My absolute favorite thing to do with my boyfriend is get in the kitchen and turn it into a total disaster while attempting to make ourselves a gourmet, multiple course meal, that would out do anything we could afford at a restaurant. For Valent
ine's Day we created the perfect menu and the whole thing was really special because we did it together. (Also we could afford more than one glass of wine! :) always good!) I think you could make this as a meal for a special event, or just as separate dishes in bigger portions for a few different meals. Everything was pretty easy to make and looked and tasted beautiful. The whole menu was inspired by "aphrodisiac" foods, so its a great concept for impressing a date.
*Many of these recipes were found either in full or
in part on Epicurious.
Tuna and Avocado Tartar with California Caviar Served on Sesame Wanton Crisps
These were incredible. My recommendation would be to add the avocado just before serving so it maintains a bright green color. Such a perfect start to the meal, and they would be an amazing appetizer at a wine tasting. And they went so perfectly with the ginger infused champagne! I will definitely be serving the pair at some point again. The recipe is huge, as are all of them, I made about a quarter. This could easily serve 8 as an appetizer.
Crisps:
8-12 wanton wrappers cut in half to form 2 triangles
olive oil
sesame seeds
Tartare:
2 Tb Soy sauce
1 Tb unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp wasabi
3/4 tsp sesame oil
8 oz sashimi grade (ask the fish guy at whole foods or a specialty store specifically for sashimi grade), cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1 cup 1/3 inch cubes of seeded and peeled cucumber
1 green onion, finely chopped
Toasted sesame seeds
chopped fresh chives
California caviar (I ommited this for expense reasons, its up to you)
Crisps:
Preheat oven to 350, line a baking pan with parchment paper. Brush triangles with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake about 9 minutes, until golden brown.
Tartare:
Whisk the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add tuna,
cucumber, and green onion. (Can be refrigerated up to this point). Add avocado right before serving. Stir gently to coat. Spoon tartare onto the crisps, or serve in a bowl with the crisps as dipping chips.
*includes raw fish
Artichoke and Lemon Soup with Creme Fraise
I had a variation of this at Metrazur Restaurant in Grand Central and thought it was amazing so I decided to recreate it. I think it turned out well, but be sure to remove all the leafy bits from the artichoke hearts before adding to the soup.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, minced
1 clove minced garlic
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 small cans artichoke hearts (the kind in water, not oil), drained.
olive oil
the juice of two lemons, freshly squeezed (apx. 4 Tbs)
1 cup heavy cream
salt
fresh black pepper
1 container creme fraise
Directions:
Melt butter large deep pot over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs olive oil, onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic. Cook about 30 seconds, or until garlic starts to release its flavor (you'll smell it). Add the chicken broth and chopped up artichoke hearts. Boil over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and heavy cream. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender, or regular blender to blend artichoke hearts into broth. Continue to pulse until smooth. Serve warm. Add a dollop of creme fraise in each bowl. I should have really done a heart.
Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto and Balsamic Vinaigrette
This was perfect as a third course. In a bigger serving this would make a really great lunch salad.
Ingredients:
Roma Tomatoes
A good mozzarella, I like the kind stored in salted water rather than the low moisture stored in saran wrap for this.
Basil Pesto (you can buy a good one at Whole Foods or any other good food retailer, or make your own.. recipe below)
A very good aged balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper
Directions:
Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into similar sized slices and arrange on the plate. In a small bowl mix 1 Tb of pesto with 1 Tbs olive oil. Drizzle over the salad. In another small bowl mix 1/2tsp balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp olive oil. Drizzle over salad. Sprinkle salad generously with salt and pepper. Serve
Basil Pesto
In a food processor mix:
2 cups fresh basil
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts (toasted)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
Once blended, drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil while food processor is on. Continue to pulse until smooth.
