Valentine's Day Dinner 2009

Valentine's Day for Cary and I is just like any other day. We really do not buy into the hype too much - we did not get engaged or married on that day, nor did we take our honeymoon during that time. Like other couples, we do exchange cards, and sometimes get each other silly presents. The big gift, though, is going to be coming a little bit late - We're going to be attending the Metropolitan Cooking Show in West Palm Beach on 3/29, and Cary bought us tickets to a VIP Dinner and Book Signing with one of my favorite Food Network celebrities, Paula Deen - I absolutely LOVE the woman and regard her as one of my role models who took an idea and grew it into something gignormous!

A while back, my friend, Carrie Oliver (who has an Artistan Beef Company, The Oliver Ranch) sent us a sample pack of some of her best-selling Steaks. We decided to pair two of the Wet-Aged Wagyu-Angus Cross Steaks with two Wild Lobster Tails from Costco, and roast up some Baby Bliss Potatoes and Asparagus Spears with Olive Oil, Rosemary, and Garlic.

The entire house smelled wonderful as we cooked everything, and a couple of our neighbors came over and asked us where we got our steaks from - they had never smelled anything like them ever! I gave them Carrie's website, and told them to order the steaks - they were heavenly!


We bought a 2007 Foire a Deux Menage a Trois Red Blended Wine (Zinfadel, Merlot, Cab Sav), and paired it with the dinner.

For dessert, we picked up mini-cakes from Publix Greenwise:


Triple Chocolate Mousse


Strawberry Tart

All in all, this had to be the BEST Valentine's Day dinner that we ever had - all it took was a little bit of advance planning and teamwork, and we were able to pull it off.

Enjoy!
Chef Susan