Roommate Group Date = More Recipe's

In our ward, we have about 3 girls to every guy. Lucky guys right? Well... there are a few guys that date within the ward. The rest are either engaged or dating outside the ward OR they don't even ask girls out. Sad. I know. The Bishop has pretty much given up on trying to convince the guys to date... so he has now started telling the girls to ask the guys out on dates! I don't like this, If I'm being honest with you. I don't feel like it is the girls job. The girls job is to let the guy know that she is interested and it is the guys job to ask out. Maybe its just me... but anyway... my roommates and I decided we would follow the Bishop's counsel, but just this once and in a group situation. So we each asked a guy out for last night. I am so sad that I didn't get a picture of the group. We were kind of pressed for time. We all came home from work, had to hurry and make dinner, then our dates came and then we only had so much time before we had to leave to go to Comedy Sports. So Sadly no picture was taken. Just to report... I took a guy in my ward, Matt Burton. He is very sweet and friendly and we always have great conversation. In fact, both of us have a hard time stopping once we get into conversation. He was over until 1:30 am! ha ha... he is really great though and was an awesome date. I really enjoy his company.

For dinner, I had us try a new recipe! I saw it on the food network (my favorite) and I knew I wanted to try it. My roommates were great help in making the meal all come together. We made Shrimp Pot Pie's for all 8 people (roommates + dates + our friend Lindsay and her date) plus salad and steamed veggies. The dish was a hit! I would totally make it again. I loved the flavor and it was very filling. We then laughed all the calories that we ate off at Comedy Sports. I had not been in a long time and forgot how funny it was. Then we came back to our place and I served my FAVORITE dessert (my sister Lori brought this gem of a recipe back from Hawaii when she went to school there) to everyone that I had prepared the night before. Chocolate Haupia Pie. I made it for Thanksgiving too... but I didn't put the recipe on here. So, here are the recipe's from our date night dishes! Enjoy!

Shrimp Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 egg

1 Tbsp water

4 sheets puff pastry (thawed)

Flour, for dusting

8 large (21 to 25) shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 small carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

6 mushrooms, sliced thin

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

salt and ground white pepper

* Special equipment: 3 and 4 inch metal ring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk egg and water until well blended. Lightly dust work surface with flour. Unfold puff pastry and dock dough with a fork. Using a 4 inch ring, cut 16 circles. Set 4 circles on a nonstick baking sheet. These are the base of the pot pies. Discard scraps. Using a 3 inch metal ring, cut circles in the center of the 12 remaining circles. Remove 4 of the 3 inch circles to the prepared baking sheet. These are the tops. Brush the outer edge of the 4 inch circles with the egg wash. Lay 1 of the 12 rings on top. Brush egg wash on that ring and place another ring on top. Repeat 1 more time until you have 3 rings stacked on top of each other. Repeat with remaining circles until you have 4 assembled. Brush the edges and tops with egg wash and bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the shrimp with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Saute the shrimp, 1 minute per side. Remove shrimp and set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and saute carrots, celery, mushrooms, and thyme, until softened about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook until most of the broth has evaporated. Add the cream and bring back to a simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency, about 12 to 15 minutes. Place the shrimp back into the sauce to coat. Remove thyme and season with salt and white pepper. Ladle the shrimp mixture into the pastry puff bowls and to with the smaller puff circles.

Chocolate Haupia Pie

Ingredients

1- Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1- Can Coconut Milk

1- Cup Milk

1-Cup Sugar

1-Cup Water

1/2 Cup Corn Starch

1- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar

1- Container Cool Whip

Directions:

Mix coconut milk, milk and sugar. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, dissolve the corn starch in the water. Bring coconut mixture down to a simmer and add corn starch mixture. Stir until it starts to thicken. When coconut mixture is thick, pour some of the mixture in a separate bowl for top layer. With the rest of the coconut mixture, add the chocolate bar (leave one chocolate square for garnishing the top of pie). Stir until the chocolate is all melted in. Next pour chocolate coconut mixture in pie crust. Pour the left over coconut mixture (haupia) on top of the chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. I always think it is best to refrigerate over night. When pie is firm, cover the top with cool whip and garnish with left over chocolate bar. Now it's ready to serve.