Fillet Mignon with Truffled Mushroom Ragout, Whipped Potatoes au Fromage, and Broiled Seasoned Asparagus
My boyfriend loves fillet, potatoes, and definitely asparagus, so I figured he could handle if we added some mushrooms since I love them. He didn't like the idea but ended up loving the flavor, so this is definitely safe for the mushroom haters out there. The recipe calls for a few drops of truffle oil. This stuff is expensive but I think its a great investment. A few drops of it literally make any meal you add it to seem and taste gourmet. In the end it will up the gourmet factor of tons of dishes in the lifetime of one small bottle. Since we only wanted a tasting menu size portion, I got one small fillet at the butcher and cut it in half for the two of us. If this is a full meal, I'd obviously recom
mend using one steak per per
son. Please make sure they are giving you a real fillet, this dish just goes perfectly with the texture.
Ingredients:
3 Tbs butter
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
12 oz crimini or button mushrooms, quartered
2/3 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
3-4 Tbs whipping cream
1/2 cup dry red wine
1-2 tsp peanut oil
2 1 inch think fillet mignons
1/2 tsp truffle oil
Timing is important here. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Start the sauce.
Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and marjoram, saute for about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and coat them with the butter mixture. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook about 10 minutes until mushrooms have released their juices. Add chicken broth, wine, and whipping cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Season to taste and cover to retain heat. Or make this in advance and reheat for serving.
Have the potatoes done ahe
ad of time and the asparagus cooking on a bottom rack in the oven. Then start the steaks. In a heavy medium skillet over high heat add peanut oil and coat entire skillet. Season steaks with salt and pepper, turn the stove fan up to high, open some windows, and add the steaks. Brown each side for about 1 minute. Then transfer pan to the oven for about 4 minutes (for medium rare), (5-6 for medium). Remove from pan and let set.
Spoon ragout over steaks o
n serving plate. Drizzle each steak with a few drops of truffle oil.
Potatoes au Fromage
These are just basic mashed potatoes with cheese. We went to a cheese shop and found a fantastic goat cheese. I would recommend asking the person working with the cheese what the recommend since they will surely have different things available seasonally. Tell them you are going to put it in potatoes so it needs to melt easily, and that it should go with a red wine and truffle flavor.
Boil 2 potatoes, cut into four chunks, until tender. Strain. Peel off skin once they are slightly cooled, it should come right off. Add back the pan and heat for a moment to remove and excess water. Mash in 2 Tbs butter, 1/4 cup cream, and about a 1/4 cup of the cheese, depending on how strong it is, use your judgement. Season with salt and pepper.
Asparagus:
Wash one bundle of asparagus. Hold both ends and break at the natural point. Cut the rest of the bunch at the same
point, or break each individually. Place on an oven safe pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, or lemon pepper if you like. Cook in a 375 or 400 degree oven for approximately 7-10 minutes, or until fork tender.
Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes with Vanilla Cheesecake Infused Whipped Cream and Straw
berries
If you don't try anything else from this menu, please try this. It is so simple and so elegant and delicious. People will be so impressed. You could also serve these cakes with ice cream, regular whipped cream, or really anything you like. The picture is a little messy because we got ahead of ourselves :)
Molten Cakes:
Makes 4
Ingredients:
5 oz dark, or if you like semisweet chocolate chopped.
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 Tbs brandy (optional, I didn't use it and they were great)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs Espresso
large pinch of salt
1 Tbs all purpose flour
Generously butter four small souffle dishes (I just used little custard cups, but check that they are oven safe). In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over very low head, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while some lumps still remain and stir until smooth. Continue to stir occasionally as it cools.
Arrange the custard cups on a baking sheet. In a large bowl, preferably one attached to your kitchen aid or other electric mixer, beat eggs, yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla until a very think ribbon falls from beaters when lifted. From 6-10 minutes with an electric mixer (or a really long time if you are using a whisk like us). Sift flour over the mixture. Fold in slowly and carefully. Add espresso t
o chocolate and mix. Carefully add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and fold very gently until combined. Divide evenly between custard dishes. (These can be made up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Then let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake about 12 minutes. The tops should be slightly puffed but a toothpick inserted into center should come out with still moist batter. Remove from oven and let cool for about 3-5 minutes. Gently flip custard dishes over and wiggle cakes out onto serving dish. Top with infused whipped cream and sliced strawberries.
Vanilla Cheesecake Infused Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream, chille
d
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whip cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until blended.
In a chilled bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the cream cheese mixture.
