Comfort food isn’t for the faint of heart though – it’s a labor of love after all.   I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen stirring and wafting delicious smells.   And ragu bolognese isn’t for just any date.  So don’t invite the fly-by night  floozie you picked up at the club, invite the girl you want to meet grandma.   Now if grandma doesn’t approve of your chica and hits you over the head with her wooden spoon for wasting her time.  Then hang on to your lady friend just long enough for her to payback your kitchen heroics with her bedroom heroics.

The flavour profile of the ragu was very well developed. A base of earthy veggies combined with the richness of the pork and veal.  The velvety meat resulted simmering with milk and wine for an hour and a half.   I used fresh pasta which added to the yummy deliciousness.

So back to my other criterion, other than the need to hang out in the kitchen most of the afternoon, which really isn’t that bad a deal, this dish was pretty easy. Just a little chopping and two pots.  I did have to pick up a few ingredients that I don’t keep in my larder – pork, veal, white wine, carrot and celery.  Fortunately the white wine was just a glass I borrowed from the neighbor.  Healthy eating and comfort food don’t really mix but it wasn’t all bad.  I don’t think all the goodness of the vegetables evaporated and you gotta eat a serving of meat a day so why not make that serving pork and bacon.

So find your bodacious babe and get cozy with this dish.

Health: 4/5

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics: 5/5

Ease of Cooking: 3/5

Ingredients: 3/5

Cost: 3/5

Date night: 5/5

Overall Rating: 38 /50

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 carrot, finely, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 pound veal, ground
• 1 pound pork, ground
• 1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground
• 1/2 tube tomato paste
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

Directions

In a 6 to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the veal, pork, and pancetta and stir into the vegetables. Add the meat over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned. Add the tomato paste, milk, and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.

When ready to use, the cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate amount of hot ragu Bolognese, and tosses so that the pasta is evenly coated by the ragu.

If you want to prepare this dish with your bodacious babe, there is plenty for her to do – grate the mozzarella and parmesan cheese or preheat the oven.  Let’s just hope she doesn’t scrap her hand on the grater like I did.   Clearly not a lot of prep is required so don’t stress.   There is considerable more prep if you want to make Giada’s marinara sauce, recipe here.  I opted for my favorite Mario Batali sauce, which I conveniently had in the freezer.  The ingredients were few and simple, I needed mozzarella, thyme and rosemary in addition to the others – total cost amounted to roughly $6 per serving not including sauce.

My first bite was filled with chessy goodness, moist chicken with a nice pan-seared texture, and a fragrant tomato sauce — perfec-to as Giada might say.  Another dish resembling the Italian flag, if only every meal in America was so patriotic.   I think our only form of delicious patriotism is strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream.  The chicken reminded me of another of my Mom’s chicken dishes, her’s was buttered and breaded but equally as moist. I think this dish wins on health but Moms win on texture.

I served my parmesan with grilled summer squash, zucchini, and onions marinated in the same herbal blend and topped with more parmesan. A great light addition to the chicken.

Health: 4/5

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics: 4/5

Ease of Cooking: 3/5

Ingredients: 4/5

Cost: 4/5

Date night: 4/5

Overall Rating: 39 /50

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 (3-ounces each) chicken cutlets
• 1 1/2 cups Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows or purchased marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 16 teaspoons grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Stir the oil and herbs in a small bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of the cutlets with the herb oil. Heat a heavy large oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add the cutlets and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the cutlets. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of mozzarella over each cutlet, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons of Parmesan over each. Sprinkle the butter pieces atop the cutlets. Bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

This  recipe called for two ingredients, pasta and broccoli rabe, out of my normal supply and I enjoyed the more complex and bitter taste of broccoli rabe to my usual broccoli. And the orecchiette functioned well to hold the light sauce in its cavity and matched the size of the other ingredients.  Individually the ingredients held their own but as a whole the dish was lackluster.  I felt that the salty combination of sausage, parmesan, and reserved cooking water was  a bit overwhelming.  Also, the cheese and ‘broth’ was a little too thin of a sauce.  The addition of ricotta may have worked.  The sausage with additional crushed red pepper and garlic did have a nice warm kick.  The presentation was quintessential Italian with the red, white, and green and the aroma will stop you in your tracks.

Cooking the dish was quite simple, especially given that I was able to use the one pot to par-cook the broccoli rabe and cook the pasta.  Prep was completed with few utensils and  in less than the time it took to boil the water and the cooking of sausage and pasta was done simultaneously to cut down on time.  If you are new to cooking and don’t typically add your pasta to your saute pan or sauce,  start doing it.  It’s another restaurant trick to properly coat your pasta and the reason most recipes will call for al dente.

Many would argue that sausage isn’t healthy, but these people are crazy.  It’s full of protein and about as fatty as most ground beef.  And the potential for preservatives isn’t enough to thwart my use. Bottom line, there isn’t much better than a spicy Italian sausage -I know you ladies out there won’t argue with that.  Overall, lots of protein, fat, carbs and a vegetable amount to a well rounded dish.

