Oh Valentine’s! It’s such a fun holiday to COOK. I don’t like it for any other reason- well except maybe put up cheesy decor. Photography by Sarah Dixon Photography

Let’s talk Steak- most husbands love steak, but sometimes it gets pricey and really- its meat and potatoes they want.

Behold the TRI TIP! 1/3 of the cost of ribeye and so much flavor- my husband said it tastes more meaty.

How to cook Steak to a medium

Never use a non stick or teflon coated pan. Also get a pan that is oven safe. My Rachael Ray Pans i’ve had for over a decade guys! they are amazing!

Directions

take steak out of packaging and salt both sides.
preheat your pan on high and and oil
preheat your oven to 350
when your oil ripples your pan is ready
place your steaks down away from your face- ahhh hear that sizzle
cook for 5 minutes then flip. you should have a nice brown crust
cook the other side for 5 minutes.
add a pad of butter on to each steak
place in oven for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of steak
take steaks out of oven.
Check your temperature. We love this digital thermometer from our pals at thermoworks. you are looking for a temp of 130-135 in the thickest part.
place your steaks on a cutting board and cover with foil. this is called carry over cooking. you want to rest your steak up to 15 minutes so that the meat can redistribute its fats and juices within the meat. when you slice it right away, all those juices came to the surface from the heat that is why you see dry steak many times. the steak did not rest.
For your Pan sauce- add 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic. let the sauce come to a boil then turn it off. it will be syrupy
slice your steak. you always want to slice perpendicular to the way the lines of the meat.
serve with a drizzle of your pan sauce. On a side note, I don’t pepper my steaks til after they are done. I find that pepper burns and goes bitter and the super high heat pan.

Sides:

Mashed Potatoes- just your favorite recipe.

Sauteed Green Beans with Almonds and Shaved Parmesan

Directions for Green Beans

trim a pound of green beans and, in a small pot, place in water with fresh lemon juice, a couple wedges. it will help keep the bright color.
Bring it to just a boil and take off the heat and drain,
in a non stick pan, on medium high heat add olive oil. add your drained green beans.
saute until you see it start to turn brown on the sides and then add you almonds. Stir until the almonds are toasted
transfer to a platter, ad salt and pepper
with a peeler shave large strips of Parmesan over the top.

Dessert for my hubby is always cherry related. He loves stuff like cherry turnovers and cherry pies. So I made little cherry hand pies cut into the shape of hearts.

Directions for Cherry Hand Pies

What You Will Need

1 Box of store bought refrigerated pie dough. It comes with two and you will get 6 pies
4 inch heart cookie cutter
Cherry Pie Filling
Powdered Sugar
Egg

How to Fill

Cut out your pie dough, lay the bottoms on a non stick silpat on your sheet tray.
for the tops, poke with a fork so air can escape
place exactly 4 cherries in the center of the bottom pieces
add your top piece and crimp or use a fork to seal the edges
brush the tops with an egg wash ( 1 egg and a tablespoon of water

Bake and Serve

Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
Let them cool for about 20 minutes
dust with powdered sugar

Keep it Easy!

I bought jarred spinach and artichoke dip and just shaved some parmesan on it and baked it until it was hot and bubbly.

Store bought macarons on a cute cupcake pedestal were a fun touch

Cutting out garlic toast with a heart shaped cookie cutter just added that little love on the plate. This is frozen garlic bread that was heated in the oven. Easy right?!