So, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. The past few years, we decided to cut down on the gifts, and focus on dinners. Eat in, of course. We go out enough. So. He bought the out-of-season expensive ingredients, and I cooked. Fair trade 😀
I usually use a recipe but this year I decided to wing it, based off of a meal we had at Olive Garden, actually. What ended up on the plate: a pile of delishiousness. Harmony of flavors. Music to my TASTEBUDS. 😉 It doesn’t look all that great, but you get the idea- it was freaking fantastic.
It consisted of: cheese filled tortellini. I bought the fresh, refrigerated (not frozen) kind. Worth it. Alfredo sauce, from a jar. Next time I’ll try to make my own, but it was still great. Chopped, cooked pears. I’ve never cooked pears before this. So I chopped them up, without the skins, and threw them in a pan with a cup and a half of water and a tablespoon of sugar. I covered the pan and let them boil/simmer on medium heat until they were soft. Sauted shrimp. You know the drill; butter, pepper, frying pan. I did get the kind without tails and whatnot. And finally, a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled on top. I’ve never made this before either. I basically put a cup of water and some balsamic vinegar with a few tablespoons of sugar. I let this simmer down until it was a bit thicker, and all the water had “steamed out.” It was great. Perfect touch, particularly with the pears.
Layers: tortellini, alfredo, pears, shrimp, balsamic vinegar reduction. Garnish: pears dipped in dark chocolate 🙂
learningfood 