Valentine's Day

Chances are that if you are married, in a relationship, or even not in a relationship, you are aware that Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Now, I'll be honest, I think Valentine's Day is solidly in the Hallmark holiday column, but even still, I will be joining the huddled masses in the greeting card aisle looking for the perfect card for Mr. Type A.

What we won't be doing, is heading out to dinner this weekend.  If you have ever worked in food and beverage, you know that there are certain dates that restaurants are best avoided, and Valentine's Day ranks right up there after Mother's Day and Easter Sunday. 

Instead, I'll be cooking a nice but easy dinner for two at home.  And while I'll still have to do some dishes, I can do them with a glass of red wine in my hand, and probably for less than half the cost of a similar meal out, especially when you take that bottle of cab into account.

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Seared & Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Aioli
Fingerling Potatoes Frites with Parmesan & Thyme
Roasted Asparagus
Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Purchased) or Chocolate Crème Brulee

Seared & Roasted Beef Tenderloin

In my opinion, everyone should have a few basic, really good, really easy recipes in their arsenal, and as far as I am concerned, this seared and roasted beef tenderloin is one of those.   

What you'll  need:
1 cast iron or heavy-duty sauté pan
Vegetable Oil (some recipes call for olive oil, but I prefer vegetable because it has a higher smoke point)
Salt & Pepper
2 - chateaubriand cut beef tenderloin steak (about 12 ounces each)*

*Chateaubriand refers to the cut and can be found at your better butcher shops and meat counters.  I always buy mine at my local The Fresh Market.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pat beef dry with paper towels.  Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.  Season both sides of steaks liberally with seasoning.
Heat skillet over medium high heat.  Add oil to pan and heat until it begins to shimmer.
Add steaks to pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, until a nice sear forms.
Remove filets to a roasted pan.  Place in oven and roast to desired doneness.  ​

2" Beef Tenderloin - 400 degrees
8-10 Minutes - Rare
12-14 Minutes - Medium Rare
16-18 Minutes - Medium
20 - 22 Minutes - Medium Well

After steaks are cooked to desired doneness (we like ours differently, so I start Mr. Type A's and then add mine once enough time as elapsed).  Remove from the oven and tent with foil for 10 minutes before serving.

Horseradish Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I like either Hellmann's or Duke's)
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (this will likely be in the refrigerated section at the grocery)
1 large clove garlic, microplaned* 
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.  This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*If you don't have a microplane, I highly recommend for garlic and citrus zest, not to mention cheese, but you can alternatively mince the garlic very fine with a chef's knife and add the salt to act as an abrasive and make a thick paste.​

Fingerling Potatoes Frites

1 pound fingerling potatoes 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces shaved parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and dry potatoes, then slice in quarter lengthwise so they look like thick-cut fries.  Toss with oil and kosher salt.

Roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.  Once tender and crisp, remove from oven and top with freshly ground pepper, parmesan, and fresh thyme.​

Roasted Asparagus

1 pound fresh asparagus
olive oil
kosher salt & black pepper

Trim asparagus.  The easiest way to know where to cut the woody ends is to take a stalk between your hands and bend.  The stalk will break where it needs to be trimmed.  Place on a parchment lines baking sheet.  Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 6-8 minutes for thinner asparagus and 10-12 for thicker.

Dessert

Because both Mr. Type A and my youngest are gluten-free, we do a lot of gluten-free desserts, either items that are inherently gluten-free, or recipes that I have tweaked to make them gluten-free.  And since this meal is fairly heavy, I think Chocolate Covered Strawberries make the perfect dessert.  Unless you love playing with chocolate, I would just buy a half dozen and call it a day.  If instead you are looking to make something wonderful, we made Ina Garten's Chocolate Crème Brulee at Christmas and it was a huge hit.  The only change I made was to substitute bourbon for the coffee liquor.  Her recipe can be found here.

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