Dun dun a dun!

Much cheering and fan fare. It has only taken me 18 months to achieve this, but it is my 100th post! Woohoo and Yay for me!

Okay, enough of that. It's Monday, it's date night, so here goes.

Cocktail hour:
The usual: our house Manhattan
cheese and crackers with grapes (nothing too fancy here)

Dinner:
Salad: hearts of Romaine, cucumber, and sliced red onion with a roasted tomato vinaigrette
Here is the recipe for the main course, courtesy of Rachael Ray:

Carbonara Deep-Dish Pasta-Crusted Pan Pizza

• Salt
• 2 packages fresh linguini, 9 ounces each
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta, cut as thick as bacon, chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated or chopped
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like it
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat water for pasta in large pot, salt it and add pasta for 3 minutes.

While water boils, heat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.

Drain pasta, add to pan and toss. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano and season with salt and pepper. Beat eggs with cream and pour over top of pasta. Let eggs begin to set up, about 1 minute, and pat pasta into even layer to make the pizza pie crust. Place in oven and cook 5 to 6 minutes.

Mix together the ricotta and parsley. Remove pie from oven and smooth the ricotta over the top. Scatter with the provolone or mozzarella and return to oven. Bake 8 minutes more until cheese is melted and golden at edges. Cut into wedges and serve.

Dessert is a raspberry custard (recipe found in my latest Everyday Food magazine.)

Some random notes about date night:

1. It doesn't have to be a huge deal.
2. It doesn't have to be a lot of work.
3. It doesn't have to be terribly expensive (we'd go out if it did!).
   
4. It does have to be something you and your spouse enjoy.
5. It does have to be something you don't have all the time.
6. You do need to turn the tv and computer off until the meal is over. And no phone call is so important that you need to disrupt date night. You can call them back!
   

For me, because I love to cook and to entertain, it's often a chance to try something new. At the same time, though, because the main point of date night is to eat at the table (really, how many of you eat a the table every night?) and to enjoy some quality time with my hubby, my old standby's are more often in play. And this week, I may be making dessert. Last week, it was cupcakes (from a box!)

I encourage all of you to try a date night. At least once. You don't have to go crazy with a once week date night like I do. Once a month, a quarter, a year, a lifetime.

I'm available for babysitting if you can bring the monkey to me.