Dinner for Two Version 1 – Meat

As everyone is aware, there’s a special little holiday looming on the horizon. As a break away from the traditional bear, chocolate and roses, we thought you might consider putting together a romantic homemade dinner for two. Nothing says love like hovering over a hot stove. So this week, we’ve got two meal suggestions for you – today’s post is for the meat lovers out there and then on Wednesday, we’ll have something for the vegetarians among us. We’re going with a simple three-course meal – appetizer, main course with two sides, and dessert.

JE T'ADORE CARNIVORE
Menu for Two

* Spicy Shrimp Cocktail

* Pepper-crusted Filet Mignon with a Honey-Dijon-Horseradish Sauce, served with Steamed Sugar Snap Peas and Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

* Raspberry Shortcake with Chocolate Biscuits and Chambord-flavored Whipped Cream

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Spicy Cocktail Sauce

1 cup ketchup
2 tsp horseradish
2 tbsp lemon juice (we recommend fresh)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Texas Pete (or your favorite hot pepper sauce)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh-cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir to blend well. (Sauce will keep for up to a week if covered and refrigerated.)

Boiled Shrimp

In a pot of boiling water, add 1 bay leaf, some fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Drop raw, shelled shrimp into pot and cook until pink (approx. 2-3 minutes). Remove, rinse and set in the refrigerator to cool. Peel all but the tail before serving.

We cut a small nick in the shrimp to make it sit neatly on the edge of the serving dish. Serve with fresh lemon slices.

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Pepper-crusted Filet Mignon

2 6-oz filets

2 tsp. pepper blend*

*For the pepper blend, you can buy pre-made pepper blends or make your own mix with any combination of fresh-cracked black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, pink pepper, or green pepper. We mix at least three types, but you don’t have to. We do highly recommend that you have some fresh-cracked pepper as well as powdered to add a texture, as well as a taste, difference.

Trim any excess fat from the filets. Rub each side with the pepper blend.

In a hot skillet over high heat, cook the filets on each side until sealed.

Drop the temperature to medium and continuing cooking on each side until you reach the desired temperature. If you’re not sure how to tell what the consistency is, here’s a handy way to do it:

ttp://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat/

Trust us, this works. Once your meat is cooked, remove from skillet and let it relax for a few minutes.

Steak gets very tense when you cook it, so if you let it sit for a few minutes before serving the meat will be nice and tender and still very moist when you cut it.

Honey-Dijon-Horseradish Sauce

1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard (or your favorite brown mustard)
1 tbsp horseradish

Mix the three together in a small bowl until well blended.

You can vary the amounts depending on your taste. If you want a sweeter sauce, go heavier on the honey. If you enjoy a tear or two during dinner, go crazy with the horseradish (and for those aficionados out there, use actual horseradish, not horseradish sauce as the latter is much milder in taste).

Drizzle over the filet or make each of you your own small dish with made-to-order sauce.

Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Fresh snap peas (amount depends on how much you need for two)

In double-pot steamer, steam snap peas until tender, but still slightly crunchy (about 5-10 minutes). Rinse briefly to stop cooking and serve.

Because snap peas are so sweet and have such great flavor on their own, we serve them plain without salt or pepper, but you can season to taste.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower

1 sweet potato
1/3 head of cauliflower
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the sweet potato into medium-sized cubes. Break the cauliflower apart into bite-sized pieces.

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients until the two vegetables are well-coated.

Rub a light coating of olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish and pour the veggie mix onto. Bake at 450° for about 30 minutes stirring often.

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through and the cauliflower has touches of brown color on it, put the oven on broil and let them cook another 5-10 minutes to give them extra color.

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Raspberry Shortcake with Chambord-flavored Whipped Cream

Fresh raspberries
Chocolate biscuits
Chambord-flavored Whipped Cream
Chocolate glaze

Slice chocolate biscuit in half. Brush the bottom half with the chocolate glaze.

Cover the bottom half with a generous helping of whipped cream.

Place fresh raspberries on whipped cream.

Prop top half of biscuit at a rakish angle, then drizzle with the chocolate glaze.

Add a dollop of whipped cream next to your creation and top with a raspberry. Enjoy.

Chocolate Biscuits

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup light cream

Heat oven to 425° F.

Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, and salt in a bowl, then gradually add the cream, mixing with a spoon until mixture holds together.

Lightly knead dough on a lightly floured board for about one minute. Spread out with a rolling pin to about 3/4 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter.

Place onto a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

You may need to add a bit more flour or cream depending on how the mix comes together and the weather, yes weather. Because we were baking on a day after a week of snow and rain, there was still enough moisture in the air to make our dough sticky so we added more flour.

Chambord-flavored Whipped Cream

1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Chambord or raspberry liqueur, to taste

In a chilled bowl, whip cold cream until stiff. Add in liqueur to taste. If it whipped cream gets too thin, add in some powdered sugar and re-whip to thicken. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate Glaze

2 tbsp Powdered sugar
1 tsp cream or water
1 tsp cocoa
Chambord or raspberry liqueur, to taste (optional)

With a small whisk, mix ingredients together until thick, but still runny (may have to adjust amounts).

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We’d like to make a shout out to k2’s parents who so willingly allowed themselves to be our romantic dinner guinea pigs (and provided the big ticket ingredients so we could do so).

Just a note for our local followers – if you are ever interested in being TCC guinea pigs and don’t mind providing or supplementing for supplies, just let us know because we would love to work something out.

Tips

One of the things to keep in mind as you plan your meal is that if your main course is a heavier fare, like beef or pork, you’ll want to bookend it with lighter dishes so that you don’t put your sweetie into a food coma when all is said and done. Alternately if you choose a lighter main dish, like fish or chicken, you can start and end with something a bit more substantial.

Try to vary your main course in both color and texture. For example, we used steamed snap peas which offer a nice bright green to offset the browns and oranges, as well as provide a little crunchy element to the plate. For that reason, we recommended steamed or stir-fried vegetables.

When you plan your meal, try to envision what it will look like on the plate together, you don’t want it all the same shape or color or height.