Week 1 : Taking a bite out of the Big Apple
Do you ever wonder how the brothers from the Bee Gees could sing in such high-pitched voices? That’s what was running through my head as I was getting ready for our first at home date night of the year to start. I shaved, brushed my pearly whites, slapped on some old spice, and ran a brush through my thick golden-brown hair all while listening to “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.
I thought to myself, “My wife’s face will become flush with passion when she sees me walking down the stairs.” I was ready and feeling at the top of my game. Now, normally, my wife wouldn’t stand a chance against my swagger and moves, but tonight was different. I had committed the mortal sin that all husbands around the globe know you absolutely cannot do, no matter what the situation is…..and that is……
Come home late from work. You know it men. If you are 1 min passed the time when you say you are going to be home that phone starts blowing up. It doesn’t matter if there was an 18 car pile-up on the freeway and someone was decapitated and that’s why you are late. You need to be home on time no matter what! So, the real reason I was listening to “Stayin’ Alive” was I knew I was going to have to do some serious schmoozing to get at home date night back on track. Now, in defense of my wife, there was no accident, no one was decapitated, I got stuck at work for something that probably wasn’t as important as the launch of At Home Date Nights again. So really, it was all my fault…and let’s face it guys, most of the time, it is. I wasn’t going to give up though and get into it with her. She had a rough day, but we had both been looking forward to this time for weeks, so I knew I just needed to give it some time, turn on the smolder, and soon we would be swept away to this week’s destination. So come join as week take you on our adventure to the big apple, New York City !!
It didn’t take us long to get back into the swing of things. If felt weird at first, but after a few minutes it felt like we were back in sync like we had been doing this every week for the past 5 years. When I look back on it, I wish we never would have stopped. Can’t look back though, this is 2020, going to be the best year ever and all that BS. We almost fell back into the normal roles. My wife would run the appetizer and I would run the main course.
We chose New York as our first destination because we have so many amazing memories from that state and let’s be honest, the food is some of the best in the world. There is so much to choose from. In all honesty, my wife and I never really tried to many things from the city. It was so expensive and back then I held onto my money tighter than Bee Gees lead singer 70’s hot pants in the Stayin Alive video.
We did eat at an amazing Pizza joint near the Brooklyn Bridge which my cousin would take us too. That was probably some of the best pizza I’d ever had in my life. Whenever we would go to visit my family in NY, my cousin would always take us into the city and we would eat there. There was always a line down the street and the place could fit maybe 30 people. It was crammed, but well worth the wait.
The real great food from NY came from my Aunts house. She is an amazing cook, almost everything from scratch, and amazing flavors with a whole lot of love. My aunt is the most hospitable person I know along with my wife. She has that special gift of making the people around her feel like the most important and special people in the whole world. Hospitality is a lost art, I believe, in our society. Very rarely do people get together on a weekly basis for dinner. Most people think it’s a hassle, but I believe food and enjoying food with people around you can bring anyone together. Ok, enough preaching, we must get to the good stuff.
For tonight we decided to make New York City Sensational Fried Mac and Cheese balls for the appetizer and a Chipotle NY strip steak with roasted broccoli for the main course. I bet you thought it was going to be a pizza night? You guessed wrong and you will thank me for it later.
My wife and I have been getting Fried Mac and Cheese balls as appetizers at most of the places we’ve been eating out at. They are super addictive and unbelievably delicious. If you love Mac and Cheese, and you love fried balls, you are going to love this appetizer. What makes this meal even better is after you eat the Fried Mac and Cheese balls you are going to feel super guilty because you are only on day 2 of your new 2020, I’m going to change my image and treat my body right, diet, only to rationalize this as your cheat day. But don’t fear, we clear that guilt out with a super Keto friendly, never depressing low carb main course of steak and veggies to make you feel better. Ok, I really have no idea what a Keto diet looks like, but I do know steak and veggies are low carb.
