Valentine’s Special-Stuffed Tenderloin
Savory Beer Cheese Dip served with Pretzel Bites
Stuffed Beef Tenderloin
French Onion Baked Potato
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
with a Mocha Heart Shaped Cookie
Savory Beer Cheese Dip served with Pretzel Bites
Yield: 2
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup milk
⅔ cup beer
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups sharp cheddar shredded
1 cup gruyere or swiss cheese, shredded
Pretzel bites for serving
Melt butter, flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper over medium heat in a saucepan. Cook 1 minute.
Stir in milk and beer a bit at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Continue cooking over medium heat, add in mustard and Worcestershire, cooking sauce until thick and bubbly.
Reduce heat to low, add cheeses, and stir just until melted and smooth.
Serve warm with soft pretzels.
French Onion Baked Potato
Yield: 2
2 russet potatoes
Oil
Salt and pepper
FOR THE SOUP
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 sprigs thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup beef broth
½ cup shredded Gruyère
Preheat oven to 350° and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Pierce potatoes all over with a fork. Rub with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make onion soup filling: In a pot over medium heat, melt butter. When melted, add onions and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized.
Remove thyme (if using fresh) and add wine. Bring to a simmer and cook until wine is mostly evaporated. Add in flour and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant. Add in broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer until thickened slightly. Turn heat off, Season with more salt and pepper to taste.
When potatoes are tender, cut top off of potato and scoop potato filling out into a bowl. Leaving the potato skin intact. Mash potato and pour in half of soup mixture and ¼ cup cheese. Mix to combine. Place mashed potatoes back into potato skin and top with remaining soup and cheese. Place in oven and bake for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve.
Sautéed Green Beans with almonds and Parmesan
yield: 2 servings
½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed and blanched
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
¼ cup parmesan
¼ cup almonds slices
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Prepare small saucepan of lightly salted water to blanch beans
Prepare ice bath
To blanch beans:
Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook for 3-5 minutes until beans are bright green and tender but not mushy. Drain and transfer to ice bath until fully cooled and set aside.
To cook beans:
Add 1 tablespoon oil to medium skillet and heat until oil shimmers. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute, just until garlic is lightly browned and fragrant. Add beans and sauté stirring occasionally until fully cooked. Taste and adjust flavor with salt and pepper.
Garnish with shaved parmesan and almonds
Stuffed Beef Tenderloin
Yield: 2
2 beef tenderloins filets, butterflied and pounded
oil
¼ onion, minced
4 mushrooms, minced
2-4 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup dried fruit
¼ cup panko
Fresh or dried Thyme to taste
Fresh or dried sage to taste
¼ cup sherry
Butchers twine
¼ cup Marsala
½ cup red wine
2 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Lay out pounded beef on parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.
In a large skillet drizzle in some oil over medium high heat. Add onions and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have cooked down. Add garlic, dried fruit, panko, thyme and sage. Cook until fragrant. Add sherry and cook until all liquid has dissipated. Turn heat off. Spoon mixture onto both pieces of beef. Roll and tie with butchers twine. In the same large skillet over medium high heat add some more oil add beef to pan and sear until internal desired temperature is reached. and add Marsala and red wine. Deglaze pan and cook until liquid is half. Add butter, once melted season with salt and pepper then serve.
The BEST Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie Crust¹
1 ½ cups ground oreo’s(170g)
2-3 oz 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
2 cup frozen raspberries tossed lightly in flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
Prepare crust first by combining oreo crumbs and melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
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.
