Valentine's Day Dinner: Filet Two Ways and Red Velvet Lava Cake
Filet Mignon with White Truffle Wine Sauce, Parmesan foam, asparagus & garlic mashed potatoes.
White Truffle Wine Sauce:
1/3 C. White Wine
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tbsp. White Truffle Oil
1/4 C. Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp, Butter
Heat white wine in a small sauce pan on medium heat until almost to a boil. Add garlic, white truffle oil and heavy cream. Let reduce for about 15 minutes (or half), until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in butter, let simmer for five more minutes before serving over filet mignon.
Filet Mignon with Bacon Whiskey Jam and Seasoned Pommes Frites
Bacon Whiskey Jam: I found this recipe on the Food Network page and tweaked it a bit.
1 lb. Bacon
1/4 C. White Onion, Finely Chopped
1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 1/2 C Water
1 1/2 C. Whiskey
1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
A pinch of Salt and Pepper
Cook the bacon until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Discard all but about 1/3 or less of the bacon fat. Add the chopped onions and let cook on medium heat until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Finely chop the bacon and add back in the pan along with the brown sugar and the water. Let reduce at least half, about 30 minutes. Add the whiskey and let reduce for at least 20-30 minutes again, until becomes thick and syrup like. Stir in red wine vinegar, salt and pepper at the end before serving. This can be saved and reheated as well.
Red Velvet Cakes with Strawberry Rose Lava, Chocolate Cream
Since I am far from a good baker, I had to follow a recipe from Chef Graham Elliot I found online.It called for cream cheese frosting, but I preferred to use a homemade chocolate whip cream.
The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
1 red rose, organic
1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon (t) salt
Preparation: Lightly rinse the rose petals and allow to air-dry on a paper towel. In coffee/spice grinder, grind the sugar and salt until very fine. Set aside in a shallow bowl or saucer. Lightly whisk the egg white. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees. Dip petals in egg white and gently sprinkle sugar onto the petal with a fork. Shake off excess sugar and place the petal on the prepared cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven and allow the petals to dry until they are firm and crystallized, at least an hour.
Molten "Red Velvet Cake"
Ingredients for the cake center:
1 1/2 cups juice from fresh raspberries, seeds strained out
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons (T) sugar
1 pinch salt
1 packet Knox gelatin
1 T rose water
Preparation: In a small sauce pot, combine 1/2 cup of the raspberry juice and all the water. Add the gelatin, sugar and salt and allow to dissolve 5 minutes. Gently heat to melt gelatin. Remove from the heat and add the remaining raspberry juice and the rose water. Stir to combine. Pour into a small bowl and set in the refrigerator to set up.
Ingredients for the whip cream:
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
Place whipping cream into a deep, chilled bowl. Use a hand mixer, whip until becomes thickened. Add cocoa powder and sugar and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until serving.
Ingredients for the cake:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 t cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 t white vinegar
1 oz red food coloring
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
Preparation: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8oz ramekins with butter.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Then, in a bowl, combine the egg and sugar, whisk together. Next add the oil, vinegar, food coloring and vanilla and whisk to combine. Next add the sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating for three additions and stirring with a rubber spatula until completely combined.
Spoon enough batter into each ramekin to cover the bottom. Once set up, take the raspberry and rose water gel and scoop out a small bit with a tablespoon. Place the scoop of gel into the center of the ramekin, on top of the batter. Finally fill the ramekin 3/4 full with the remaining batter, making sure to cover the gel center.
Set the ramekins on a clean cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes then rotate. Continue baking for another 10 minutes or until you can softly touch the top of the cake without leaving an impression. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Place a spoonful of whip cream on top and garnish with candied rose petals. Any remaining raspberry gel can be re-melted in a microwave and used as a garnishing sauce.
