Recipes

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Be My Valentine (part 2)

This year and last year Brian and I have celebrated Valentine’s Day and our dating anniversary (Jan 26) on one weekend in between. This year was our fabulous dinner in Portland, ME at Fore Street. We also make a delicious dinner on Valentines day. Last year we did a seafood risotto…mmmm. This year we went classic Steak House style!

We had lots of errands and things to do before dinner thought, so I made us a energy packed breakfast.

Veggie Omelets!
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These babies contained (for two people):

  • 2 Eggs and 2 Egg whites
  • a little Skim milk
  • onion
  • orange bell pepper
  • broccoli
  • tomato
  • 1 garlic and herb laughing cow dotted throughout
  • reduced fat cheddar

Served with a toasted homemade Choco-Coconut Muffin!

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I spread a little Cashew Butter on some of my muffin…I couldn’t believe I found CASHEW BUTTER in my MOM’s fridge!! GO mom! (It was in there next to the Almond butter…yay for my influence hehe)

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Our first stop was at a really nice meat shop in Wellesley, MA:
John Dewar & Co., Inc. My aunt told me about this place and they apparently supply meats for many high end restaurants in Boston! Perfect!

We went all out:

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I have only ever eaten Dry Aged steak at really nice restaurants and never see it in regular grocery stores, so I was very excited to purchase one. A $30 steak for the two of us is still way cheaper than getting this at a restaurant!

I also grabbed these…because, well I love pickles :)IMG_2740

The rest of the day included:

  • stopping at Great Harvest for some bread! (we each got loaves of the 9-grain bread, and also got lunch there)
  • To the jewelers for my 6-month inspection on my engagement ring!
  • An Unplanned purchase at the jewelry store…Brian got his wedding band!! It’s so cool…I’ll post a pic when we pick it up sometime this week :)
  • Visit the grandparents
  • DINNER!

A steak needs some sides:

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And a nice red wine of course…I picked this up at TJ’s Friday night after trying a sample. It was really full bodied and flavorful, and I Liked it which is key since I don’t love all red’s.

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On to the main event: the meat! I probably eat red meat 1 or 2 times a month…if that! So if I do I want it to be goooooood.

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It was 1.5 – 2” thick!!!

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We seared it in a HOT cast iron pan for 2-3 minutes on each side, then placed it into a 325 degree oven for 8-10 min. Or so that what we were told.IMG_2745

(**We were also waiting for the meat thermometer to read 140 (med. rare), and it just wasn’t getting there, so we left it in a little longer…BAD MISTAKE! It wasn’t completely overcooked…still pink inside but I was SO upset, a steak like this NEEDS to be med rare or you might as well have just picked up a regular old grocery store piece…it was still good but I was really really disappointed…STUPID MEAT THERMOMETER!!!!)

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The sides were delish though haha…

Oven roasted red potatoes with onion, garlic, EVOO, S&P!

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Grilled Asparagus with EVOO and garlic, splashed with lemon at the end.

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Dinner is Served

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Dessert was simple yet decadent…

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Picked up some of this deliciousness at WF’s

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  • Used the crepes I bought last week at WF’s
  • heated in the micro
  • Spread with the Choc. Hazelnut Butter (practically the same as Nutella),
  • Topped with sliced banana and strawberries
  • Rolled up
  • heated a little again
  • topped with 1 scoop Dulce de Leche ice cream (for him) and half a scoop for me, and half a scoop of vanilla.

His

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Mine

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I’d say minus the steak snafu, it was a success! And delicious to boot! I must say I had a FABULOUS Valentines Day!

Yay for no work tomorrow!! Mom and I are shopping for a dress for HER to wear at the wedding…this should be entertaining haha. We are staying FAR far away from bridal store “Mother of the Bride” dresses, I can’t stand those things!

22 comments:

  1. We have the same Cashew Butter at my house, it's delish!

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  2. Hi! I found your blog and love it.

    Those crepes look delish! Congrats on getting his wedding band. My fiance and I haven't started looking for ours yet. We are getting married in July so we've been putting it off! But it feels like it's coming fast!

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  3. What a wonderful food day! I love when I go home and my mom has good things she's learned about from me. Cashew butter is delicious!

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  4. Looks like a great Valentine's Day Dinner, even if the steak was a little over cooked.

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  5. What a GREAT dinner!! Have you guys ever tried Butcher Boy in North Andover? They have amazing stuff too!

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  6. this is exactly what i made for bill on friday!!! dessert and all :) yum!

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  7. Such a lovely feast, crepes, and....

    HAZELNUT BUTTER!!!!!!! My favorite :-)

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  8. great dinner...and the crepes...they look especially incredible!

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  9. When I saw that thick steak I was curious to see how you cooked it. We've never been able to cook a steak perfectly in our house (actually overcooked our steak tips on valentine's day too - boo). Everything still looks delicious though. Looks like many bloggers chose a night in instead of going out this year.
    See you tonight! :)

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  10. Cashew butter and crepes?! DELISH!

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  11. That omlette looks amazing - and choco-hazelnut butter???? YUM!

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  12. great blog! your homemade valentine's dinner looks fabulous! i don't eat red meat that much either and always insist it is the best if i do!

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  13. It was great meeting you. I'm just sad the table was so big so we couldnt' chat more. That all looks delicious, stupid thermometer aside. What kind do you have?

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  14. What a lovey meal! Even lovelier dessert! Very fancy looking but so simple :) Congrats on the wedding band...so fun!

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  15. wowsa, GREAT dinner!! and your mom with the cashew and almond butter--score :) my mom doesn't like the natural ones :( but she gets other me-influenced stuff. that pb?? have not seen that!!

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  16. Aw that looks amazing! :) Sounds like you had a wonderful Vday!

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  17. What a sweet Vday! I think the crepes look like the best part!

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  18. omg! i SO thought you were joking when you said your car was 3 miles away!!!! i would have given you a ride tooo! (just saw your post on elina's blog!) i feel like such a meanie hahaha!

    hope we all get together again soon, i had such a blast!

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  19. I want to try cashew butter so badly! I wonder what it tastes like.

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  20. Fun dessert, very decadent! Have fun with the dress shopping, eek! How exciting!

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  21. what a perfect dinner!! great idea to make crepes..yum!!

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  22. I've seen that Chocolate Hazelnut Butter before & almost bought it. How is it? Is is like Nutella? Your crepe dessert looks heavenly.

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