Cameron and I had a great Valentine's Day. I hope everyone else did too! It snowed almost 6 inches... which is crazy for Dallas. We drove around his neighborhood and looked at all the different snowmen people made. I guess since Dallas doesn't get that much snow, everyone took advantage of it and made tons of snowmen.
Oklahoma has been getting a ton of snow. My mom sent me a picture of my parent's backyard covered in snow!
So Mary Ilene has gotten a ton of school off this month, Ford got class canceled on Friday, Cameron got work off.... And I have gotten NO class canceled... This does not seem fair.
Anyway, my Valentine's weekend was cold, but so fun. I spent all weekend cooking (which was amazing). My Valentine's dinner was the best. Cameron and I went to Central Market on Friday and spent about two hours looking at all of the food, and it was during their Chocolate Festival, so I ate a lot of samples.
For dinner I used my cookbook
Reata for all the recipes. While we were at Central Market they were having a 'Valentine's Sale' on their filets. So we got two really nice filets for a great price!
On the menu:
- Pan-seared pepper-crusted tenderloin with port wine glaze
- Garlic and jalapeno mashed potatoes (Cameron loves jalapenos... So I try to put them into a lot of dished we make together)
- BERRY CREME BRULEE (I was SO excited to make this, and it's so easy!)
Pan-Seared Pepper-Crusted Tenderloin With Port Wine Glaze
This is a must that you have to try! In the cookbook it says that this recipe is Reata's best selling dish and once you've tried it, nothing else will do. I am going to have to agree. I literally covered my meat in this glaze. At first, I just had a little bit on my plate, but it brings out all the flavors of the meat and I will definitely make this one again, and soon!
Ingredients:
- 2 (8-10 oz) beef tenderloins, well trimmed
- 4 Tbl cracked black pepper, or coarsley gound
- Kosher salt
- 203 Tbl oil, for sauteing
- Port Wine Glaze (recipe listed below)
(The recipe was for 6 servings, so since it was just the two of us, we divided all the portions by 3, and got what is listed above.)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Generously coat both sides of each tenderloin with the cracked pepper. Season each side with salt. Heat a dry saute pan to smoking hot. Add the oil 1-2 Tbl at a time. When the oil is hot, add the crusted tenderloin and sear for about 3 minutes. This is really important, because a good, hot sear holds in the juices. Turn the steak and sear 3 minutes more on the other side. Repeat for all the steaks.
Reserve the seared steaks in a baking dish. Finish the steaks in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes (for medium rare). Serve immediately on a bed of about 1/3 cup of the Port Wine Glaze.
For the
Port Wine Glaze:
Ingredients:
(I halved the glaze, so times it by 2 if you are making it for a larger crowd)
- 1/4 (750-milliliter) bottle port wine (because the sauce reduces so much, an inexpensive bottle is fine. Although, don't go to Central Market if you are looking for inexpensive wine!)
- 1/6 cup honey
- 1 quart Veal Stock (This is another recipe in this book, but it takes a really long time to make, so just combine half chicken and half beef stock and it works out perfectly!)
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a large stockpot. Cook over high heat for about 1 hour, until the liquid has reduced by about 75 percent and is the consistency of syrup.
Mashed Potatoes
For some reason I thought I already put this recipe up here. I've made it before, but it never made it on the blog. I didn't take a ton of pictures of the process. So you'll just have to make it yourself and see it! This whole recipe serves about 6, but you'll be surprised how much of this you'll eat, plus it's good the next day too!
Ingredients:
- 5 Idaho Potatoes (skins optional)
- Water
- 8 Tbl unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
And this is one of those recipes that you pick and add the other flavors. You can add one, two, or as many different combinations as you can think of. (I used jalapenos and garlic)
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
- 5-6 garlic cloves. minced (and roasted if you'd like)
- 2-3 roasted shallots
- 3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
- 1/4 cup horseradish
- 2 cups asaigo cheese
- 1-3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup goat cheese
- etc etc etc!
Directions:
Cut the potatoes in half, the cut each half into quarters. In a large stockpot, bring the water to boil, add the potatoes, and continue boiling over high heat for about 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain.
The sauce: While the potatoes are boiling, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Lower the heat, slowly add the heavy cream, and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. If you are going to make a flavored potato, this is when you would add the extra seasoning, spice, or sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Continue simmering the cream until it has reduced by about 25 percent, and remove from heat.
Mash the boiled potatoes in the stockpot they were cooked in (saves another dish to clean after). While the potatoes are still warm (this is important for the flavor of the cream to be absorbed), add the hot cream sauce. Thoroughly combine the cream sauce with the potatoes to finish mashing. Serve immediately.
Berry Creme Brulee
And now... For the Berry Creme Brulee, one of my favorite desserts! This recipes serves about 6 as well.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint of blackberries (variation: raspberries, blueberries, 1/4 chocolate ganache... we did a combination of blackberries and raspberries)
- 11 egg yolks
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 Tbl vanilla
- 1/2 cups granulated sugar, for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place 3-5 berried in the bottom of each of the 6 individual brulee bowls, or small oven safe serving bowls., and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Ina saucepan, combine the cream and the vanilla, and heat to approximately 160 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Slowly temper the warm vanilla cream into the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Make sure you add it gradually and stirring constantly so you don't accidentally scramble your eggs!
Ladle about 1 cup of the mixture into each serving bowl. Place all the bowls into a baking dish that is deep enough to hold the bowls and the water. Fill the baking dish with water halfway up the serving bowls.
Bake for about 80 minutes. The custard is done when the an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and the water bath, and let cool slightly.
Sprinkle each serving with sugar. Using a butane torch, slowly and evenly brown the sugar topping, taking care to only caramelize and not scorch. If you're like me, and you don't have a torch (or you bought one and found out that there was no lighter fluid in it) place the sugar-topped custards under the broiler briefly. Watch very closely, because the sugar will turn dark very quickly.
And that was my very favorite Valentine's dinner. With the perfect finish to the meal. I'll put up more recipes of our weekend later, but I thought this was enough recipes for one post!
I thought I would end my post with my gorgeous dozen lilies Cameron gave me for Valentine's Day!