Hers <3 His
Why not, we did Valentine's Day on February 16th and I decided to cook a dinner that was going to be as unhealthy as it needed to be! And you know what? It turned out to be pretty healthy ANYWAY! And tasty!
On The Menu
New York Strip Steak with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
Brussel sprouts baked with bacon and almonds, dressed with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar
Potatoes Gratin with Gorganzola cheese
Red Wine
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
In fact, after the meal, Boyfriend questioned me about the budget that went into this meal for comparison with restaurant prices.
FYI: $12 2 steaks, $3 Brussels sprouts, $1 2 potatoes, $3 Portabello mushrooms, $10 for the wine, $4 for the Gorgonzola cheese, $4 for strawberries, $3 for chocolate and other stuff that we already had in the fridge: probably $3. That comes out to $43 total. In a restaurant, a steak dinner with potatoes, a vegetable side, a bottle of wine and a dessert would run us at LEAST $100-150!
But you know what, it's not about the price....this meal was well portioned for the both of us so we didn't get up feeling too stuffed for comfort (though sharing a whole bottle of wine we may have felt too tipsy for comfort!) and we had leftovers both of the dinner and of the ingredients (sprouts, chocolate, strawbs, mushrooms, cheese) so we used them in other meals. But....it did take me just under 2 hours to fully prepare and there was a lot of cleanup that went with it.
On The Menu
New York Strip Steak with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
Brussel sprouts baked with bacon and almonds, dressed with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar
Potatoes Gratin with Gorganzola cheese
Red Wine
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
In fact, after the meal, Boyfriend questioned me about the budget that went into this meal for comparison with restaurant prices.
FYI: $12 2 steaks, $3 Brussels sprouts, $1 2 potatoes, $3 Portabello mushrooms, $10 for the wine, $4 for the Gorgonzola cheese, $4 for strawberries, $3 for chocolate and other stuff that we already had in the fridge: probably $3. That comes out to $43 total. In a restaurant, a steak dinner with potatoes, a vegetable side, a bottle of wine and a dessert would run us at LEAST $100-150!
But you know what, it's not about the price....this meal was well portioned for the both of us so we didn't get up feeling too stuffed for comfort (though sharing a whole bottle of wine we may have felt too tipsy for comfort!) and we had leftovers both of the dinner and of the ingredients (sprouts, chocolate, strawbs, mushrooms, cheese) so we used them in other meals. But....it did take me just under 2 hours to fully prepare and there was a lot of cleanup that went with it.
Potatoes Gratin With Gorganzola
(Serves 2+1 leftover)
1. Thoroughly wash and slice 2 baking (Russet) potatoes into 1/4" thick slices.
2. Spray one side of all the slices with olive oil (or cooking spray) and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil, oil side down. Spray other side with oil and season liberally with salt, pepper, any herb you like on potatoes (I like Italian Seasoning) and garlic powder
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Flip each slice over after 30 minutes.
4. At 40 minutes, put a tiny slice of gorganzola cheese on each slice (or if you have crumbles, spread evenly) and continue to bake for about 4 more minutes. Obviously, the more decadent you want to be, the more cheese you can add).
*These come out really nice, crispy and tasty. The gorganzola adds a really nice touch. Obviously you can use any kind of cheese: blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese....whatever works.
The Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Almonds (Serves 2+ 1 leftover serving)
(Serves 2+1 leftover)
1. Thoroughly wash and slice 2 baking (Russet) potatoes into 1/4" thick slices.
2. Spray one side of all the slices with olive oil (or cooking spray) and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil, oil side down. Spray other side with oil and season liberally with salt, pepper, any herb you like on potatoes (I like Italian Seasoning) and garlic powder
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Flip each slice over after 30 minutes.
4. At 40 minutes, put a tiny slice of gorganzola cheese on each slice (or if you have crumbles, spread evenly) and continue to bake for about 4 more minutes. Obviously, the more decadent you want to be, the more cheese you can add).
*These come out really nice, crispy and tasty. The gorganzola adds a really nice touch. Obviously you can use any kind of cheese: blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese....whatever works.
The Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Almonds (Serves 2+ 1 leftover serving)
 Take a bunch of almonds (10-15?) This was way more than neccesary! and crush them in a ziplock baggie with something heavy. A pan? A bottle of beer? It's fun, try it! |  Shred the sprouts by cutting across each sprout and separating the strands. I think I used 15 medium sprouts for this salad. Chop about 4-5 slices of turkey bacon into small pieces and throw on top of the sprouts. Add almonds |
Add liberal S+P, balsamic vinegar, consider 1tsp truffle oil (omit for healthy salads).
Bake at 375 (or at 400 along with the potatoes) for about 20 minutes. Make sure to toss about 15 minutes in.
See below for healthy makeover version!
