Valentine's Day Dinner 2010

So for V-day I have always chosen to cook a nice meal for my husband rather than fighting the crowds at a restaurant (maybe someday I'll change my mind though). This year I found a nice meal idea from the Martha Stewart website. I have to say the flavor of the food was really good. I would definitely make it again!!

Here was the main course:

Filet Mignon with Herb-and-Cheese Potatoes

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup finely grated cotija cheese (I couldn't find this, but parmesan is a substitute)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 russet potatoes, about 9 ounces each, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and again into 1/8-inch-wide strips, set aside in a bowl of cold water
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together butter, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic in a small bowl. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use. Stir together remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon garlic, the cheese, and cayenne in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil; set aside. Drain potatoes; pat dry. Add to bowl with cheese mixture; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes; turn potatoes, and cook until golden, about 20 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, season both sides of beef with salt and pepper.Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Brush both sides of beef with vegetable oil; place in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook beef 7 minutes; turn, and cook until mediumrare, 7 to 8 minutes more. Top each with cilantro butter; serve with potatoes.

The flavor of both the meat and the potatoes was really excellent (and I'm not a big steak eater, so that's saying a lot). I did go to HEB (TX grocery store with better quality, but not overly fancy) to get a better cut of meat than Walmart has to offer.

For dessert I served this from Cooking Light:

Crepes with Bananas and Hazelnut-Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• CREPES:
• - 1 cup all-purpose flour
• - 1 tablespoon sugar
• - 1/4 teaspoon salt
• - 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
• - 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• - Cooking spray
• 
  SAUCE:
• - 1/4 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)
• - 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
• - 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• - 2 large firm unpeeled bananas (about 1 3/4 pounds)
• - Powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation

To prepare crepes, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine 1 1/2 cups milk and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a whisk just until smooth. Cover batter; chill for 15 minutes.

Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan; quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers pan with a thin film. Cook about 1 minute.

Carefully lift edge of crepe with a spatula. The crepe is ready to turn when it can be shaken loose from the pan and the underside is lightly browned. Turn crepe over; cook 30 seconds.

Place crepe on a towel; keep warm. Repeat procedure until all the batter is used. Stack crepes between single layers of wax paper or paper towels to prevent sticking.

To prepare sauce, combine the hazelnut-chocolate spread, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Keep warm.

Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise; cut each half crosswise into 2 pieces.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Arrange 4 banana pieces in a single layer in pan. Cook 1 minute or until lightly browned. Turn pieces over; cook 1 minute. Remove banana pieces from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining banana pieces.

Place 1 banana piece in center of each crepe; fold sides and ends over, and place, seam side down, on clean surface. Repeat procedure with remaining banana pieces and crepes.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon sauce onto each of 4 plates, spreading to cover center of plates. Arrange 2 crepes on each plate; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.

I have to admit that I could not flip a crepe for the life of me without tearing them, but I was able to make it work. I will need some more practice though! I served this with some homemade sweet cream ice cream and it was really good!!