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...

Roses are Red...Violets are Blue...

Well, my roses are actually Fire Tipped, my favorite. What is Valentine's Day without fresh, beautiful flowers? Brian and I went grocery shopping at Central Market to get all of our ingredients for our wonderful dinner and I talked him in to letting me pick out my flowers and arrange them myself. The floral department was overflowing with gorgeous beauties, and I was just dying to get some. I love arranging flowers myself, and I really don't understand why you would pay so much money to have it done! It's so easy. Take a look at my beautiful blooms, each one hand cut and perfectly arranged...thanks babe!

Seafood Pasta

Tonight we were craving seafood...

I got back in town last night from being in Phoenix for 8 days and eating nothing but hotel food. Some hotels are definitely better than others, however, anything for 8 days straight gets old. I was making my grocery list this morning and couldn't think of anything that even sounded good. Brian suggested a seafood pasta and that sent my mind racing. We decided on clams, shrimp and scallops with a white wine reduction with butter and lemon juice over fresh linguine. It was divine...you can see I bit into the bread just to make sure it was truly delicious!

Seafood Pasta (recipe created by me)

Ingredients

2 tbls olive oil

1 large shallot, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry white wine

2 tbls lemon juice

3 tbls unsalted butter

1 pkg cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbls capers

1 tbls kalamata olives, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 lb shrimp (peel and devein yourself, save shells for a shrimp stock!)

1/2 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed and cleaned

Handful of scallops (we used bay scallops)

1 lb fresh linguine (you can use dry if that's what you have on hand)

1 tbls basil, chiffonade

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

Start by heating the olive oil and sauteing the garlic and shallot. Once fragrant, add the white wine and lemon juice and reduce slightly. Stir in butter. Add tomatoes, capers, and olives and cook until tomatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: You will not need to add much salt as the olives and capers are salty.)

In the meantime, cook pasta until al dente. Drain.

Add clams to white wine mixture and cook a few minutes, then add shrimp and scallops. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes more until shrimp are pink and clams have opened. Once seafood is done, toss pasta into the mixture to coat all noodles with the sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with basil and parmesan cheese. I like to serve a salad and garlic bread on the side.

Something I love...Bacon Fat

Ok, I know it is the new year and everyone is attempting to eat healthier and I keep vowing I will too, however it is so hard when I have such strong feelings for bacon fat. It just makes everything better. Last night I did not have dinner planned and decided I would just whip up some Bacon, Egg, and Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches. I cooked the bacon low and slow like normal until it was nice and crispy. I poured out the bacon fat into the old soup can I keep in the freezer to store all that fatty goodness for later use. I set the pan aside to cool and kept some fat in the pan to cook the eggs...naturally. (This is a requirement in my book by the way if you are ever cooking eggs and bacon.) I whisked my eggs with cream, salt and pepper and poured them in the slightly heated pan to cook the eggs low and slow. When I bit into my finished sandwich, I savored the powerful smokey flavor that the bacon provided to the eggs. I don't know why I am choosing to mention this food love affair now. I have been in love with bacon fat (any pork fat really) for a long time, and I just absolutely adore eggs cooked in bacon fat.

Bon Appetite...Here's to breakfast for dinner and saving your bacon fat!

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Happy New Year! Sorry I have taken such a long break to soak in the new year. I had good intentions to bring you my wonderful black eyed pea recipe and mexican cornbread on New Year's Day, but my free time lately is hard to come by. I have been quite busy with work. Last week I was only able to accumulate 24 hours of sleep in 6 nights due to work, so needless to say there was no time left over for blogging. All I could think about all week though was cooking. I travel so much with work and it is hard to not have a home cooked meal for a week straight. This weekend my husband treated me by taking a trip to the Spiceman here in Dallas to get a bag full of wild mushrooms. What else to do with a bag of wild mushrooms than to make a wild mushroom risotto? I was hoping we would have some left over to enjoy some chicken marsala later in the week, but I ended up using them all. We had a mix of yellow chanterelles, black trumpets, king oysters, mini shiitakes, and hedgehogs. This dish is incredibly hearty and delicious and made for a wonderful Sunday night dinner.

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto (Created by Me)

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus (cut in small pieces in a diagonal)

3 tbls olive oil, plus 2 tbls separated

1 tbls red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

5 tbls butter

3 shallots, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups aborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 lb assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into bite size pieces

7 cups chicken stock, heated through

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for topping)

4 tbls parsley

2 tbls lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk 3 tbls olive oil with 1 tbls red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and toss in asparagus. Let marinate for about 15 minutes.

Next, melt 3 tbls butter and 1 tbls olive oil in your dutch oven. Toss in shallots and let saute for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and saute for about 1 - 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add aborio rice and toss to coat with the butter, olive oil, shallot and garlic mixture. Let rice toast slightly.