My wife is working the Fried Mac and Cheese balls because, well, she’s good with that sort of thing, and I start prepping the broccoli and spice rub for the steak, because well, I’m good at spicing things up. Now I will say guys, you got to do some prep work on the Mac and Cheese balls the night before. Don’t fear though, I’ll go over all that in the recipe section. It was well worth the prep.
My wife starts rolling the Mac and Cheese balls and I’m like, “what are you wearing?”. She’s in a Golden Girls T-shirt and yoga pants from 10 years ago. “It’s Date Night babe, you need to get dressed.” She gives me one of those looks like, “this is 2020 at home date night me, comfort central”. Since I was late, I let it slide, but next week no excuses.
My wife was making perfect balls out of the mac and cheese and then she asked me, “What’s next?” I knew the rest of the appetizer was going to be all me. “You have to dip it into raw egg yolks and then roll it in the panko and breadcrumbs, then we fry it.” “ummm, I don’t do eggs”, she said. I don’t mind those kinds of things, but raw meat, chicken, fish, and now add to the list eggs is something her bare hands don’t touch.
I started to drench the first batch and get it ready to dump into the fryer when I look over and she is eating cold mac and cheese while she is rolling up the rest of the balls. That is how hungry she is. Men, if you come home late, and your wife starts eating cold mac and cheese you know you better get moving otherwise the rest of the night is not going to go well. I turned up the heat and dumped the first batch in. They cooked in like 1 min, quick take the picture, and we proceed to stuff our faces with delicious fried balls.
She was in heaven, and anything that had happened before just faded away. See, food heals all wounds. We started talking about all of the great memories we had in New York and how much we missed our visits up there. Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn bridge were all some of our fondest memories of the city.
The most special memories were our time with my family, watching our little ones faces as it began to snow, sitting around the dinner table cracking jokes and laughing till our bellies hurt. You see, you need this time as a couple. To remember that each day isn’t just a list of tasks or responsibilities. Sure, it’s those things, but each day contains special moments that you need to remind each other of, beautiful memories.
After we were done laughing she gave me that look like she wanted me to lean in and kiss her. I turned on the smolder and moved in and she followed, right when our lips were about to be joined in cosmic forces colliding in a chaotic passion filled desire she whispered,” get the steak started babe.” I whispered back, “you read my mind.”
The steak was straight forward. I’ve been heavily trained by master chef Gordon Ramsey on how to properly cook a steak. It was as expected, perfect. The roasted broccoli is something we have incorporated into our weekly meals since 5 years ago when we first did it during our very first at home date night which we blogged about. It’s a simple recipe that is delicious. Only other way I eat broccoli is in soup or stir fry.
We finished the main course and we were ready for our activity. We decided to update our Christmas Savings Shadow box. It needed an update, the previous one was starting to fall apart. We also decided to change the theme. While we still save for Christmas, this year we wanted to save for a small vacation that we could go on after Christmas. The kids are begging us to see snow again.
You can skip down to the section where we talk about how to make your own shadow box and the details of the savings structure. But, if you are lazy like me, here is the basics. Whatever week of the year it is drop that dollar amount into the shadow box. Week 1 put 52 bucks in the box, Week 2 put 51 bucks in the box, etc. I give some other breakdowns you can do as well. Regardless of your situation, this is a great way to save up some money all year and try to plan a fun family activity or plan a weekend getaway with you and your spouse.
I asked my wife earlier if she had picked up the Shadow Box. I had ordered it online at Michaels and added my wife as the pick-up person in case I couldn’t get it. I was stuck the previous day at work, and she was in the area so she said she would get it. I see her reach into a bag and pull out this huge shadow box and I’m like, “Wow, that is way better looking than what it looked like online, can’t believe that thing was only 8 bucks.” She laughs and says, “This thing wasn’t 8 bucks but 18.” I’m looking at her confused for about 15 seconds while she proceeds to start the project when it hit me….she did not pick up the one I ordered but just decided to buy something she liked. I soon found out that she didn’t even know I had ordered a box already and all she had to do was pick it up.