For the frugal cook this recipe can be yours with a cost per serving of ~$4.

In summary, I don’t think I’ll add this to my repertoire but I appreciated the new ingredients and you and your dame will too.

Health: 4/5

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics: 3/5

Ease of Cooking: 4/5

Ingredients: 4/5

Cost: 5/5

Date night: 3/5

Overall Rating: 35 /50

Ingredients

• 2 bunches broccoli rabe, stems trimmed
• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the broccoli rabe in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp tender, about 1 minute. Transfer the broccoli rabe to a large bowl of ice water to cool, saving the cooking water. Bring the reserved cooking water back to a boil.

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the reserved cooking water is boiling, add the orecchiette and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Strain the broccoli rabe and add it to the pan with the sausage mixture and toss to coat with the juices. Add the pasta to the skillet. Stir in the Parmesan and serve immediately.

I was a little suspicious of this meal when I saw the picture because it looks complicated.  But trust me its NOT! Start to finish this meal took me 45 minutes to prepare, cook and eat.   Preparation is somewhat involved but it can be a fun teamwork effort for you and your date. You need to pound the chicken quite thin for quick and even cooking.  I don’t have a meat mallet so I used a small sauce pan. Let your dame do this fun task and you can measure her aptitude for pounding meat.  Another TIP, if there was ever a time for boneless, skin-less chicken breast this was it. I had bone-in chicken breast and it was a little extra work.

Flavour profile of this meal was spot on. The combination of prosciutto, parmesan and lemony chicken will make your mouth water.  The various textures between soft spinach, crispy chicken and salty prosciutto is superb. It takes me back to one of my Mom’s stand by meals growing up, “Sharon Chicken#1″ . (Yes, there was  ’Sharon Chicken #2 – and I didn’t like it, sorry Mom.) Mom’s recipe substituted bacon, swiss, and broccoli and probably lots of butter.  The one thing that Giada recommends which Mom didn’t do was the pan sauce reduction of chicken broth and lemon. DO NOT pass on this step, it’s a restaurant trick that really kicks up the flavor.  Great easy sauce replete with GBD chicken bits.

So I’ve convinced you that this dish has great flavor and will be great for your date but what about my other criteria.  Health-wise this dish has tons of protein and a vegetable so it has many redeeming qualities.  I added asparagus which was a nice pairing and completed the meal. As I already stated, cook/prep time was minimal and cooking only required one small pan, but preparation required a bowl, two cutting boards, and several utensils.  Overall quite involved including the pounding and rolling of the chicken.

You, my faithful reader, will soon learn what I keep in my cupboard.  Saltimbocca  required two  purchases,  prosciutto and spinach.  If I keep cooking alongside Giada, I’ll have to convert the former to a staple.   I’m quite excited about this extravagant addition.  Speaking of extravagant, I need to discuss the matter of cost. I’m thinking this meal would cost about $6 per serving.

Thanks for reading! I hope you bring this one to your table, date night will have a happy ending I promise.

Health: 4/5

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics: 4.5/5

Ease of Cooking: 3/5

Ingredients: 4/5

Cost: 4/5

Date night: 5/5

Overall Rating: 42.5/50

Ingredients

• 6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
• Salt and freshly groundblack pepper
• 6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.

Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.

Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

On the health front it is not a well balanced dish in itself but does provide ample carbs and healthy fats.  Combine with an arugula salad replete with protein and you have yourself a meal.  Or grill up some lemon chicken and amp up the lemon flavor some more. Cost of the meal I would estimate at around $3 per serving.

For the all important date factor, this meal doesn’t have the complexity to wow and it is so simple that it doesn’t have enough steps for all important ‘teamwork effort’.  On the positive side it is quite light so if you are looking for the post dinner romp you’ll get your carbs but won’t fall asleep on the couch.

Health: 3/5

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics: 3/5

Ease of Cooking: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Cost: 5/5

Date night: 3/5

Overall Rating: 36/50

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Health (5 pts): I’ll stick to our legacy food pyramid and determine if the recipe balance balanced food groups.  Also I’ll take into account caloric if the information is readily available.

Taste/Flavor/Aesthetics (25 pts): My own deliciousness scale mixed with how pretty I plate the food.  Hopefully the only qualitative measure.

Ease of Cooking (5 pts): I’ll measure prep/cook time and number of dishes involved in the process.

Ingredients(5 pts): I’ll measure the number of ingredients, the availabilty of ingredients and the number ingredients available from my pantry.

Cost(5 pts): Its a doomsday economy out there (haven’t you heard) so I’ll try to gauge the cost  per serving.

Date Night (5 pts): One of the primary reasons men learn to cook is to get women.  If you thought it was to provide nourishment or general sustenance you are sadly mistaken. So stimulate my male audience I will speak to this point.  Another qualitative measure but hopefully much amusing.

I hope you have smell-a-web so you can follow along.