Valentine's Day

Ok, so I realize this post is so late because Valentine's Day was like 3 days ago…but I have been so busy loving my Valentine that I haven't had a chance to write this post. 

So, for our day of love we always choose to stay in and celebrate as opposed to go out. We make it a goal to make each other a particularly special dinner and dessert and snuggle all evening. I love it. I love not fighting crowds. And I love being able to celebrate the man I love at home with only him. 

This year Tay took over the kitchen and made both dinner and dessert for us. This isn't his first rendezvous in the kitchen and we had talked about the meal earlier that week so I had an idea of what to expect. But let me tell you, he went so far beyond my expectations that I can't even adequately describe the deliciousness that this one meal contained. Serious. 

My plate looked like this:

That is probably the biggest mound of mashed potatoes that you have ever seen, I know, but I didn't eat them all that night. Although I desperately wanted to because they were that good. 

Our meal consisted of Garlic mashed red potatoes, flash cooked asparagus and broiled steak with feta on top. Amazeballs. I am telling you. If you ever want to impress your family make them this meal!

And in case you really do believe me as to how amazing this meal was, and want to re-create it I'll give you the recipes.

Steak Marinade:

1/4 cup of a balsamic vinaigrette that you like

1-2 Tbsp. of brown sugar

1 large clove of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

Make sure your steaks are thawed when you go to marinate them. You'll want to poke the steaks multiple times with a fork to create pathways for the marinade to seep into. Throw the steaks into a ziplock bag with the marinade and let them sit for a good 6-8 hours in the fridge. (we let them marinate over night, but that isn't necessary)

When your ready to cook your steak, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (on broil), then you're going to want to sear them in a frying pan first (with olive oil). Make sure the pan and oil are really hot when you put the steak in. This will seal the juices in before you put them in the oven. After they're seared (they'll be a little brown on the outside) you'll broil them in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they're cooked to your liking. If you add the feta, which I highly recommend, crumble the feta on the top and stick the steaks back in the broiler for a few minutes, or until the cheese has turned slightly brown.

Potatoes:

These aren't anything too special. They can be found online if you google garlic mashed potatoes. But basically you wash and peel the potatoes. Boil water and, add the potatoes, and let them boil until they are soft (easily pierced with a fork). Mash the potatoes (I like to use a hand mixer to make them fluffy) and add a minced clove of garlic, and milk and butter to taste (sorry I don't have exact measurements for milk and butter. It really is to your own liking. Or you can use an online recipe…)

Asparagus:

This is the easiest recipe on the planet!! So you take your stalks of asparagus and cut off the bottom (really hard) part. I usually like to cut my stalks in half so they're a little easier to eat. Heat up a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. You want the pan to be super hot but not so hot that the oil is burning. Once the pan is sufficiently hot, add the asparagus and toss it in the oil. We love Creole seasoning on our asparagus too. It adds a little spice and plenty of salt to make the asparagus delicious. Only cook the asparagus for a couple minutes or to desired tenderness. 

Go cook! Make this dinner. You will thank me.