Dinner for Two (Main, Sides, and Dessert)

In my food network magazine there is always a weekend dinner section.  The Jan/Feb issue for this year had  a "Dinner for Two" meal.  It was meant for a Valentine's Day dinner.  This meal looked so good and pretty simple to make.  The only difficult thing was coordinating all the dishes to be done at the same time (especially with only two burners!).  The dinner below makes 2 large servings.  It was fantastic!  We've made this twice already.

Image by Jason Hedlund

Image from www.foodnetwork.com

Roast Chicken and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients:
2 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (12 to 14oz each), we used boneless, but the timing works better if you use bone-in
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb oyster and/or maitake mushrooms, trimmed and torn into pieces, spend the money on these fresh mushrooms, they are amazing!
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp sugar

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375F.  Season chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat; add 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil, then add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown, about 6 minutes.  Transfer to rimmed baking skeet, skin-side up; reserve the skillet.
2.  Toss the mushrooms with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper; scatter around the chicken on the baking sheet.  Bake until the mushrooms are tender and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 160F, about 25 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in the reserved skillet over medium heat.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, whisking.  Add the wine, sugar and 1/4 tsp salt and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
4.  Spoon some of the red wine sauce onto each plate; top with the chicken and mushrooms.  Enjoy!

Pappardella in Saffron Cream
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 small shallot, minced
pinch of saffron threads
2/3 cup heavy cream
pepper
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces pappardelle pasta
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:
1.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium head.  Add the shallot and saffron and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is softened, about 2 minutes.  Add the cream, 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper to taste; increase the heat to medium high and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
2.  Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as label directs.  Remove 1/4 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and transfer to the skillet with sauce.  Add the reserved cooking water, the parmesan and half of the chives and toss to coat.  Serve topped with the lemon zest, remaining chives and more cheese.  Enjoy!

Raspberry-Chocolate Parfaits
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raspberries
1 Tbsp chocolate liqueur
brownies
chocolate ice cream
whipped cream

Directions:
1.  Toss raspberries with chocolate liqueur.
2.  Layer with crumbled brownies and chocolate ice cream in 2 glasses.
3.  Top with whipped cream and more raspberries! YUM!

Jason's Rating: "closest thing to a 10 that I've had" - the dinner as a whole
Beth's Rating: 10/10! This dinner is paired perfectly

Links to original recipes:
Roasted Chicken and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce
Pappardelle with Saffron Cream
Raspberry Chocolate Parfaits