Valentine’s Day was as fantastic as we planned. Not everything went according to plan (I made numerous last minute changes to our menu), but we had a wonderful evening together nonetheless. The evening began with a romantic round of Super Smash Brothers Brawl in which we battled our favourite video game characters for an hour or so while dinner was cooking. We played on a team against two computer-controlled characters. See… we did something co-operative, that’s romantic and coupley, right? Whether or not this is your ideal way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we very much enjoyed the night in together, away from overly-crowded restaurants and prices that make us think we might need to drop out of school to pay for our dinner (Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating a bit about the price of eating out once in a while).
The dinner, however, was one to remember for a while. Rib-eye steaks, roasted potatoes and carrots, and asparagus with a miso sauce. By the time we got half way through dinner, we decided that dessert (red velvet cheesecake) would have to wait until another day.

Rib-eye steaks au jus
These were some of the best steaks we have ever had at home. We don’t have a barbecue, so we tend to avoid making steak at home and prefer to enjoy it when visiting friends and family. The steaks were a bit on the expensive side, but I don’t regret splurging on an occasion! Also, the steaks were large enough that we enjoyed them over two meals.
The au jus recipe is adapted from a recipe at Steamy Kitchen. Despite making a few changes… it was so flavourful! I enjoyed the au jus more so that that which you would get at a typical pub. I wish I made more. For dipping with bread. For hot beef sandwiches. One of us may or may not have licked our plate clean before cleaning up the meal. I want more…

Ingredients
- 2 rib-eye steaks (bone in) – approximate cost $12.00
- 1 large sweet onion, diced – approximate cost $1.50
- 3 carrots, sliced into quarters – approximate cost $1.50
- 1 whole head garlic, broken into quaters (leave the skin on) – approximate cost $1.00
- 1/4 cup of butter– approximate cost $.63
- 1/2 cup red wine – approximate cost $1.00
- 2 tablespoons beef bouillon – approximate cost $0.25
- 1 cup water
Method
- Freeze the steaks (Yes, seriously, I was trying out a tip from The Kitchn).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat butter in a frying pan and sear the frozen steaks (approximately 4 minutes per side).
- Combine beef bouillon and water in a bowl, stir until well-combined.
- In a large roasting pan, combine seared steaks, onion, carrots, garlic, and beef bouillon mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour (steaks will be medium to medium-well)
- Remove steaks to a cutting board and let stand while you prepare the jus.
- Strain the roast mixture into a pot, discarding the vegetables and keeping the liquid.
- Heat until the liquid boils and add the red wine.
- Boil jus mixture for about 10 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
- Pour jus over steaks and serve.
Makes about 4 servings (approximate cost: $4.47 per serving).
Potatoes and carrots roasted with thyme
Yummy, yummy, yummy! These roasted vegetables were great as leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ingredients
- 10 small red potatoes, halved – approximate cost $2.00
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped – approximate cost $1.50
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme – approximate cost $0.25
- 1 teaspoon sea salt – approximate cost $0.05
- 2 tablespoons olive oil – approximate cost $0.15
Method
- Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place all of the ingredients in a 9×13 roasting pan.
- Toss until the potatoes and carrots are well coated with thyme, sea salt, and oil.
- Bake for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables once after about 20 minutes.
Makes about 4 servings (approximate cost: $0.99 per serving).
Asparagus with miso sauce
Another recipe I am saving. I’ll be making this again when asparagus is in season in June. There’s nothing like buying asparagus fresh from a local farm. It is one of my very favourite vegetables.

Makes about 4 servings (approximate cost: $1.34 per serving).
Red velvet cheesecake
This cheesecake is very sweet and very rich. I had three bites and that was enough for me. Bryan’s first words after taking a bite were “Mmmmm this is fantastic!” If you like cheesecake and sweets, this recipe is a keeper. Make sure to plan ahead, there is a long period of time in which the cheesecake must cool.

Makes about 12 servings (approximate cost: $1.28 per serving).


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