I have been asked to put together a Romantic Valentine Dinner, using as many local ingredients as possible, to be published in several of our local newspapers. As many of you know, it has been almost 2 years since I have purchased foods from the grocery store..we are an all local foods home these days and that seems to amaze everyone we know. It really isn’t that difficult of a task with so much available all year now. I thought it would be a nice extra for everyone if I posted it to the Blog as an easy reference for others to try it too!

Ok, so here is the menu: Local Leaf Lettuces served with a Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette, Beef Burgundy, Root Vegetable & Butternut Squash Bake, and Fresh Raspberries with Shave Chocolate. Keep reading…here are the recipes…

Lemon-Honey  Vinaigrette

¼ c.        Light oil (EVOO, Canola)

¼ c.        Water

2 T          Lemon Juice

3 T          Local Honey

Salt & Pepper

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and set aside. I do not refrigerate this..takes away from the flavor!

Beef Burgundy

This is a super easy recipe and takes only 35 minutes from prep to eat!

2 lbs.      Sirloin (cut into 1 inch cubes)

8 oz.       Fresh Mushrooms

1              Medium Onion

2              Cloves Garlic, minced

½ c.        Butter

¼ c.        Flour (or Cornstarch)

¼ t          Sea Salt

¼ t          Black Pepper

¼ t          Fresh Thyme (chopped)

1/8 c.     Fresh Chopped Parsley

1              Bay Leaf

1 C          Red Burgundy Wine (Pinot Noir)

2 C          Beef Broth

1 C          Pearled Onions

Optional : 2 – 3 slices of crumbled bacon

Combine flour (cornstarch), salt, pepper and one minced garlic clove in a zip lock bag. Add in cubed beef and seal. Shake to coat the beef. Set aside. In a sauce pan, melt ¼ cup of butter, add mushrooms and onion. Sauté until soft. Set aside. Melt remaining ¼ cup of butter in a large sauce pan. Add second clove of minced garlic and coated beef. Brown beef on medium heat. Once the beef has browned, slowly add the Burgundy wine and beef broth. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the Thyme and Bay Leaf. You want to see the liquid reduce by about 1/3 and the sauce thicken. Keep simmering and scraping during this process. Towards the end of the simmer process, add the parsley, bacon crumbles and pearled onions. Serve against the Root Veggie & Butternut Squash Bake…it’s great if some gets on it. The combined flavors..yummy!

Root Veggie & Butternut Squash Bake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1              Large White Potato, cubed

1              Large Sweet Potato, cubed

1              Large Carrot, cubed

1              Medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed

2              Cloves of Garlic, minced

2 T          EVOO

¼ t          Sea Salt

¼ t          Black Pepper

Several pats of butter

Put all ingredients into a zip lock bag..shake to coat. Spread in a flat baking dish and drop a couple of pats of butter on top. Bake until tender (approximately 45 minutes).

With this meal I have chosen not to make a super delectable, over the top fattening desert. Instead, take a couple of handfuls of fresh Raspberries and put in a bowl, shave really expensive Semi Sweet Chocolate on top and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. It’s easy, it’s romantic and sexy to feed to each other and clean up is a breeze!

I hope everyone who tries this loves it..enjoy and remember, with few exceptions, all ingredients can be locally sourced.