I consider myself to be a pretty decent cook. I have managed to put together some pretty complex meals in my day. Not often do I get scared of trying something new in the kitchen and often find comfort and joy when preparing a wonderful meal for my husband.
A bit of history for you: On the first Valentine's Day that Pat and I celebrated I decided to make Flounder Francaise. It's fish that is dredged in eggs and flour and then cooked in a skillet. What we ate for dinner instead of lovely flounder, was soggy fish in a scrambled egg mix. Yes, I totally messed that one up! Pat, being the great boyfriend at the time ate it right up. However, I have never made it again.
The past few Valentine's Days have been pretty successful. Two years ago we made King Crab Legs and got engaged! Last year I made pretty great dishes courtsey of The Pioneer Woman. This year, although we have a super cute baby to celebrate with, cooking our special meal...well, let's just say I'm glad I had wine on hand!
First things first. I decided to prep my goat cheese for my Baked Goat Cheese salad the night before. I chopped my chives, used dried thyme instead of fresh and got out my fresh goat cheese. I mixed them together in the processor and stuck it in the fridge. However, I was secretly worried as first of all, my cheese turn GREEN! And secondly, the cheese mix just seemed WAY too runny. But I just put it out of my mind.
On Valentine's morning, after the cheese had chilled for over 12 hours, I prepped everything to make the rounds. I beat my eggs in a dish. I put my chopped pecans in another dish and grabbed my cheese from the fridge. I used a spoon to scoop out the cheese and then started to roll it in my hands to form a ball. However, instead I bascially just ended up with a handfull of gooey cheese. For whatever reason the cheese never firmed up, and therefore could not be made into balls. So after some quick thinking I tosssed the cheese mixture into the freezer hoping to encourage the firming process. This seemed to help a bit, but ultimatly I only managed to get 5 disks dipped in egg and nuts before everything started melting apart. I will say, while not pretty (or correctly done I am prety sure) the 5 disks that I did end up baking were pretty good...green center and all!
On to the meringue.... After Lucy's morning feeding and my workout, I decided to get started on the merignue while she was down for her nap. Let me just say, I am pretty sure Ina Garten is a big, fat, liar. She claimed you only need to beat the egg whites and sugar for 3 minutes, max. I was standing there for a good ( and I mean GOOD ) 10 mintues. Ok, so I don't have an electric mixer, but I have a hand mixer with a whisk attachment so I'm not sure that should make a difference. Anyways, I finally got the stiff peaks I had been waiting for and into the oven it went.
And that is where it stayed the rest of the day. No, it was not done when Ina said it would be done. In fact, it pretty much wasn't ever done. I baked the crap out of it all day long and finally by evening I had achieved the crisp outer crust I had been promised. Out of the oven it came! It looked great and I was pretty proud of myself that I had managed to pull together my first ever meringue.
I look back on that moment of blissful ignorance and laugh to myself. Oh, don't worry, the inside was a total runny mess. Can you believe that?? After baking all freaking day, it STILL wasn't done. Oy! So I cut around the edges and saved that part and pitched the rest. I added some whipped cream and my berry mix to the parts and pieces pavlova. The best part of this is the fact that neither Pat or I even liked it. So we just ate the berries and called it a day.
Finally....the scallops. I have made Scallops Provencial multiple times before. It's a fancy dish with minimal effort. However, add a screaming baby to the mix and well...that's right folks, third fail! Ok, ok so it wasn't a total disaster, but my scallops certinaly weren't as good as I have made them before. And by the way, what the heck was I thinking making only beige-toned foods.
To top it all off, Lucy cried the entire evening. From the moment Pat walked in the door to the time we finally got her to go to sleep. Nothing like sharing a "romantic' mediocre meal with your husband, while taking turns trying to calm your cranky baby.
Next year it's gonna be a frozen pizza and a few beers. Good thing I had some wine and the picture Lucy and I made for Pat to look at.
The one upside is that while I have been so (and I mean more than words can describe) dreading going back to work...after a day like today, sitting at a nice, quite desk for 8 hours doesn't seem all that terrible.
But then I see this cute face...and I am sunk once all over again!
Scallops Provencal
Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients
1 pound of bay or sea scallops
Salt and Pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
4 Tbs of unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, cut in 1/2
Directions
1. Sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
2. In a very large saue pan, heat 2 tbs of butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow teh scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3-4 minutes, total.
3. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops.
4. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Herbed Baked Goat Cheese Salad
America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pecans
12 ounces goat cheese, softened
2 Tbs chopped fresh chives
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 large eggs
Vegetable oil spray
12 cups hearty salad greens
Dried cranberries
Croutons
Carrots, chopped
Red onion, chopped
Directions
1. Pulse the pecans in a food processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses; transfer to a medium bowl. Add teh cheese, chives and thyme o the food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate the cheese mixture in a covered bowl until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
2. Using your hands, take 2 Tbs of the chilled cheese mixture at a time and roll into twelve 1 1/2 inch balls. Beat the eggs in a meduim bowl. One at a time, dip the balls in the egg, allow the excess to run off, then roll them in the nuts, pressing gently to adhere. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a rimmed baking sheet. Press the balls into 2 inch disks with a greased measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until completely firm, at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.
3. Adjust the oven rack to the upper position and heat the oven to 475. Remove the plastic and spray the cheese lightly with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the nuts are golden brown and the cheese is warmed through, 7 to 10 mintues. Let cool for 3 minutes.
4. Toss with carrots, croutons, and greens. Add dressing of your preference.
Mixed Berry Pavlova
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients
4 extra large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 pint blackberries
1/2 pint rasberries
Whipped cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9 inch circle on the paper, suing a 9 inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (You won't get pencil mark on the meringue).
2. Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high spead until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peakes, about 3 minutes.
3. Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the venegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk.
4. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely im the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crips on the outside and soft inside.
5. Invert the merintue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with sweetened whipped cream. Combine the strawberries, blackberries and resberries in a bowl and toss with sugar. Spoon the berres carefully into the middle of the Pavlova, leaving a borner of cream and meringue. Serve immediately.
Last Bite: When celebrating Valentine's Day with a new baby at home, try something easy, like spaghetti!
This post cracks me up! Thanks I needed a good laugh(:
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