A dinner fit for a king! (or just my boyfriend)

One of the reasons I super looove summertime is because of...fruit! Sure, beaches are nice and it's fun to wear sundresses and I do like the sunshine, but I love the season of fresh fruit best of all. I love sitting outside eating watermelon and strawberries and grapes and...the list goes on. My signature fruit salad involves quartered strawberries and halved red grapes. That's it. It is delicious in its simplicity.


Now, I'm not really one for using fruit in baking. Dessert foods are meant to be chocolately and creamy and not have any semblance of healthiness in the form of fruit or otherwise. However, B is a big fan of cherry desserts and since he was coming home from Seattle after living out of a hotel and eating fast food for almost a month, I figured I could make a bit of a sacrifice and cook up some cherries in a dessert (despite my better judgment). But I couldn't just make dessert! I decided to put together dinner for his arrival home. I made garlic bread, a caesar salad, blackened chicken alfredo, and a cherry strueusel pie.


B's flight was delayed in Chicago (the pilots were MIA en route from Toronto), so we didn't end up eating until around 10. But it was delicious regardless. While B was driving home from the airport, I set the table (complete with Spongebob napkins) and finished up dinner right when he got here (I will spare you my jumping up and down excitement to see him that made him call me a 'jumping bean').


I used this recipe from Cooking Light for the alfredo sauce, and it turned out really well! I will probably never live down buying a 10 dollar hunk of cheese from my family (Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is expensive!), so while I wouldn't make this dinner all the time because that would be expensive, I would definitely make it again! Next time I might try substituting on the cheese front and see if I can't come up with something a little more budget-friendly but just as good.


I served the alfredo with blackened chicken, which I made just using a spice rub and browning in a cast iron skillet for a minute on each side before throwing it in the oven until it was cooked through. It was a perfect spicy compliment to the sauce.

For dessert, I adapted this recipe from Bon Appétit for Sour-Cherry Streusel Pie and baked it in an 11x7 dish (I don't really like making pies, and cooking it in a rectangle made it less like a pie and more like a crisp. So I'm weird, whatever). I just used prepared pastry for the crust and doubled the topping because streusel is delicious! I think B really liked it, as he had a scoop with vanilla ice cream after dinner and again today on his lunch break from work. I'm still not a huge fan of baked fruits, but it was pretty decent, if I do say so myself.


B and I were both stuffed after dinner, so I think it was very successful and I did my girlfriendly duties for the day (or maybe even a couple days). It is so nice to have him home. I do love spending time in the kitchen, but I've had my fill for a bit. Tonight I think we're just going out for cheesesteaks. There is room for trashy food in any diet. :)