Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Valentine's Day Dinner 2015

I know, this post is a wee bit tardy, but as you know, it's been a rough couple of weeks.  I decided to go ahead and publish it anyway. After all, the whole meal could apply to any occasion, not just Valentine's Day.

I always have such a hard time committing to food for special occasions.  I want to make all the things.  But this year, I decided to mostly stick with what I know, and just try a couple new things.


I'm not a seafood person even a little bit, so I don't make it very often.  The Dad loves it, though, so I decided to go with a Surf n' Turf theme this Valentine's Day.

But let me start with appetizers.  I didn't "make" anything, but instead put out a few cheeses, some soprassata, guava paste, fresh sliced apples, and crackers.  Super simple, but delicious nonetheless.












For the main menu, I did grilled ribeyes, lobster tail, seared scallops in a butter-wine sauce, cheese ravioli with browned butter, roasted asparagus, and focaccia bread.
The Dad grilled the steaks while I ran the show in the kitchen.
I couldn't remember ever making lobster tail before, so I just Googled a couple recipes to get a time frame for broiling.
One minute per ounce seemed to be the most popular suggestion, so that's what I did.
I seasoned it with salt and pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, and stuck some butter down in the valley of the meat before cooking.




I know I had never made scallops before, and there were a TON of recipes for bay scallops, which is what I bought.
I ended up sorta combining several recipes to do my own thing, without having to be distracted by following directions.
I seared them on both sides in my cast iron skillet, removed them, and dumped in some white wine and lemon juice to deglaze the pan.
Then I added a couple tablespoons of butter.
I don't do scallops, but that sauce was DELICIOUS on my bread.
I wish I had had some parsley or something for color, but The Dad said they were delicious.
The kids weren't on board at all.





For the asparagus, I just drizzled it with olive oil, seasoned it with kosher salt, then roasted it at 400 for 15 minutes or so.
A squeeze of lemon when it was done.



The ravioli just got browned butter with a drizzle of basil olive oil.
Simple heaven.


Put it all together and here's dinner on my plate:






I'll save dessert for another post.
It didn't suck at all.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I've been messin' with my blog layout a little bit.
The most noticeable part is probably the photo size.
I'm not sold on the especially giant vertical pictures, but figured I'd try it out and see.
I'm just ready for a change, and a full overhaul would need to be hired out.
Which costs money.
So in the meantime, humor me while I tinker with it.
Feel free to leave feedback, but be nice, or I'll tell your mom.


7 comments:

  1. Seafood and me are a Thing, as are Italian and me, and oh steak and me too. Drooling wondering about dessert!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Seafood and me are a Thing, as are Italian and me, and oh steak and me too. Drooling wondering about dessert!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm hungry and your post has made my hunger pains even stronger! Holy food! I can not believe you did not eat those scallops!!! They look amazing!!! And you are raising your kids right by introducing them to good food! You need a show!! Happy day buddy! Nicole xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like a delicious perfectly displayed Valentine's Day meal. As far as your blog tinkering.....I like the big vertical pictures 😃. Why would you need to hire someone for a blog overhaul? You did everything on your blog yourself so far and it is very nice and I love how user-friendly it is. If your created your blog, I am sure you can 're-do it yourself too. I am pretty sure you can do everything!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like a delicious perfectly displayed Valentine's Day meal. As far as your blog tinkering.....I like the big vertical pictures 😃. Why would you need to hire someone for a blog overhaul? You did everything on your blog yourself so far and it is very nice and I love how user-friendly it is. If your created your blog, I am sure you can 're-do it yourself too. I am pretty sure you can do everything!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Where do I begin!?!
    I LOVE the big vertical photos! . . . Keep 'em coming!
    Your menu sounds divine! Loving your bucket of flowers as the centerpiece of your table. Did the flowers come from your garden?
    So much inspiration! Can't wait to see what you served for dessert :0)
    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well now I can't wait until I can start cooking for my husband again. This all looks wonderful and he'd love a meal like this one. The vertical photos don't bother me at all. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out.

    ReplyDelete

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