Valentine's Dinner for Two

How do you celebrate the most romantic holiday of the year? I feel like there is so much hype for this holiday and talk of how much it is a "ladies" holiday. I kinda disagree...I feel like it is a day to actually take the time to tell and show the one you love just how much you care for them. No need for gifts or heart shaped desserts or chocolate. (Even though I do agree that is just fun sometimes.) To celebrate Valentine's Day in the past, Brian and I have gone to very nice dinners, had a casual night of just pizza and cooked at home, but my favorite so far is this year. We just stayed at home and had a blast cooking together. We made filet mignon with bearnaise sauce, mac and cheese, chopped wedge salads and drank a great Cade wine that we bought in Napa. We finished the meal with a yellow cake with buttercream icing. Why eat out...

Dessert first. I have been looking for a simple cake recipe that I can adapt with different flavors and that stays super moist. Although I feel that I am still looking for that, this is still a great cake, just be sure to make every effort to keep it moist as it has the tendency to dry out quickly if left on the counter. I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs, bakerella, she knows her stuff! So if you are interested in my beautiful cake below, please go here for the recipe...Moist Yellow Cake with Buttercream Frosting.

Ok, back to the first course. The chopped wedge is something that is so super simple and so super delicious. Please serve it the next time you have company or just the next time you make dinner for your family.

Chopped Wedge (recipe by me)

1 head iceberg lettuce, washed and chopped fine

4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Handful grape tomatoes, cut in half

Blue Cheese crumbles (I prefer Stella)

Ranch Dressing (I prefer fresh from bulk section of Central Market)

Start by making sure your lettuce is washed and chopped earlier in the day to give it time to stay nice and cold in the refrigerator. (I like to put my salad plates in the fridge too in order to keep them cold.) To assemble, I just put a handful of lettuce on a small salad plate and top with a few tomatoes. I then like to drizzle the ranch dressing over the salad, then add the bacon and blue cheese crumbles.

Filet Mignon (recipe by me)

Start by buying the best filets you can. We bought ours from Central Market this weekend, and bonus, they were on sale for $16.00 per lb.

Let the filets come to room temperature. Rub the filets with vegetable oil until just coated and season heavily with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

I like to use a cast iron skillet for searing, but use your favorite pan for this. (Preferably one that can go from the stove top to the oven.) Get your pan smoking hot on the stove top before adding any oil or the filets. Once hot, add a little bit of vegetable oil (any light oil that can reach a high smoking point) and wait for it to come to temperature. When the pan is super hot, add your filets and sear on each side for a few minutes each. You know it is time to turn them when they no longer stick.

Once you have seared the filets on all sides, transfer the pan to the oven to finish cooking. Remove filets at your desired doneness. I like to take mine out between 130 degrees and 135 degrees for medium rare. (The meat will continue to cook about 10 degrees once removed from the oven.)

MMM...The perfect meal...