Valentine's Day Dinner

Hello fellow foodies. My sincere apologies for the late blogging as it's been a busy period (plus catching up with My Kitchen Rules episodes - how good are the SA boys? Go SA!). As per the sneak preview of my Valentine's Day menu, the dinner happened on Monday night and it was a success! I had decorated the house as a surprise and dressed up because I thought just because we're not going out doesn't mean I should look scruffy!

While my smelly partner was in the shower straight home from work, I started on the appetizers. I made two types of Crostinis - Basil and prosciutto & Sauteed Mushrooms with Swiss Cheese. Both incredibly simple. I bought freshly baked rustic baguette and cut them into slices. I then brush some garlic infused olive oil on it (or you can brush olive oil on and rub a clove of garlic) and put it in the oven until toasted. The mushrooms were sauteed in some butter, oregano, cracked pepper and garlic. When the crostinis were toasted I roughly chopped up some basil and teared the prosciutto and place it on half of the toasted bread. I then arranged the mushrooms on the rest of the crostinis and topped it with sliced Swiss cheese and put it back in the oven for a minute just to melt the cheese. It was divine!

Brown Brother's Crouchen Riesling with Peach Slices and Appetizers

For entree I had Grilled scallops on pea puree topped with grated Gruyere cheese. In hindsight I wish I had presented it better but it was a delicious dish nonetheless. I cooked the peas and  mixed through some butter and mint leaves and pureed it in the mixer. Scallops were grilled just a minute on each side but this may vary depending on size of scallops.

Scallops on pea puree and grated Gruyere cheese

I had prepared the crispy rosemary and sea salt potatoes beforehand and a quick mediterranean style toss salad with marinated feta, sundried tomatoes and olive. I also made tabasco butter to go with the veal rib cutlet (recipe post coming up)!

One big silly thing I forgot to write on my menu is the grilled Australian green prawns served with the veal rib cutlet. Veal rib cutlets were seared for a minute on each side and put in the oven at 170 degrees Celcius for 10 minutes or meat temperature of 55-60 degrees Celcius for medium rare. The meat was beautiful, flavoursome and tender. Served with the tabasco butter, it was just perfect!

At this point I was starting to feel a little bit down that the night was coming to an end, which is a bit silly considering the dessert was one of my highlights! I made a Blackberry Cheesecake in a glass with an adaptation of a recipe from BBC Food. It was divine. The syruped strawberries on brandy cream was just a side touch because my partner loves cream. I whipped 150mL cream with 4 capfuls of brandy. Recipe to come soon!

Now for the cleaning up! Happy Valentine's Day my dear. Next year we would be married!