Anniversary Dinner

Wednesday night my husband and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. Its crazy how fast time flies by! To make the night extra special I wanted him to come home to an amazing dinner that I made from scratch. My menu included: Parmesan Breadsticks, Lobster, Steamed Vegetables, Lemon Linguini and a Lemon Meringue Cake. Everything was delicious so I wanted to share a few of the recipes.

These were so cute standing up in a glass, you can even tie them up with a ribbon and give them as a hostess gift (FYI-I did not take any of these photos).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 TB chopped thyme, rosemary and or/sage

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 TB extra virgin olive oil

1/4c + 2 TB cold water

1 large egg white

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with nonstick foil. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Add oil and pulse until crumbly. With machine running slowly pour water through feed tube just until dough forms.
2. Transfer dough to floured cutting board; divide in half and let rest for 10 minutes. With floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece into a 7x9 inch rectangle. Cut dough lengthwise into 14, 1/2" strips. Brush with egg whites and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cheese. Working with one strip at a time, twist and place lengthwise on 1 baking sheet. Repeat.
3. Bake until golden brown, 18-20 mins. Let cool. Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Per Serving (2 breadsticks): 83 calories, 3g Fat, 11g Carb, 0g Fiber, 3g Protein.

WeightWatchers Magazine Nov-Dec 2010

The lemon linguini was delicious! Also a great summer recipe served cold. You can always add more to this recipe such as shrimp, asparagus, roasted green beans, chicken, or chopped tomatos if you wanted to make it more of a meal than a side dish.

Ingredients

1lb linquini

1/2 c olive oil

zest from 1 lemon

juice from 2 lemons

1/2 c chopped green onions

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

salt & pepper

lots of parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook linguini and drain. Combine next 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl and add pasta. Toss well and then sprinkle in salt and pepper. Toss in parmesan to taste.
2. Serves 6

Lemon Meringue Cake Ingredients
2c cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1c + 2 TB fat free milk
3/4c + 4TB sugar
1/2c + 2TB fat-free egg substitute
1/4c canola oil
5 large egg whites
6 TB prepared lemon curd (I used a little extra)
Frosting Ingredients
4 large egg whites at room tempature
1c sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 9" round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment or way paper and spray paper with nonstick spray.
2. To make cake, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Wisk milk, 3/4c sugar, egg substitute, and oil in a large bowl. Wisk in the flour mixture just until blended.
3. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg white in another large bowl, until soft peaks form. Add remaining 4 TB of sugar, 1 TB at a time, beating until firm peaks form. With rubber spatula, gently fold beaten egg whites into flour mixture until no streaks of white remain.
4. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of each layer comes out clean 30-35 mins. Run knife around each layer to loosen it from pan. Invert each layer onto rack. Remove parchment paper and let cool completely.
5. With long serrated knife, split each layer in half to make a total of 4 layers (*great trick is to use dental floss instead of a knife). Arrange 3 layers cut side up on work surface and spread 2TB of lemon curd on each layer. Place 1 layer cut side up on a serving plate. Top with two more layers filling side up. Cover with remaining cake layer cut side down. If making ahead, wrap cake tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze up to 1 month. Let thaw in frig overnight.
6. To make frosting, whisk egg whites and sugar in large metal bowl of eletric stand mixer. Set bowl in large saucepan over 1" simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot 5-7 mins. Transfer bowl to mixer, add vanilla extract and with whisk attachment on med-high speed, beat until stiff glossy peaks form and mixture is completely cool, 5-7 mins. Spread frosting at once over top and sides of cake.
7. To add pizzazz, ignite a hand held torch as directed. Move the flame continuously in small circles over the frosting until it lightly browned.

Per serving (1/16 of cake) 230 cal, 4g fat, 0g fiber, 5g protein, 44g carbs.

Weight Watchers Nov-Dec 2010 magazine