Romantic Surf & Turf Dinner

This is the dinner I prepared this year for Valentine's Day, but this is also a very sexy dish to serve on anniversaries, or if you want to show your significant other how much you appreciate them or doing that something extra special and romantic for no occasion at all; kind of like receiving flowers out of the blue.

On The Menu

1st course: Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail

2nd course: Starter - Cheese Fondue

3rd course: Main Dishes - Individual Beef Wellingtons with Maine Lobster Tail

4th course: Side Dishes - Sweet Spicy Mustard Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans Pine-amandine

5th Course: Recommended Dessert: Pearl & Crystal Strawberries

1st course: Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail

This is the simple part of this dinner: get some cooked, de-veined shrimp and a jar of cocktail sauce.  What makes this look so elegant is serving it in a martini glass.  To save a little money, you can purchase uncooked shrimp.  In this case I cook about 10 shrimp with the lobster tails (see below) until they are pink.  To make an easy cocktail sauce if you don't want to purchase it pre-made, use ketchup as a base and mix horse radish in to taste.  Round it out with some garlic powder to taste. 

2nd course: Starter - Cheese Fondue

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese 

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

3/4 cup white wine (I used a Chardonnay, if you prefer a sweeter result, a Riesling can be chosen)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. onion powder (optional)

1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)

whole wheat French bread loaf, cut into square pieces

1. Mix all shredded cheese together in a bowl and coat with cornstarch
2. In a pan, on medium heat, pour in wine.
3. Gradually add in cheese and stir frequently to ensure clumping does not occur.
4. Add in any final spices and serve.

I was super lucky to have found a heart-shaped fondue set for the occasion, and I have seen them available on Amazon for as low as $12.  It's not necessary, but certainly adds to the overall theme and spread.

3rd course: Main Dishes - Individual Beef Wellingtons with Maine Lobster Tail

Ingredients:

2 cuts of beef tenderloin filet

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup onion minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup Bella mushrooms, stems removed, minced

2 tbsp. cup white wine

1/4 tsp. garlic powder & red pepper flakes

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls

2 Maine lobster tails

3/4 cup melted butter

2 wedges of fresh lemon

1. Heat water in a pot to a rolling boil.  Make sure there is enough water to either a)
   submerge both lobster tails or b) both lobster tails and 10 shrimp.  Continue to boil until shrimp are pink in color and lobster tails are red.  Chill shrimp until ready to serve.  The lobster tails will take longer than the shrimp to cook in most cases.
2. Heat olive oil and onion in a pot on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until onion starts to caramelize (brown, soft and sweet)
   
3. Add in wine and mushrooms.  Once mushrooms are cooked (softened and darker in color) and liquid is reduced, stir in spices and remove from heat.
4. Season tenderloin filets with salt and pepper on both sides to taste
5. Sear filets over medium heat on each side.  Additional olive oil may be needed. Approximately 3-4 minutes depending on thickness of cuts and preference of rareness on the inside.  The outside should be evenly seared but still pink on the inside.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease a baking sheet.
7. Prepare crescent rolls for wrapping filets (press triangle seams together to form squares) leave one triangle for heart buttons.
8. Place filet in center of now square crescent roll dough.  Spoon onion mixture over the top of filet.
9. Enclose filet and onion in crescent roll dough.  Repeat with other filet.
10. Cut out 4 heart decorations from last crescent roll triangle and use 2 per filet to 'seal' the enclosure of the dough envelope.
11. Bake in oven for approximately 11-13 minutes or until bread crust is golden brown.
12. Serve with Maine lobster tails (use melted butter and fresh lemon to flavor the lobster tails).

4th course: Side Dishes - Sweet Spicy Mustard Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans Pine-amandine

Sweet Spicy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2-3 russet or Yukon gold potatoes

4 tbsp. butter

Milk for preferred consistency

1-2 tbsp. of sweet spicy mustard

Salt to taste (optional)

1. Peel potatoes and cut into quarter inch pieces.
2. Simmer potatoes until softened - for approximately 35-40 minutes.
3. Drain potatoes and remove from heat.
4. Melt butter and add milk for preferred consistency.
5. Mix in sweet spicy mustard and serve.

Green Bean Pine-amandine

I adjusted a standard Green Beans Amandine recipe because I didn't have any slivered almonds and found that pine nuts actually made this dish better, with their buttery, rich taste.

Ingredients: 1/2 lbs. green beans (fresh or frozen)

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. of pine nuts

1 fresh lemon wedge

1. Place beans in a pan with the water on medium heat; cover almost completely and let steam for (about 10-15 minutes) until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a pan and lightly toast pine nuts over a low heat (this only take a few minutes).
3. Add beans and mix all together.  Plate on dish and give a squeeze of lemon juice over the top.

Lisa's Tips & Tricks

• $ Tip: When cooking with wine, purchase less expensive wine.
• Time Tip: The Sweet Spicy Mustard Mashed Potatoes are just as yummy with plain instant mashed potatoes, if you find yourself short on time.
• Alternative Tip: Many beef wellington recipes will call for puff pastry sheet for the crust.  This works well, but I prefer the buttery taste that the crescent rolls have.  If baking with a puff pastry sheet, I would suggest simmering your filets for a shorter time as the puff pastry sheet bakes longer in the oven than crescent rolls.