Cherish Every Moment: My Valentine's Day Dinner Menu 2012

I did this exact post last year so I figured I would keep the tradition going! I also haven't done a food post in a while so this fit the part. Let me first state that I feel like all I have been reading on my twitter (@AlyseaP) timeline are things that read something of the sort of "V-Day should be celebrated everyday, why do people only celebrate once a year/I show my significant other I love them everyday so I don't celebrate V-Day" etc. Well let me say that although I agree, you should indeed always show your loved ones you love them, V-Day for me is just a special day that I go above and beyond what I normally do on an everyday basis for my boyfriend. Sure I have cooked for him before, as a matter of fact I do it quite often, but I took this Love filled holiday to cook something extra special that perhaps wouldn't normally be on our menu. So yes, all of you who have stated the aforementioned, you are correct, you should always celebrate your love everyday, but take V-Day to do something a little extra special! ;)

Now that that has been said, let's get to the menu!

Each year I always ask my boyfriend what he wants for our traditional V-Day Dinner, Chicken, Fish or Steak. It never fails, he always asks for steak (we eat a lot of grilled chicken and seafood during the year anyway but rarely steak). I take this day to go to the Butcher and ask for a nice cut of Filet Mignon, after all that is the best of the best when it comes to red meat in my opinion. Along with this and every dinner I ever make, I try to always have a Meat or Fish/ Vegetable and a Starch. If I am ever making Pasta as my starch, I will try and throw in a little chicken (ex: Penne a La Vodka with Chicken) It is very necessary to have a well rounded meal after all!

Here is what I decided on this Valentine's Day:

Meat: Filet Mignon in a Merlot Wine Sauce
Vegetable: Sauteed French Green Beans
Starch: Herb & Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Dessert: Mini Cheesecakes w/ Fresh Strawberries

The fun part is the dessert. In many years past I have made Red Velvet Cake or Cupcakes, this year I just wanted to do something a little different. My boyfriend and I love cheesecake, but often when I make a whole one, we are unable to finish the entire thing and my hard work goes to waste as it sits there for weeks in the fridge! Cheesecake is such a rich dessert that one tiny piece really fills you up. This means we eat less of it than we normally would in turn making most of the 9" cheesecake go to waste! Waste is a no-no for me so this year I tried something different, Mini Individual Cheesecakes! :) Each one was the PERFECT serving size and the presentation is really beautiful might I add.

Here are some pics I took of my cooking rendezvous for Sunday Night (the night we celebrated V-Day because celebrating during a weekday is near impossible for working folks haha)

Everything pictured above I made from scratch. The cheesecakes I made the night before and let set in the fridge overnight so that I wasn't so stressed the day of, but everything else I made in one night. The approximate time it took me to finish everything from beginning to end was around 2.5 hours. It was WELL worth it let me tell you. He LOVED every bite :) In one of the photos above you can even see what I got him for V-day--his own custom beer labels :) I bought some of his favorite beer and attached the custom labels so he could have his own Valentine's Day beer to sip on while he enjoyed his Valentine's Day Dinner, it was really the icing on the cake!

If you guys want recipes for any of the things I mentioned above, please let me know in the comments below and I will either do another post with all the recipes or forward them to you individually. I know I am posting this on Valentine's Day, but this meal could even come in for a great Birthday or Anniversary meal or heck an everyday meal to show you love someone (Family, Friends etc) ! <3