Camacho Watcho

Years ago we started a tradition for Valentine’s Day – instead of going out to dinner on one of the busiest nights of year, Kyle decided that he would take on the kitchen and cook me dinner. He is a very good cook and accomplishes complicated, beautiful recipes.

The first year he pulled out all the stops…a complete menu that was featured on Kare11 as a Valentine’s special, complete with heart-shaped croutons floating in my soup and a chicken wrapped in phyllo dough with phyllo hearts baked on top. It was quite the standard to set.

This tradition has continued with new recipes each year. Last year was a banner year with the most amazing recipes that I continue to crave. The Filet Mignon with Chipotle Gorgonzola Cream Sauce is a winner that has become a favorite by everyone who eats it. It was served with this simple, but very satisfying, salad with arugula, Kalamata olives, crispy pancetta, parmesan and lemon juice. (I really shouldn’t write about food when I’m hungry…my stomach is now growling just thinking about that meal!)

Needless to say, I look forward to Valentine’s Day to find out what the menu will consist of and to be a visitor in my own kitchen. I wish I could say that I just sit back and relax, but I just can’t chill like that in the kitchen. Kyle’s a really great sport about my questioning his every move “are you sure you need that much salt?” “is that what the recipe said to do?” Honestly, I’m a tough customer. He just shrugs me off, pours me more wine, and continues on with the recipe.

This year, the menu was fantastic, seasonal and made with local ingredients (yeah!). It consisted of whole roasted chicken with rosemary and garlic, potato and turnip gratin, frisee salad with dijon vinaigrette and for dessert…..drumroll, please…..creme brulee. Yes, a very manly torch was used to make the creme brulee (which I think is the sole reason that Kyle wanted to make it). Regardless…yum!

Tags: dessert, Food

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.