So now we have two shadow boxes, but I will say, the one she picked up was way nicer. It was easy to add the money into and involved no drilling holes. So you can decide to go with a cheaper version that works just fine or a nicer version that is much easier to use. The one she bought had a sliding door because it was supposed to be used for saving wine corks.
My wife is all into using her cricut so she made up this saying to paste to the front and she already found a picture of a map for the background. I’m like, “ ummm did you leave anything for me to do?” She just shook her head and politely said, “Nope, I already had the idea of what I wanted to do and what I wanted it to look like.” Guys, just be quiet and don’t argue. If it pleases her and makes her happy without any of your super awesome amazing creative ideas, then just let her proceed. She was done with it in about 15 minutes. Our first At Home Date night of the year was complete and I have to say, I’ve missed them so much.
I hope you have enjoyed this time with us and decide to make your marriage a priority. Below you will find all the recipes, cost, links, and directions associated with this At Home Date Night so you can hold your own. Drop the Xbox controller husbands and make some lasting memories with your wife, because your marriage is worth it!!
If you enjoyed reading or have any questions about the recipes or directions drop us a comment below. We look forward to building a community of people who see the importance of creating strong lasting marriages and can share ways to strengthen them.
Appetizer Total cost: $12.00
Main Dish total cost: $18.50
Shadow Box Savings Project: $8.00 – $18.00
Total At Home Date Night Cost: $38.50 – $48.50
Sensational NY Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups Uncooked Elbow Pasta
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Shredded
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack Shredded
- 1/2 cup Mild Cheddar Shredded
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cups Milk
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 cups Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil For Frying
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Don't forget to salt the water. Add Elbow pasta to the pot and stir for about 10 seconds to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom. Cook for about 7 minutes or per package directions. Once they are done, drain them and set aside.
- Create and roux with the butter and flour. Don't know what that is? fancy word us master chef's use. It's just flour and fat mixed to together to thicken sauces, kind of like me (fat) and my wife (flower). Basically you melt the butter over medium high heat, then add the flour and whisk until it starts to bubble. Then add milk slowly while you whisk. Once the milk is gone add the Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Cayenne Pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 2 or so minutes.
- Mix in 1/2 of each kind of cheese to the pot. It will start to get really thick. You could also just use one kind of cheese to make this easier. I used four because i'm 100.
- Add in about half of the cooked elbow pasta. Mix it up nice and good…I know, you want to skip the rest and just start stuffing your face right now, but try to restrain yourself. Add in the rest of the portions of cheese along with the rest of the elbow pasta. Mix it up again. You will probably still be able to see some of the cheese strands that didn't completely melt. It's ok.
- Spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Then dump the creamy load of mac and cheese onto the cookie sheet and spread it out. Then cover it with something and stick it in the fridge overnight. See, I told you there would be some prep, but trust me, it's worth it.
- When you are ready to cook these bad boys the next night go ahead and get the oil heating up in a pan. Make sure to put enough oil in so you can submerge these things. I have a deep fat fryer but the oil needs to be changed. So we filled up a pot and made it in that. Setup your dredging station of panko bread crumbs and eggs. (whisk the eggs in the bowl.) I'd also recommend using a little milk with the eggs.
- Once the oil has reached 360°F ….wait, who the heck has a thermometer for oil. I didn't, I have one for food. So I just turned the heat on the stove up to 7 and tried frying off a few crumbs of panko to see if it was ready. Seemed legit.
- Start making those little balls of deliciousness. You can use an ice cream or cookie scoop, but I found that my hands do the job just fine, or my wife hands did. She rolled the balls up and they looked magnificent.
- Once they are all rolled up in 2 inch or 3 inch balls, dip them into the eggs (you, not your wife), then into the bread crumbs and into the oil. Cook them for about 3 to 4 minutes or if you were like me and the oil was way to hot they cooked in like a minute.
- Pull them out of the oil and let them cool on a paper towel for a minute or so. Now, stuff your face and feel guilty.
- If it's just the two of you, there will be some extra. Don't cook them all. Bread them up and put in a plastic bag and stick in the freezer to feel guilty another day.
