Valentine's Day Meal

This Valentine's Day, we went all out. We had individual Beef Wellington's, Brussel Sprouts, roasted potatoes, and Chocolate Crème Brûlée. 

Easy Beef Wellington

Recipe from Carlene Banks cookbook "Artfully Done Across Generations".

Ingredients

Filet Mignon 

Dijon mustard

Puff Pastry

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F. Sear fillet mignon and paint, with modest coverage, with Dijon mustard. Wrap in puff pastry. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Review

The Beef Wellington's were big and incredibly delicious. I would suggest sharing one or be prepared for some amazing leftovers. They were very flavorful and tender. The recipe suggested it be in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15,  we added 5 minutes until the puff pastry was cooked and golden. In the end, for us, it was 20 additional minutes. The additional minutes did not make the meat dry. It was still perfect. 

Brussel Sprouts

The Brussel Sprouts had a drizzle of maple syrup, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cut-up pieces of bacon. We also put a tad of water at the bottom of the pan so the sprouts would cook. They were in the oven at 400F for 30 minutes. 

Roasted Potatoes

The potatoes had just olive oil, salt, and pepper. They were also in the oven at 400F for 35-40 minutes or until the potatoes are golden on the outside, soft on the inside.

Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Recipe from "Happy Holidays from the Diva of Do-Ahead" cookbook by Diane Phillips

Serves 8 people

Ingredients

4 cups heavy cream, chilled

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

12 large egg yolks

8-10 teaspoons sugar for brûlée 

1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300F. Place a kitchen towel in a large baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet and arrange eight 4-ounce ramekins on the towel. Bring a kettle of water to a boil on high heat. 

Pour 2 cups of the cream, the granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste into a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Add the remaining 2 cups chilled cream and stir. Set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they break up and combine. Slowly pour in the cooled chocolate-cream mixture, beating until it is all combined. Pour the chocolate cream through a sieve to strain it, discarding the solids left in the strainer.

Slowly pour the chocolate cream into the ramekins, dividing it equally. Place the baking dish with the ramekins on an oven rack, and pour boiling water into the baking dish until it is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the custards until they are just barely set and no longer loose, 30-35 minutes. (If the ramekins are shallow, as with heart-shaped ones, bake 25-30 minutes.) An instant-read thermometer will register 170F when inserted in the center. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool at room temperature, about 2 hours. 

At this point, you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for up to 2 days. Gently remove any condensation that forms on the custard with a paper towel. 

Sprinkle each custard evenly with sugar. Ignite a kitchen torch and caramelize the sugar. Serve immediately. Garnish with whipped cream.

Review

The Crème Brûlée was unbelievably good. It was very rich and it fills you up quickly. I only ate half of mine in one sitting. I suggest making smaller portions. In addition, we each had a chocolate strawberry from Wegmans. It was the perfect thing to tie the meal together.