delicious!

Dinner Fit For A President

Since it was President's Day, I decided to make some of our President's favorite foods.  I was surprised to see how many websites are dedicated to the foods Obama likes, and after a little research, I found some of his favorites.  But first, you might be interested to hear what some of his dislikes are...Do not try to feed the President any mayonnaise, salt and vinegar potato chips, beets, asparagus, or soft drinks.  Instead, you can definitely make him happy with any of the recipes below and whatever your political views, I think you will enjoy this meal!

Drink...

Black Cherry Iced Tea

*recipe adapted from Food and Wine.com
According to the Food and Wine website, "one of Obama's favorite drinks is the hard-to-find, organic Black Forest Berry Honest Tea.  His staff tries to keep bottles on hand, but, in a pinch, he might like this home-made black cherry tea made with green tea leaves."
This tea is great tasting, but very sweet.  I would say it tasted more like juice than tea.  You might want to either add a little water or even a little alcohol to make it less sweet!
Ingredients:
(makes 1 1/4 quarts) 

• 1 1/4 quarts water
• 1/2 pound fresh black cherries, pitted, or one 10-ounce bag frozen pitted black cherries, thawed
• 1/2 cups + 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 whole star anise (I omitted this because I have no idea where it buy it!)
• 1/4 vanilla bean, split and scraped(I used a splash of vanilla extract)
•  8 green-tea bags
• Mint sprigs, for serving 

 Directions:

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. 
2. Add the black cherries, sugar, lemon juice, star anise and the vanilla bean with its seeds. 
3.  Simmer the cherries over low heat for 15 minutes, crushing them against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. 
4. Remove the cherries from the heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.
5. Strain the cherry juice through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing on the solids. Discard the solids. 
6. Bring the cherry juice to a boil over moderate heat. 
7. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. 
8. Discard the tea bags and let cool to room temperature. 
9. Transfer the cherry tea to a large pitcher and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 2 days. 
10. Serve the tea over ice, garnished with mint sprigs. 

Dinner...

Obama Family Chili 

*recipe from iVillage.com 
According to the website above, Obama says, "I have been using this chili recipe since college and would bring it to any potluck.  I can't reveal all the secrets, but if you make it right, it's got just the right amount of bite, the right amount of oomph in it, and it will clear your sinuses." 
I would agree with the president that this chili is tasty, but I apparently did not "make it right" because there was no spice to it!  If you like any spice in your chili at all, add something to it, because this doesn't have any!
Ingredients:
(serves 5-6)

• 1 large onion, chopped  
• 1/4 tsp ground basil  
• 1 green pepper, chopped  
• 1 tbsp chili powder 
•  several cloves of garlic, chopped 
•  3 tbsp red wine vinegar  
• 1 tbsp olive oil  
• 1 can red kidney beans  
• 1 pound ground turkey or beef 
• several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped 
•  1/4 tsp ground cumin  
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish)  
• 1/4 tsp ground oregano sour cream (for garnish)  

Directions:   

1. Saute onions, green pepper, and garlic in olive oil until soft. 
2. Add ground meat and brown.
3. Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.
4. Add red-wine vinegar and tomatoes and let simmer until the tomatoes cook down. 
5. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Serve over white or brown rice. 
7. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions, and sour cream.

Dessert...

Sweet Potato Pie

*recipe from iVillage.com

 iVillage.com says, "It's no secret that President Obama loves pie. During his Presidential campaign, pundits began counting the number of times he said "pie" during a speech (his record was 15 times in 104 seconds). He has proclaimed sweet potato pie as his favorite on many occasions, mentioning it in the following speech:" “We decided to stop at a diner because I was hungry and I decided I wanted some pie. Pie. That’s what I wanted. ... I like sweet potato pie. I'm thinking of having a sweet potato pie here in Philadelphia. Because I've heard a lot of people are saying they can make sweet potato pie. I'll put it up against my mother in law's sweet potato pie.”
-- President Barack Obama, October 2008
I had never had sweet potato pie, so I was a little nervous.  If you haven't had it either, it pretty much tastes just like pumpkin pie.  Delicious and surprisingly easy to make (if you use my shortcuts.)

Ingredients:

• flour (for pie crust)  
• 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp salt (for pie crust)  
  
• 1 tsp sugar (for pie crust)  
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp very cold water (for pie crust)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar  
• 1 tsp cinnamon  
• 1 tsp ginger  
• 4 eggs 
•  1/4 tsp orange zest  
• 2 cups sweet potato puree 
•  pinch of salt  
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
• whipped cream

Directions:

1. I'm sure Obama likes his pie crust home-made, but if you want to make it even easier, be like me and buy a frozen pie crust and skip to step 2.  Otherwise, the recipe calls for this "easy" pie crust: 
1. Place the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times.
2. Add the butter and pulse just until small pebbles form.
3. Add the ice water and pulse just until a crumbly dough comes together. If needed, add 1 Tablespoon of water at a time until the dough forms.
4. Remove from the food processor (carefully?) and form a flat disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour (or 20 minutes in the freezer).
5. Roll your dough in a shape 2” larger than your pie pan. Using the rolling pin, pick up and gently lay the dough into the pan. Cut, crimp or use the tines of a fork to create a decorative edge.
6. Bake blind (with pie weights) at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden on the edges, or fill according to your favorite recipe and follow its instructions.

    2. For the filling: Using a large bowl and whisk, beat the eggs with 

        the salt.  

    3. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk thoroughly.

    4. Remove the pie weights from your baked pie crust (or take out 

        your  frozen pie crust). 

    5. Pour the filling into the pie tin and bake pie at 375 degrees
        Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. (20 minutes for smaller pies), or until       
        the center is ‘set’.  (mine took a lot longer - about 45-50 minutes)