Once rice is slightly toasted, add wine and stir until wine is fully absorbed. Add chicken stock one ladel at a time, stirring constantly until fully absorbed. Keep gradually adding stock until rice is cooked through. This should take about 20 - 30 minutes.

In the meantime, roast marinated asparagus for about 8 minutes until tender. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Set aside.

Also, melt 1 tbls butter in a skillet and add cleaned mushrooms. Cook until browned and crisp on the sides. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Once risotto is fully cooked, stir in lemon juice, parsley, parmesan cheese and last tbls butter. Stir until combined. Last, fold in cooked asparagus and cooked mushrooms. Serve immediately.

Happy Belated Birthday to Me

Well, last week I celebrated my 28th birthday! It started a few days early with dinner at Fearing's with Brian, my best friend Lauren and her husband Michael who was also celebrating his 28th birthday. It was a fabulous dinner with lots of wine and great food!

My actual birthday falls on the 23rd of December. I have always loved my birthday and love that it is 2 days before Christmas. The season is filled with holiday spirit and warmth and everyone is excited and ready for the best holiday of the year. This year, I really just wanted to relax and cook a fancy dinner for Brian and me. I decided on filet mignon with bearnaise sauce and a potato and brussel sprout hash with a bottle of Silver Oak.

I seared the filets in a super hot cast iron skillet on all sides then transferred it to the oven to finish cooking, then I began the hash and sauce. I have always heard how wonderful bearnaise sauce is with steak, however Brian and I had a really bad experience with tarragon when we were dating and tried to make a nice dinner of tarragon chicken. The licorice flavor was way too strong. I decided to give tarragon a second chance and the bearnaise sauce was incredible. I am so glad I decided to experiement with it. The flavor paired so perfectly with the steak. I know it is such a classic sauce, and I can't believe I have never had it, and if you haven't either...please do!

Bearnaise Sauce (recipe by Tyler Florence)

1 bunch fresh tarragon
2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 egg yolks
1 stick butter, melted
salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the bearnaise reduction first. In a small saucepan, combine half of the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Blend yolks and bearnaise reduction together in a blender. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Add the remaining half bunch of fresh tarragon leaves, season with salt and pepper and give it 1 more buzz. Set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.

A Simple Red Sauce

Tonight is the big Christmas celebration with half of our family. Brian and I are spending the evening with my mom, step dad, 2 step sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, 1 step brother, 2 nieces, 1 niece on the way, and a partridge in a pear tree...

We decided to have a casual evening with a laid back comforting meal. We have had the big turkey with all the sides at Thanksgiving, a ham and all the sides at a family Christmas party last weekend with some of our extended family, and there are many more gatherings on the way with this type of feast on the menu. So...I have volunteered to make a homemade lasagna that makes my mouth water just talking about it with some garlic bread on the side. My mom is preparing the salad and my step sisters are making the desserts.

I decided to prepare the sauce this morning because I love to let it simmer for an hour or so to get nice and thick. It will also make my life that much easier later today when I am ready to build my lasagna.

I absolutely love this sauce. I love altering it every time I make it, depending on the dish. I use it with pastas, on pizza, in casseroles, on chicken parmesan, you name it...it is so versatile.

Start by heating about a 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium high heat. I of course use a Dutch Oven for this, but you can use a large sauce pan of your choice.

Then begin chopping a small onion and a couple cloves of garlic.

I add the onion to the oil once it has heated through and saute it a few minutes before adding the garlic. Saute the onion and garlic until they are translucent. About 5 - 10 minutes.

Chop a carrot and a celery stalk while your onions and garlic are cooking. Quick tip: I like to cut slits in the celery and then chop my pieces all at once. I think it is easier because the strips are still being held together by the stalk.

Add the chopped carrots and celery and some salt and pepper to the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 - 10 minutes. Basically until the vegetables are soft and tender.

Next, add 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, some dried basil, parsley, oregano, and 2 - 3 bay leaves and simmer on low heat for about an hour or so to let the sauce thicken. (Sometimes I add red pepper flakes here for some heat.) I like to use an Italian brand of canned tomatoes, but you may have to experiment with brands. I definitely like some brands better than others.

Here is the reduced sauce. I like to taste it after it has reduced for seasoning because the flavors have had a chance to concentrate. Today, the tomatoes were still tasting a little acidic, so I added a couple of sprinkles of sugar and a drizzle of honey. I also added a couple tablespoons of butter. Remember that the sauce will sweeten slightly after pureed due to the carrots.

I like to use my immersion blender for pureeing the sauce, but you could use a blender or a food processor and do this in batches. Once pureed, you can use the sauce immediately or store it in the refrigerator. If you are not planning on using all the sauce soon, you can let it completely cool and freeze it in smaller portions.

More to come...lasagna!