Pre-Valentine's Day Valentine's Day Dinner

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, what better way to prepare for the feast to come than with a rehearsal feast?? Not being able to think of a better alternative, my fiancée and I started preparations for a home-cooked gourmet dinner.

The dinner would consist of a spring salad bar with options including apple and gorgonzola with candied pecans and the more traditional croutons and red peppers with ranch dressing. I chose the latter, but out of the six people present, I think I was the only one.

Accompanying this dinner were several sides. The first was peas. I do not dislike peas; however, upon placing other items on my plate, I found that I scarcely had room for any additional items. The peas bore the brunt of my rejection, but they rebounded nicely, with everyone else taking generous portions.

There was also bread, available in two varieties. One was sourdough, which is my bread of choice. Given the option, I will always choose sourdough. The other was a bread that included Kalamata olives baked throughout. Not being an olive fan, I did not partake in the consumption of this bread. The third side was baked potatoes. Now, I'm sure the entrée is no longer a secret. So far we've got a salad, some bread, and potatoes. Only one thing could go perfectly with all three.

Steak! (Obviously)

But not just any steak. Oh no, these babies were filets. And they were thick filets. Expertly seasoned with salt and a dash of pepper, I opted to grill them, for I am the Grill Master.

After 5 minutes on each side, they were off. Back inside they came, ready to be devoured. There were slight variations in thickness among them, and, admittedly, some were more rare than others. But, it worked out alright based on the doneness preferences of everyone present. So, with all the pieces finally having congealed, it was time to eat!

I placed exorbitant amounts of butter on both my bread and potatoes, because butter. I took one of the thicker filets, and all I could do was stare at it.

When I cut into it, gloriousness smiled back at me.

Yes, I know this seems extremely rare. And it is. But let me tell you that this is not the most rare steak I've ever eaten. That honor belongs to last year's Valentine's dinner, for which we also cooked filets. Only that time they were cooked in a pan. On that occasion, the level of doneness of my steak led me to comment that I felt like it was trying to crawl back up my throat. It was essentially raw with slightly seared edges. But I ate it, I didn't get sick, and it was delicious! It's much the same story this year, but, again, with a more well-done (slightly less raw) steak. And again, it was delicious.

But the story does not end there. A gourmet dinner the likes of this one simply cannot end here. A classy dessert is very much in order. Luckily, my wonderful mother sent me a little surprise.

This was a small sample of the many chocolates and candies that she sent me. I had many.

To complement this dessert, my fiancée made our traditional dessert. And what is that traditional dessert, you ask? It is none other than the wonderful crème brûlée. Our first attempt was perfect, and it's been just as good every time since. It's incredibly rewarding to make, due in large part to the laborious nature of separating eggs yolks, waiting for cream to almost boil, not scorching the cream, baking just long enough, and the resolute patience required during the incredibly difficult chilling period. Plus, it's super fun to caramelize the sugar. 

This is culinary perfection, plain and (not so) simple. 

*Note: I ate my customary brotein bar for breakfast, and, for lunch/preworkout, I had two granola bars and a mandarin orange. I then had 2 scoops of brotein after the gym.