Dexter's Diggs: Love Is In The Air

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL!!

Dave and I kind of celebrated Valentine's Day a little all weekend. I made us dinner Saturday night, Bacon wrapped Fillet Mignon with grilled potatoes and asparagus along with Chocolate Truffle Tarts...it was all so heavenly! Dave bought be some lovely flowers accompanied by a singing card. As our gift we're going to the Rascal Flatts concert coming up and as a V-day bonus, our bedroom furniture was delivered today!

Our romantic dinner for two!

Steak & Veggies - This recipe if off the Rachael Ray Show from this years Super Bowl Episode which came from an NFL football player. It won in the contest and gave me the idea to make it for Valentine's day, plus it looked delicious and it sooo was!! I used an Amana Fillet Mignon from Hy-Vee.

Steak Marinade - for 2 fillets

1 stick melted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
pinch of salt & pepper
McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning

Whisk together the melted butter, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Take a toothpick and poke holes into the fillets so marinade will penetrate. Place fillets in a plastic Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. I put them back into the refrigerator to marinade for a few hours until we were ready to start cooking. Before cooking, place plastic bag in a shallow pan of lukewarm water. When steaks are finished marinating, grill on both sides until desired doneness.

Veggies: My favorite way to make asparagus is to place spears on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper, bake at 350 degrees from about 15-20 minutes. I prefer the ends to be a little more crispy :) For the potatoes I sliced them into thin circular slices and seasoned with salt, pepper, butter and a grilled veggie seasoning from McCormick. I grilled them on a grill pan on the stove until tender.

For dessert I found a recipe off Food Network.com from Tyler Florence called Truffle Tarts with Raspberries. Since raspberries are really expensive, $4.00 for 6oz, I substitute blackberries ($1.80 per 6 oz) and strawberries since I planned on using them for the crepes I wanted to make for Valentine's Day breakfast.

Truffle Tarts with Raspberries - makes 6

1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (from Oreo cookies or chocolate wafers)
6 Tbsp melted butter
parchment paper
1/2 cup heavy cream
8-oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

Use a fork to mix together the chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter. Line a muffin tin with 6 squares of parchment or waxed paper, wide and long enough to overhang the sides, this is to remove the tarts and keep them from sticking to the pan. Spoon wafer mixture into the muffin tin and 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Place a raspberry (I put 2) in the center of each crust then fill with truffle mixture.

In a saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for about 20-30 minutes at room temperature. Then beat the chocolate at medium speed until it gets thick and light colored. Spoon into crusts and smooth the top. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Garnish with extra berries and serve.

Sunday morning I made a Valentine's Day Brunch of Chocolate Crepes with Fresh Strawberries and I added my leftover blackberries. I found this recipe on Food Network also from Emeril Lagasse.

Chocolate Crepes with Fresh Strawberries - makes about 14 crepes

For the Crepes:

1 1/2 cups four
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 Tbsp confectioner' sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large size mixing bowl, combine butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and oil and whisk until blended. Add the dry mixture a little at a time to the liquid mixture, whisking until smooth. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot spray with oil, remove from hear and pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Swirl the pan around to spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the heat and cook until lightly golden, 30-40 seconds. Turn the crepe over and cook the other side for about 15 seconds. Remove from pan. Repeat the process until all the batter is used.

Filling:

1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup pureed fresh strawberries
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in sour cream, sugar, strawberries, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Put 2-3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the crepe. Fold the bottom of the crepe up over the filling and then fold in both sides. Place onto a plate and drizzle with sauce.

Sauce:

1/2 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups berried chopped (I pureed fruit for the sauce also)

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add the sugar and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the berries and continue cooking for about 1 minute. Drizzle sauce over crepes and serve.

And FINALLY for Valentine's Day night dinner, my husband bought us a Papa Murhpy's heart shaped pizza! It's a heart, as much a pizza can be shaped as a heart anyways.