Notes
Chipolte New York Strip Steak with Roasted Garlic Broccoli
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 2 New York Strip Steaks
- ½ packet Chipolte Pepper Marinade
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed once
- Fresh Rosemary about 10 stems
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Butter
Roasted Garlic Broccoli
- 1 head Fresh Broccoli you can get the florets in bags for ease of use
- 6 cloves Garlic peeled
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp salt I would use a little let, up to you.
- pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Whatever you do, don't pull these steak right out of the fridge and start cooking them. When you get home from work, pull them out of the fridge and out of package. Pat them down with a paper towel and season them with salt, pepper, and the half packet of chipolte pepper seasoning. Really press in the seasoning.
- When it's time to cook, heat up a cast iron skillet to medium high heat. If you don't have a cast iron it's ok. I think they just cook steak the best. Once the skillet is piping hot add in your olive oil and spread it around.
- Add in the steak, you should hear a sizzle. Once both steaks are in crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of your knife and toss them in. Then add in the rosemary. Let it cook on one side for about 3 minutes. Then flip it over and cook it on the next side for 3 minutes, but 1 minute in do the next step.
- Don't flip the steak, slide a tbsp of butter along the sides of the skillet and let it melt. Tip skillet to the side and start to baste the top of the steaks with a spoon full of the butter, rosemary, and garlic. The butter should sizzle as it hits the tops of the steak. Now you are a pro.
- Ok, once the rest of the 2 minutes are done pull the steaks and let them rest on a cutting board for another 6 minutes. If the NY Strips are a little thicker than an inch it should get you a nice medium rare steak, maybe slightly on the rare side. That's how I like it though. If you want it a little darker just cook for 1 minute more on each side for medium. Anything above medium just throw it in the trash because you ruined that steak.
- When it's ready to serve cut the fat off the sides so your wife doesn't have too. It's just polite. You keep it on, because you know you love to eat the fat too.
Roasted Garlic Broccoli
- In a food processor or blender, or ninja thingy that chops things up, place the garlic, EVOO, salt, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Blend it up until it looks creamy.
- Cut up the Broccoli into florets and place them in a large mixing bowl
- line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. This just makes for easier clean up, no worries if you don't have it. Dump the garlic creamy blend all over the broccoli florets and mix up nice and good. Then spread it out onto the cookie sheet.
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Shove those bad boys in and let it cook for 12-15 minutes. Pull them out and serve right away. You will never eat broccoli any other way.
Notes
Vacation Savings Shadow Box
Materials
- 1 Shadow Box
- 1 Background picture that fits shadow box
Instructions
- I gave some pretty detailed instructions the last time I did this, but honestly. You don't need them. If you bought the cheaper Shadow Box you could drill a hole in the top to put the money into, but it's kind of a pain. You gotta roll those dolla bills up tight to get them in. We would just open the back and put the money in. So really, you just need a picture which you can get printed online and delivered easy, or if you have a printer just print something out. It's really up to you and how creative you want to be. My wife wanted to put something on the front this time so she made it on the cricut, but you don't have to do that. Break out some acrylics or decorate the outside how you want. The important thing is to spend the time together doing it, and figuring out what you want to save it for.
- Ok, savings breakdown. You can do big baller savings plan which is you save the dollar amount of the week of the year it is, each week. Now I liked to work backwards to get the heavy hits out of the way. So week 1 was 52 bucks, week 2 is 51 bucks….so get moving because i'm like 2 weeks late in starting this thing !!! You should have $1,378 by the end of the year.
- Second plan is to do this every two weeks, because most people get paid every other week. So you make 26 payments starting at 52 in week 1, then 51 two weeks later and so on. You should have $1,027. That's nothing to balk at.
- Option 3 is add 20 bucks every 2 weeks. I think everyone can do this. You could easily get 12 dollars every two weeks by skipping 2 visits to starbucks coffee ladies. 20 bucks every 2 weeks gets you : $520 smackaroos. That gets you maybe 2 nights in a hotel, with 2 days of excursions. I'd say it's worth it.