Valentine's Dinner: He Wants, She Wants

I just read in my online newsletter the results of Bon Appetit's survey about food choices for Valentine's Dinner. It turns out that men and women both would choose the same thing. Decadent beef, such as a filet or rib-eye steak, bubbly or booze and a rich finish with chocolate appeared on lots of blogs recently.

My earlier posting featured Chicken Marsala as a budget-friendly entree. If you're staying home and looking for the ultimate entree, I'm posting my Filet Mignon for two. Chocolate Souffle appeared last year and can be found in Recipes for Two.


Filet Mignon with Port Wine Reduction

Filet mignon is usually saved for special occasions, and this recipe is from a Romantic Valentine’s Menu, but this sauce is fabulous on any steak. I especially like it on rib-eye steaks that have been grilled outdoors. Be sure to let the steaks rest after grilling so the juices can be absorbed back into the meat.

Makes 2 Servings

1 teaspoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup beef broth
2 tablespoons port wine
2 (6 ounce) filet mignons (about 1 inch thick)
1 teaspoon olive oil

Melt the butter in a small skillet or saucepan. Add garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add the beef broth and cook until it is reduced by half. Stir in the port and simmer briefly.

Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Rub olive oil onto steaks and season with salt and cracked pepper. Grill about 4 minutes per side for rare or until desired doneness. I use an instant read thermometer and cook to 140 degrees F. for rare.

Loosely cover the steaks with aluminum foil and let stand about 5 minutes. Serve the steaks with the sauce.