A Valentine Dinner

Steve decided to make me a yummy dinner yesterday! He started grocery shopping around 11 then cooked all afternoon!

We started with a portobello mushroom broiled with garlic and brie.

Then some bruschetta.



Followed by Carrot Dill Soup.



With a main course of beef tenderloin, Rosemary Potato Galette and Asparagus.



Finished with Berry Cobbler.



It was all so good and I can't forget to mention the Pomegranate Martini too!

There were a couple of recipes I do want to share and both out of The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. I don't think I've ever had a bad recipe out of this book.

So first up, Carrot Dill Soup. The most time consuming thing with this recipe is dicing the carrots but when the soup is done you pretty much forget the time spent chopping.

4 T unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

2 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

8 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup plus 2 T fresh dill,chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

*creme fraiche, diced red peppers and dill sprigs for garnish as desired

Melt butter in large soup pan, saute onion until softened. Add carrots, celery, stock, 1/4 cup dill, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until carrots are tender, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Puree the soup in batches, return to soup pan, stir in remaining dill, heat through. Serve with garnish as desired.

And next is Rosemary Potato Galette. This didn't turn out quite like the book suggested but still tasted so good. We'll try this again and hopefully it will hold together.

4 Idaho potatoes(8 oz. each)

8 T unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary(Steve used dried) or Italian parsley

3/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

reshly ground black pepper and coarse salt to taste

Peel and thinly slice potatoes, keeping bowl of cold water as you proceed. When all sliced, drain and pat dry. Melt 2 T of butter in 10 inch skillet. Swirl to coat the skillet, then remove fromheat and arrange 1/3 of the potato slices in a spirla starting in centre and overlapping so that bottom of skillet is covered. Cut another 2 T of butter into small pieces and sprinkle over potatoes. Then sprinkle, 1/2 tsp of rosemary, 1/4 tsp of thyme, salt and pepper. Repeat with two more layers of potatoes pressing each down with a spatula. Place over medium low heat and cook until bottom is crisp and golden brown, 45 minutes. Invert onto flat plate and slip it back into skillet. Continue cooking until golden, about 15 minutes. Invert onto serving platter, cut into wedges to serve