Birthday Dinner

Rob and I went out to dinner on the 7th for my birthday. We had dinner at a little tiny restaurant called Napoli. The Italian food was really good. I had portobello mushroom ravioli. It was quite good. Rob had veal piccata. It was nice.

On Sunday before we had chicken pot pie, I made a little appetizer with the part of the pie crust I didn't need.

Cook 4 oz. of chicken italian sausage -- and then crumble it on to the pie crust with 1/4 c. of tomatoes marinated in balsamic vinegar and 1 oz. of shredded manchego cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the pie crust is golden.

On Tuesday, Rob was the chef again, and we had flash cooked tuna. We sauteed some fresh chantrelle mushrooms and cooked some brussel sprouts with sauteed onion and garlic. It was a quick easy, yummy meal.

On Wednesday, we had Leek and Potato Soup with Kielbasa. Wow this was a big winner. It just got better the day after.

2 lbs. red potatoes cut into small pieces
2 huge leeks -- sliced thinly and washed well
1/2 onion sliced thinly
16 oz. kielbasa sliced
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 tbs fresh rosemary pulvarized
salt/pepper
8 c. chicken broth
1 tbs. flour

Cook kielbasa in 1 tbs. olive oil. Remove from the pan and add lek and onion in 2 - 3 tbs. more olive oil until soft. Add potatoes and garlic, and cook five minutes. Add 1 tbs of flour and and let cook for 5 minutes. Add broth and let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. Take a potato masher and then mash 1/4 of the soup. Add back the kielbasa and simmer for ten more minutes. I also used the last of the bulk chicken italian sausage. I made a patty, cooked it and then added it to the soup -- in chunks at the last minute. I would eat this every day. I mean it. Every day.

We had leftovers for lunch, tuna sandwiches with the left over flash cooked tuna. Take a sour dough baguette and cover it with boursin cheese. This is an herb cheese spread. It's really good. Then put on a good bit of romaine leaf, or a mixture of baby greens, add the tuna and you have a great open faced sandwich.

So we've made the middle of the week.