Night out - At home!?

This winter has been a rough one!  We've been trapped in the house a lot and feel like we need a night out more than usual. I decided to get creative a few weeks ago and try to have a night out-at home.

Our favorite restaurant is Amada, a Spanish tapas restaurant....so I decided to (try) and mimic a night at Amada.  I knew it wouldn't be quite as tasty, but I would at least try!  I started with a trip to Whole Foods, where I was pretty much planning on making up the menu as I went.  I was planning on a ten-course tasting menu so I just picked out things throughout the store that would be easy to make, with just a few simple ingredients.  I grabbed some veggies, a few scallops, shrimp, a small steak, etc.

It was definitely about two hours of prep work that morning and an hour of cooking right before dinner, but completely worth it. I kept some items in the crock pot to keep warm and just brought out two plates at a time.  It was a big hit with my husband and we just pretended we weren't at home for a couple of hours, minus the baby monitor and dishes in our sink :)

Here is the menu:
1. Cheese plate
2. Olives
3. Red pepper and mozzarella Ravioli
4. Roasted Brussel sprouts
5. Ginger Carrot soup
6. Shrimp cocktail
7. Spinach Salad wrapped in prosciutto
8. Seared Scallop
9. Seared Strip Steak
10. Artichoke toast with a fried egg
11. Mini Cannoli and mini cheesecake

Keep in mind most of these things were just a bite or two each. And some more successful than others (ie: Ginger carrot soup was a total failure). But if you're someone like me who likes to cook, its always fun to step out of your comfort zone and try something new!