A Romantic Dinner for Two

As you all know this past Saturday was Valentine's Day. Now I have to be honest and say that I am not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day. I have memories of being in Middle School and never getting a Valentine's Day present from a boy. I would see many of my school mates running around with balloons, flowers, and candy from boyfriends, admirer’s, or just a special someone. I was never quite that lucky. So a part of me has always thought Valentine's Day is just a bit overrated...But this year was actually quite nice. My boyfriend was away playing a hockey game and I was still entertaining my guests, but I came home on Valentine's Day night to some wonderful roses in my room, which definitely made up for some of my past V-Days! I then decided that it would be best to celebrate this "special" day on the 15th, as that was the day that I would no longer have any company in my household. I had eaten out so much in the past month with being on vacation that I was desperately craving a good home cooked meal. Not to mention my boyfriend was just as eager to have one, as he told me more than once he really missed my cooking while I was gone! Which I greatly appreciated! So I decided to make it a three course meal with some hearty meat, some romantic food items, and of course finishing it off with some Vino. So for those of you romantic Celiacs out there, this meal is absolutely perfect, and most importantly is not a meal that you need to be the next Top Chef to make!! So dust off your candles, get out and buy a nice Italian vino rosso, put on your apron, and get to work!


Spinach Artichoke Dip

~1 cup GF cream cheese
~1 jar canned artichokes, chopped and rinsed
~1/2-3/4 cup frozen spinach, drained and thawed
~1/8 cup shredded Asiago cheese
~1/8 cup shredded Parm. cheese
~4 cloves garlic
~splash of milk

Preheat oven to 325 F( about 170C) and place garlic gloves in pie pan, baking dish can also be used. Make sure garlic is peeled. Roast garlic for 20-30 minutes until soft. Remove dish from oven and smash garlic, spreading over bottom of dish. Mix cream cheese and milk with garlic in dish. Add enough milk to create a creamy consistency. Then stir in spinach and chopped artichokes. Finish the dip off with stirring in both cheeses. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes covered and then 10 minutes uncovered or until top starts to crust over. Serve with toasted Gluten free bread and tortilla chips.


Breaded Pork Chops

~2 pork chops, bones removed
~GF bread crumbs
~1 egg
~Cornstarch
~Salt
~Fresh Rosemary, thinly chopped

Remove bones from Pork Chops. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cornstarch on to plate. On a separate plate, sprinkle small amount of GF bread crumbs. Then in a separate bowl, beat the egg. Coat Pork Chop in cornstarch, then coat with egg. Sprinkle rosemary and salt onto both sides of cornstarch and egg coated chop. Finally place on GF bread crumb plate and coat completely. Place on cooking sheet covered in foil. Repeat this with other Pork Chop. Then place in oven once artichoke dip is done. Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of chops.


Mushroom Gravy

~1/4 cup chicken or veggie broth
~1/4 cup canned mushrooms chopped
~1-2 tbs. thinly chopped onion or scallion
~1 tsp. butter
~1-2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp. water

Cook gravy once dip is finished and pork chops have 5 minutes to go. Place onions in pan with butter. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 more minutes. Add in broth and cook on high temperature. After 3 minutes add in corn starch and stir until gravy becomes thick. You may need to add more cornstarch if gravy appears too thin, or if you added too much cornstarch, just pour in a touch more broth. Serve immediately over pork chops and potatoes.


Mashed Potatoes

~3 medium to large potatoes peeled and chopped into 1-2inch. sections
~1/4-1/2 cup milk
~2 tsp. butter
~Salt to taste

Place potatoes into boiling water once dip is done. Remove them from water when they are soft enough a fork can pierce through them. Drain and place into separate big bowl. With a potato masher or electric mixer, mix butter into potatoes. Then begin mixing the milk in to create a creamy consistency. You may need more or less milk depending on how big the potatoes are you used. Finally add salt to taste.


Green Beans with Prosciutto

~1-1/2 cup green beans, ends snapped off
~couple pieces of prosciutto chopped
~1 clove garlic minced
~olive oil
~salt to taste

Sauté garlic, green beans, and prosciutto in 1-2 tsp. olive oil. This can be started before gravy is prepared. Sauté for 5-8 minutes, or until green beans start to soften, but still keep their crispness.


Dark Chocolate Fondue

~1-2 bars Lindt 70% dark chocolate
~1/4-1/2 cup milk
~desired fruit, chopped

Melt Chocolate in fondue pot over stove. If you do not have a fondue pot, you can use a regular small sized pot. Add in milk slowly as chocolate begins to melt. You will want the chocolate to become creamy, but not so thin that it will not coat the fruits. However, it should easy pour off a spoon in a thick stream. Remember, you can always add more milk at the end, so do not add too much in the beginning! Serve over tea light candle to keep warm. Dip fruit in chocolate with fondue forks or regular forks.