Valentines French Kiss-Filet Mignon

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Lobster Mashed Potatoes

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe

Homemade Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe. Packed with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries with walnuts and brie on a bed of spinach and homemade dressing, this salad is crazy amazing.

Servings: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

5 oz fresh spinach

1/2 cup blueberries

3 oz raspberries

4 oz strawberries, halved

3/4 cup cubed brie

1/2 cup walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare the recipe for homemade poppy seed dressing.

In a bowl add the spinach, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, Feta cheese, and walnuts.

Drizzle salad with the homemade poppy seed dressing. Gently toss to combine and serve

immediately.

Poppy Seed Dressing

Servings: 4 servings

1½ Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp mayonnaise

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp poppy seeds

Salt and pepper

Whisk Balsamic vinegar, oil, Dijon mustard, mayo, honey, poppy seeds, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.

 whisk dressing vigorously until ingredients are combined.

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Pan Sauce + Garlic lobster Mashed Potatoes 

Serves 2

2 8 oz Filet Mignons, at room temperature

Kosher Salt 

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Herb de Provence
1 Tablespoon Shallot, minced
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1/4 Cup Beef Stock

2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted

Heat a skillet  over medium high heat and season filets with salt and pepper and herb de Provence on both sides if filets.   Add remaining oil and sear filets, undisturbed, for 4-5 minutes. Cook to desired temperature.  Remove from pan to let rest.

Place the cast iron skillet used to cook steaks back on stovetop over medium high heat and sauté shallots for 1-2 minutes.  Deglaze pan with wine and reduce mixture by half.  Add stock, and once again reduce mixture by half.  Remove from heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, and season the pan sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Lobster Mashed Potatoes

This recipe adds the richness of lobster to the comfort of potatoes

Serves 2

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes

2 lg youkan gold potatoes

4 gloved of garlic peeled

2tablespoon butter

1/8cup heavy cream

1tablespoon herb cheese

Salt and pepper

Lobster

½ cup chopped lobster meat

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic minced

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon thyme

Instructions

Mashed Potatoes

cook potatoes in salted water, and garlic drain and mash with butter, heated heavy cream, herb cheese, and fresh ground pepper

Lobster

in a saucepan over med heat, sauté garlic in olive oil; after about 30 seconds add thyme and chicken stock; whisk in butter.

heat and stir until blended and then add lobster meat. With a slotted spoon remove the lobster and toss with the mashed potatoes.

place in a casserole dish and drizzle 2-3 Tbsp of juice over top.

The BEST Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust¹

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (170g)

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar (can substitute white)

7 Tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake

32 oz cream cheese² softened to room temperature (910g)

1 cup sugar (200g)

⅔ cups sour cream (160g)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup white chocolate chips melted

1 cup frozen raspberries tossed lightly in flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F (160C).

Prepare Graham Cracker crust first by combining graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and brown sugar, and stirring well. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs,2 Tablespoons sugar,1 Tablespoon brown sugar,7 Tablespoons butter

Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl (using a hand mixer) add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air).

Add sugar and stir again until creamy.

Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined.  Mix in melted white chocolate and then fold in by hand the raspberries.

Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. To insure against leaks, place pan on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil.

Transfer to the center rack of your oven and bake on 325F (160C) for 50-60 minutes (or longer as needed, see note 3). Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don’t over-bake or the texture will suffer, which means we all suffer.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven⁴ for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.

Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. Enjoy!

Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature + 3 Tbls

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips melted

Sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt together. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll the dough 1/4-inch thick as evenly as possible.

Chill for 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Cut out the cookies with a heart shaped or other cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies, on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until crisp and firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and then transfer to a wire

cooling rack to cool completely.

When the cookies are cool dip the hearts into the melted chocolate. I only dipped about 1/4 of the heart. Sprinkle the chocolate section with sprinkles, if desired. Place the heart cookies on wax paper until the chocolate is completely set up.