Date night is a great idea for anytime of the year, but since Valentine’s Day is on its way, now is the perfect time to plan a date night. You can go out for dinner, but how fun would it be to cook dinner together. Date night in is a great way to have a relaxing and inexpensive evening. I am a college student so I know that I love inexpensive things! Date Night Dinner is the perfect combination of relaxing and romantic. I cooked dinner and my boyfriend focused on the dessert. Everything was perfect!
My boyfriend, Bri was still on break for my first week back to school. So, he came up to Madison with me and it was great! We had a lot of fun hanging out together after school/work and it was nice to have the company since Madison is so dead right now with Winter Break still going on. During the days, I had school and work so Bri worked a ton on his thesis. It worked out perfectly that he had so much to do because I was so busy all day long. However, at night we were able to get in some really fun activities around Madison! One night, we made dinner and dessert and had ourselves a little date night. It was a really nice time. The dinner we made was Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Peas in a Brown Butter Balsamic and Sage sauce and then for dessert, Creme Brulee. Everything was delicious and people thought it was our anniversary or something. Nope, just Wednesday night.
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Peas with Balsamic Sage Brown Butter Sauce and Goat Cheese
(adapted from Aida Mollenkamp)
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 oz. goat cheese
4 tbsp unsalted butter
12-16 sage leaves
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 shallots, chopped
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Cook the gnocchi according to the directions. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
2. Cook the peas according to directions and add to the gnocchi.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When it starts to foam, add in the sage leaves and cook for a few minutes. Remove the leaves and place them in the gnocchi bowl. Return the butter to the stove and add in the shallots. Cook until butter browns, stirring often. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom and remove from heat. Stir in the balsamic and pour over the gnocchi.
4. Top with goat cheese and season with the pepper to taste. Toss everything together and serve!
Enjoy 🙂
