Amuse Bouche: The Way To Everyone’s Heart Is Through Their Stomachs

Sure, it’s nice to go out for Valentine’s Day, but it can also be perfectly lovely to stay in and make a nice meal. So go ahead: set the table, light some candles, put on your romantic playlist. This is, basically, the dinner we made for our boyfriend last year. It’s probably our most successful meal ever, despite the total lack of vegetables (okay, radical honesty: when we made this meal, we served it with canned peas because we love them. Don’t judge.).

Appetizer: Stop by South End Formaggio and pick up a nice round of goat cheese. Serve it with crackers and maybe an interesting flavored honey (we’re fond of this rosemary variety).

Main: Filet mignon is one of the easiest cuts of steak to cook and it always feels luxurious. The Merlot sauce only intensifies the flavors and is excellent for sopping up with a nice piece of bread. Since we’re making risotto for the side, we’d probably omit the roast potatoes.

Side: This lemon risotto just might be one of our very favorite recipes ever. The lemon magically makes the dense risotto feel light. We use sage instead of parsley because we can’t resist the lemon-sage combination.

Dessert: This chocolate truffle tart is one of those amazing dishes that seems like it must take a disgusting amount of effort, but actually comes together incredibly easily, especially if you cheat and use a pre-made pie crust like we do. It is so good that your loved one will be reduced to murmuring nonsense syllables while looking at you lovingly. And really, isn’t that all you want tonight?

South End Formaggio [Official Site]
Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Roasted Potatoes and Merlot Sauce [Epicurious]
Lemon Risotto [Epicurious]
Chocolate Truffle Tart [Epicurious]

Amuse Bouche: The Way To Everyone’s Heart Is Through Their Stomachs