Romantic Dinner

By Micheal Ramirez
Contributing Writer

Valentine’s Day is a day for romance and spending time with your significant other, but it can also be nerve-racking. So many questions to be answered. Where can I take my date for dinner? What flowers do I buy? What gift to buy? If a night out is what is in order, then here are some suggestions: Monte’s, The Hotel Donaldson, Basie’s and Toscana. But if a personal touch is in order, nothing says affection like a home-cooked meal. Here are two recipes for a dinner that is sure to please.

Chicken Oscar with Hollandaise sauce

For this recipe you will need:

2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Bunch of asparagus
1 Can of real lump crab meat (You can use fake crab, but it’s not as good)
1 pkg of Hollandaise sauce mix
Salt, pepper and olive oil
Cherry tomatoes
4 strips of crispy cooked bacon

First, gently coat the chicken with olive oil and massage it in. Season with salt and pepper, and in a pan over medium high heat, sear the chicken on both sides for about 3 minutes per side. Set aside. Next, trim the bottom inch off the asparagus since it’s woody. Blanch in a pot of boiling water. When blanching your vegetables, take care to immerse the food in the boiling water for only a few minutes as what you’re looking for is a tender crisp consistency. Set aside once blanched. Now make the Hollandaise sauce according to the package directions; keep it warm.                                 
           
Then pick out six of the better looking asparagus spears and on a cookie tray set three of the spears down as a foundation. Top with a chicken breast and a generous helping of crab meat, place in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Plate and top with the warm Hollandaise. Take the remaining asparagus and chop it into one-inch pieces and saute in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then halve the cherry tomatoes and plate with crumbled bacon and the asparagus pieces alongside the Oscar. Pair the meal with a crisp Caesar salad. This meal also goes well with a good Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio.

Pepper Crusted New York Strip

Simple to make but it looks like you spent hours on it!

2 8 oz New York Strip steaks
Fresh cracked pepper
Butter
Mushrooms
Shallots
Heavy cream
Whiskey of your choice
Olive oil
Worcester sauce

Evenly coat the steaks with olive oil and a few shakes of Worcester sauce. Massage the sauce into the steaks. Next, take a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper (If you use a table grind you will ruin a perfectly good steak, it must be coarse ground). Firmly press the pepper into the steak. Then, in a large pan over medium-high heat, add about 2 Tbsp of olive oil and sear the steaks until a crust forms, about 2-3 minutes a side; set the steaks aside on a cookie tray. Now in the same pan add 1 Tbsp of butter, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1 small finely diced shallot and saute until the veggies are slightly soft. Deglaze the pan with 1 oz of whiskey of your choice and allow the liquid to reduce, then add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and allow the sauce to thicken to desired consistency. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. Finally, heat the steaks for about 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Plate top with the mushroom sauce and serve with your favorite side dishes.                                 
         
Both these meals can be finished with an amazing dessert from Nicole’s Fine Pastry. Try to romance your sweetheart with these easy recipes. But, don’t feel bad if you decide to take them to one of the great places to eat in town.

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If You Go

Monte’s: 701-526-0149
HoDo: 701-478-1000
Basie’s: 701-285-7105
Toscana: 701-235-9100
Nicole’s Fine Pastry: 701-232-6430