Valentine's Day Dinner

Last week was Valentine's Day, and the bf surprised my with some beautiful long stem roses. We had to go out and buy a taller vase since he didn't want me to cut them to fit the vases we had at home.

We also discussed not exchanging gifts this year since we've been trying to save, but he surprised me. Our beloved dog Riley passed away a little over 2 weeks ago, so he made a small picture book of our favorite photos. I loved it...

As you all know, I don't really cook, so for Vday we decided to stay in and cook something special for a change. Going out is way $$ and crowded on Vday anyway.

We decided to make Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis' most popular dish on Foodnetwork.com - Chicken Tetrazzini. It had over 750 reviews and it received an average of 5 stars, so we figured it had to be good!

It took a lot of work since we aren't very skilled in the kitchen, but it turned out really delicious! Very creamy, flavorful and just an overall fulfilling dish.

Here is the recipe straight off of the site:

Ingredients

9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine3/4 cup frozen peas1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs
Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

For dessert I kept it simple and baked Duncan Hines' Family Style brownies for our brownie sundaes!

I microwaved the brownie for 30 secs, then put Turkey Hill French Vanilla ice cream on top with Ghirardelli white chocolate shaved all around. I used a potato peeler (saw it on Food Network) to get the cool spirals. Hope you guys enjoyed your Vdays too!