Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentine's Day At Home

I was so excited to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a married couple! At first, we had reservations at a wine bar here in town, but then as it got closer we decided to stick with our yearly tradition.....making dinner together at home! With Denver Restaurant Week approaching, we have always waited to do our dining out until the end of February (yes, I will be documenting our 5280 week excursions!) 
 
Michael and I love Tony's Market! We try to limit our meat intake, or what has been had termed as being "a Flexitarian;" so when we do decide to enjoy a nice steak, we head over to visit our friends there. For Monday's dinner we picked out some nice think New York Strips. MMMmmmm! And of course, since we stopped there I also had to pick up one of my favorite indulgences, DRY Lavender Soda.
Since we were going all out, I wanted to make Twice-Baked Potatoes for Michael. I found a very delicious looking recipe from Emeril Lagasse for Overstuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes that looked too good to pass up.

  • SERVINGS: 4
  • MAKE-AHEAD

Ingredients

  1. 5 large Idaho baking potatoes (about 1 pound each)
  2. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  3. 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
  4. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  5. 4 ounces bacon, chopped
  6. 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
  7. 1 cup sour cream
  8. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  9. 2 tablespoons snipped chives

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  2. Rub the potatoes with the olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Put the potatoes on the baking sheet and bake until fork-tender, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the potatoes sit until cool enough to handle.
  3. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and the fat is rendered, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
  4. Peel 1 potato completely, discarding the skin. Place the pulp in a large bowl. Cut the top quarter from each of the remaining 4 potatoes and using a spoon, scoop the pulp from the potatoes into the bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch layer of pulp on the skin. Return the potato shells to the baking sheet.
  5. Using a handheld masher, mash the potato pulp until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cheese, the sour cream, butter, bacon, chives, and the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and mash until smooth. Spoon the potato mixture back into the potato shells, top with the remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Serve hot. 
I used BacUns instead of bacon....they taste the same and are much healthier!

A little appetizer of some french cheese, 34* Crispbread (another favorite), strawberries, and even some bubbly helped tide us over while everything was cooking.


I like to keep the steaks pretty simple. Our favorite way is to rub them with a little bit of olive oil, and mixture of garlic salt, chile powder, pepper, parsley, and even a small pinch of red pepper flakes. Mike grills them to perfection, too...he is amazing! :)
 
It was a perfect way to celebrate our new little family! I love my husband and my two baby boys, Dodge and Diesel. Feel so blessed to have them in my life!
 

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