Valentine's Day 2015 Menu

Valentine's Day. A day to show love to the special people in your life. And if you have a special someone - oftentimes a day to go out and spend money on a fancy meal, surrounded by a restaurant full of other loving couples. While a night out on the town can seem appealing to many, the sheer thought of having a designated night for going out with the rest of the world doesn't say love to me.

Derek and I speak the language of love through cooking together, and so for the day where love is put first and foremost, it only made sense for the two of us to cook a fabulous meal at home.

Not only did we get to have entertainment and dinner all in one - but we also saved boku bucks doing so. Even despite the complex menu that Derek envisioned - we certainly saved money by staying in AND were able to polish off nearly two bottles of wine (bubbly/pinot) which, at a restaurant, would have cost more than our entire meal combined.

The menu for the evening:

• Blue Point Oysters with a Prosecco Mignonette
• Prosciutto, Melon and Squid Summer Rolls with Tarragon and Chile Oils
• Homemade Gnocchi with Chanterelles and Broccoli Rabe
• Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass with a Thick Tomato Vinaigrette and Basil Cream 
• Tiramisu Meringue Roulade

With a simple but enjoyable Santa Margherita Prosecco ($19) and a smoky Anaba Pinot Noir ($46).

Sure, this took some time. But we prepped earlier in the day and didn't care how much time we spent in the kitchen because it was in the negatives with windchill outside and we had no desire to do anything else productive (except for a hot yoga class) during the day.

I'll create a separate post for a few of these dishes. Particularly the dessert because I had 100% control of that one (and it was fantastic). Also the summer rolls were incredibly unique and refreshing  - and being Derek's brainchild, it is probably something worth writing down.

For the rest, enjoy the pictures - and sorry, there are no leftovers (except for dessert).

Blue Point Oysters with Prosecco Mignonette

Recipe for the Mignonette (accompanying sauce) can be found here. That's the easy part. The difficult part is definitely shucking the oysters - and job that is reserved for Derek. Makes you appreciate those silly $3 oysters that you get in a restaurant a bit more. We bought the oysters for $0.60 a piece from the local fish market - already you can see the savings of a homemade meal.

Prosciutto, Melon, Squid Summer Rolls with Tarragon and Chile Oils

Here is creativity at its finest. I was a bit skeptical of this menu addition at first as it was foreign to me in concept. I get prosciutto and melon and I get summer rolls but I haven't had the two combined. Then add squid into the mix and my mind was blown. Fortunately, my mouth was blown when I ate the final creation. It was complex and refreshing and actually worked really well together. We discussed the modifications that we would make if we were to continue building on this recipe concept - but we were both incredibly pleased with the result.

Anaba Pinot Noir - from our Wine Club Shipment - $46

Robert Parker gave this 90 points. In his words, it is "The medium ruby/garnet-tinged 2012 Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch possesses black cherry and berry fruit, soft tannins, adequate acidity and a lush, hedonistic mouthfeel. This medium-bodied Pinot Noir should drink nicely for 3-4 years." In my words, it is delicious - though probably not the perfect fit with our meal (we knew that but wanted a red).

Homemade gnocchi with Chanterelles and Broccoli Rabe

This dish almost was scratched from the menu. Not because we didn't want it - but because despite standing in front of the potatoes and explicitly calling out "let's get potatoes" - we left the grocery store without potatoes - only to realize this once we arrived home. And with how cold it was outside, neither of us wanted to venture back out just for a potato or two. Solution? Order a $4 baked potato from the cafe at our gym. It worked - and was pre-cooked so we could scratch off one step of our cooking process. The gnocchi - a potato based "dumpling" were light and comforting. The rich butter broth paired exquisitely with earthy chanterelles and bitter broccoli rabe. It was simple in all of its perfection.

Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Thick Tomato Vinaigrette and Basil Cream

As if I were not already satisfied  - this beauty was put in front of me. My only contribution here was the Parmesan crisp. Derek made a rich vinaigrette with cherry and sun-dried tomatoes with sherry vinegar. We both agreed the sun-dried tomatoes were perhaps a bit overpowering paired with the delicate Sea Bass - but it was delicious nonetheless. It was reminiscent of a romesco sauce in terms of complexity and richness. But I agree it would have been better either without the sun-dried tomatoes or paired with a different protein. That's just us being critical - was it insanely delicious and was the fish perfectly cooked and did we finish every last bite. Yes.

Tiramisu Meringue Roulade

To top it all off, I made a take on a tiramisu that incorporated all of the familiar flavors in a beautiful, gluten-free meringue vessel. I'll write on this separately so I won't go into too much detail but I can say I was proud of this one as it was my own brainchild. I used a recipe from Plenty More for the meringue and to get the basic technique but then molded the flavors to a tiramisu profile. It was light and airy yet smooth and seductive. Just what a Valentine's Day meal should be.

Here's to speaking the language of love through food - making every day in the kitchen a sign of love.

Xoxo.