Eat, Drink, and Go!

Went with the classic surf and turf for dinner last night, steak and lobster! I’m sure a lot of people ended up making their Valentine’s dinner at home this year since going out is a bit challenging, but I truly enjoy making special meals like this. I thought about it all day and was excited to shop and plan the perfect meal. Luckily the hubs like everything, so I could just go wild!

I decided to go with the lobster tails instead of whole lobsters and petit sirloin steaks. The flavor profile would be a pairing of chocolate and vanilla!

For the lobster, I pulled the lobster meat from the shell (they were pre-split, but frozen, so I thawed in water) and laid the meat on top of the shell, then brushed generously with vanilla butter (melted butter plus vanilla bean simple syrup).

For the steaks, I tied them like filet, and as I took them out of the package, one was actually heart shaped! How cute???

I sprinkled each side with some smoked salt, pepper, and a little crushed vanilla bean. This duo was definitely a sure thing!!

I popped the lobster tails into the oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Then I got some butter nice and hot in a pan to sear the steaks.

Got them all buttery (mmm, real butter!!) and nicely seared on all sides, just til browned so as to have the rareness that I like. Then I let them finish in the oven with the tails for the last couple minutes of cooking.

I made the side of truffle cauliflower purée and blanched asparagus before I had gotten started on cooking the proteins. I boiled some purple cauliflower til soft and then used the immersion blender to purée it with black truffle oil, a little truffle salt and a truffle cream, plus some Parmesan. I was so excited that it stayed purple!!

The asparagus got a quick boil and then a shock in cold water to keep it green and crisp. Let the plating begin! I plopped down the purée and the asparagus, then added the surf and turf. I poured the rest of the vanilla butter on the lobster tails and drizzled chocolate balsamic generously over the steaks.

Even made a little heart shape with the balsamic!!

Check steak for perfect doneness…

Yay!! A total success!! The lobster was succulent, the steak was juicy, and everything paired perfectly! I enjoyed an amazing 2014 Cabernet Franc by Clos du Val with this excellent dish. Capped off the culinary delights with dessert of the Bourbon County stout by Goose Island and some cannoli chips by Wegmans!

I hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day!!!