Valentine's Dinner

Whatcha gonna cook?? Don't tell me this is your night to go out to dinner. Valentine's Day is on a Monday and who has time for a romantic night out on the town on Monday? I say it's time to cook something yummy and make your Honey do the dishes! Do your planning & shopping this weekend and enjoy a special beginning to the week! Here are some ideas I'm throwing around.

The first time I made Grilled Steaks with Stilton Sauce was for Valentine's Dinner a bajillion years ago. Caterina was a baby. It is one of Jack's favorites; Sara Moulton was right. It's a Gourmet Magazine recipe she had on her now defunct show Cooking Live.  It is made for all sorts of special occasions at my house. Measure everything out for your sauce ahead of time and you can make it pretty quickly.

http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Rib-eye%20steak%20with%20stilton%20sauce

Lamb chops are another favorite around here. John Robinson, friend and executive chef at Manchester Arms in College Park, showed me how to make a perfect rack of lamb BC (before Caterina). It's a classic dish that never goes out of fashion. I usually get the lamb at Sam's and it has always been delicious. You can get a much more impressive bone on a rack from a good butcher, but I'm cheap! Demi glace gold is veal stock paste. It comes in a little jar or small tub. I have gotten it at Your Dekalb Farmer's Market (although I didn't notice it there on Sunday) and The Cook's Warehouse. A good gourmet store should have it. If you are stuck in Clarksdale and can't make it to Memphis, try substituting beef stock. This is so delicious that our former neighbor would come around and beg left-overs whenever I was serving it!

Perfectly Roasted Rack of Lamb
2 lamb racks
salt & pepper
4 sprigs of rosemary
8 sprigs of thyme
demi glace gold
1/2 cup of red wine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse & pat dry the lamb racks and season with salt & pepper. In a large oven-proof skillet (NOT non-stick) brown the lamb, meat side down, over medium-high heat until you get a nice crust on it. Turn off the heat and flip the rack over so the meaty side is facing up. (At this point you can let the pan cool and stick it in the fridge for a few hours then bring it back to room temperature for show time! Very useful for a dinner party!) Top the lamb with the thyme & rosemary. Just put the whole sprigs on top, no chopping. Roast for 15 minutes for rare or 20 minutes for medium-rare. While it's cooking dissolve your demi glace paste in water in the proportions on the package so that you have 1/2 cup of veal stock. Remove lamb to a cutting board (toss the herbs) and loosely cover with foil while you make the sauce. Place your skillet on the stove over medium heat and deglaze the pan with the red wine scraping up those yummy brown bits. Add the stock and let simmer. Cut the lamb (it should have rested at least 10 minutes) & drizzle with sauce. So good!

But if you want to be a little healthier, how about a fish dish? I've seen some nice looking tuna around town and this is super fast and super easy!

Grilled Sesame Tuna
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
cracked pepper
sesame seeds

Light your grill and get it to medium-high temperature. Let the fish come to room temperature. Combine the oil & soy sauce and dip the tuna in the mixture. If you have a steak, sprinkle one side with the cracked pepper & sesame seeds. If you have a tenderloin (my favorite but harder to find) roll it in the pepper & sesame seeds. Grill 3 minutes per side. Slice and serve with a cucumber salad.

I'll let you know what I pick on Tuesday!