The Steaks (2 New York Strips)
1. Add some dry steak seasoning rub or just some S+P+garlic onto the steaks and let them come to room temperature.
2. Heat a pan to medium, add about 1tbsp olive oil and throw on the steaks.
3. Keep them on the pan for about 3min/side
4. Take them out of the pan and allow the steaks to rest until you are ready to eat (at least 6 minutes)
The Mushroom Sauce
1. Chop Portobello mushrooms
2. Add 2 tbsp butter (or any substitute) into a pan and allow to melt on medium heat. Whisk in 2 tbsp flour until blended
3. Add about 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup beef broth (no sodium added)
4. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to reduce until it's at the consistency you want it to be at.
5. Make sure to do some taste testing to add S+P and consider vinegar.
1. Add some dry steak seasoning rub or just some S+P+garlic onto the steaks and let them come to room temperature.
2. Heat a pan to medium, add about 1tbsp olive oil and throw on the steaks.
3. Keep them on the pan for about 3min/side
4. Take them out of the pan and allow the steaks to rest until you are ready to eat (at least 6 minutes)
The Mushroom Sauce
1. Chop Portobello mushrooms
2. Add 2 tbsp butter (or any substitute) into a pan and allow to melt on medium heat. Whisk in 2 tbsp flour until blended
3. Add about 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup beef broth (no sodium added)
4. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to reduce until it's at the consistency you want it to be at.
5. Make sure to do some taste testing to add S+P and consider vinegar.
The Dessert (Serves 2)
Wash and COMPLETELY dry 10ish strawberries
Break 2/3 of a Hershey Bar into a bowl and microwave for 40 seconds, mix and microwave again. The chocolate should be melted.
Dip the strawberries in the chocolate and place onto a piece of wax paper on a plate in the fridge
Allow to cool while you eat dinner =)
Wash and COMPLETELY dry 10ish strawberries
Break 2/3 of a Hershey Bar into a bowl and microwave for 40 seconds, mix and microwave again. The chocolate should be melted.
Dip the strawberries in the chocolate and place onto a piece of wax paper on a plate in the fridge
Allow to cool while you eat dinner =)
My Plate
My steak was slightly bigger than a deck of cards, which is what is considered an appropriate portion of meat. As you can imagine, it's about 1/3 the size of anything I'd get at a restaurant and it is half of one of the steaks I bought.
About 1/2 potato slices with some Gorganzola cheese and about 2/3 cup of the Brussels Sprouts Salad
1/2 slice of bread, a few tbsp of the mushrooms sauce and 1 glass of wine.
I did have seconds of both the sprouts and the wine (well maybe more than just seconds of wine)
**Check out how nice and pink the interior of my steak is!**
His Plate
My steak was slightly bigger than a deck of cards, which is what is considered an appropriate portion of meat. As you can imagine, it's about 1/3 the size of anything I'd get at a restaurant and it is half of one of the steaks I bought.
About 1/2 potato slices with some Gorganzola cheese and about 2/3 cup of the Brussels Sprouts Salad
1/2 slice of bread, a few tbsp of the mushrooms sauce and 1 glass of wine.
I did have seconds of both the sprouts and the wine (well maybe more than just seconds of wine)
**Check out how nice and pink the interior of my steak is!**
His Plate
A whole New York Strip, probably a whole potato in slices, 1/2 cup brussels salad and 1/2 slice of bread with 1 glass of wine.
He also had seconds of wine and potato!
He piled his steak nice and high with the mushroom sauce, about 4-5 tbsp!
Leftover tally: 1 serving of steak with 1/2 cup sprout salad + about 4tbsp mushrooms sauce. There would have been extra potato left over but I dropped them all over the floor before they were even baked! There was plenty of gorganzola, about 1/2 of the package of mushrooms and about 10 uncooked brussel sprouts left over too.
 Eventually I decided to do a remake of the Brussels sprouts salad from the 10 leftover sprouts for lunch. I shredded the 10 sprouts and chopped up 2 slices of turkey bacon. |  I sauteed all that + balsamic vinegar (1tbsp) on a sprayed non-stick pan on medium heat for about 8 minutes. I seasoned with S+P an a little garlic. Super tasty and healthy with a VERY low calorie count (no nuts, no oils). 50cals for the bacon and no more than 100 for the sprouts. |
 Finally, this was dinner tonight. Salad+Beer =) Salad: 1/3 yellow pepper, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, about 1/4 of a can of yams, 1/2 of a large chicken breast (marinated and pan cooked), mixed greens and 4 saltine crackers. The beer: Sam Adams Coffee Stout. Yummmm. | 
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Wow, that was a looong post. I think I'll just leave it at that tonight. Also look out for recipe updates on the Recipage site.
XO!
Dr. Jules
XO!
Dr. Jules
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