Nice soft lighting, a beautiful arrangement of flowers, soft music and the
perfect meal to me is the best way to say, "Be mine," and share
Valentine's Day with the one you love.
Yes, it's more work than letting someone else do the cooking, but making
your own Valentine's
feast can be more fun and more romantic than eating out.
In fact, I think cooking the dinner
together would be fun as you sip a glass of wine and prepare a special
meal for just the two of you.
Garlic Merlot Sauced Sirloin Steak
14 ounces sirloin steak
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
6 tablespoons Merlot wine
3/4 cup beef stock or canned broth
3 tablespoons butter
Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy, large skillet over
high heat. Add steak and cook until brown, about 1 minute per side. Reduce
heat to medium and cook steak to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per
side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to plate; tent with foil.
Add garlic to same skillet and saute over medium high heat 1 minute. Add
Merlot; boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock; boil until
syrupy, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Add butter and whisk
until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Cut steak into 2 pieces; place
on plates. Spoon sauce over steak and serve.
Mary Jo's Orange
Almond Salad
6 cups romaine lettuce, bite-size pieces
11 ounces mandarin oranges
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
6 slices bacon, fried crisp and drained
Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
Combine salad ingredients. Set aside. Combine dressing ingredients; toss
with salad right before serving.
German Chocolate
Cake/Pecan Coconut Frosting
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
7 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Cake:
1 package German chocolate cake mix, without pudding
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
For frosting, place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Spread pecans and coconut on baking sheet and toast in oven for 7 minutes
or until pecans deepen in color and coconut turns golden brown. Remove
from oven and set aside.
Place remaining frosting ingredients in large saucepan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and coconut.
Cool to room temperature and spreading consistency, 30 minutes.
For cake, generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid
vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Leave
oven on. In large mixing bowl, blend cake mix, buttermilk, oil, eggs and
vanilla with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop machine and
scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Increase mixer speed to
medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down bowl again if needed. Batter
should look well combined.
Divide batter between prepared pans, smoothing it out with rubber spatula.
Place pans in oven side by side. Bake cakes until they spring back when
lightly pressed with finger, 32-34 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack.
Run dinner knife around edge of each layer and invert onto rack, then invert again
onto another rack so that cakes are right side up. Cool completely.
To assemble, place one cake right side up on serving platter. Spread top
with frosting. Place second layer right side up, on first layer and frost
top only.
Store cake at room temperature for up to three days,
or in refrigerator up to one week. May freeze, if wrapped in aluminum foil
or in a cake saver, for up to six months. Thaw cake in refrigerator
overnight.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A good laugh is sunshine in the room.
GARY'S TIP: A good substitute for bread crumbs is crushed dry cereal like
corn flakes or wheat flakes.
