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Broccoli with Pecans and Lemon Butter
Planning for Valentine’s Day this year I was reminded of that funny old quote from Yogi Berra. When he was asked if he liked to go to a particular hot restaurant, he said, “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”
In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day I asked several friends what their plans were, and without exception they all said, we’re staying home, all the restaurants are crazy crowded, it’s a zoo. Maybe none of them were out there, but somebody was, because when I called our favorite steak place for a reservation, the only table they had open was at 4:00 in the afternoon.
So, we stayed home. All the better for admiring these long-stemmed beauties John surprised me with.
After a long workday, I wasn’t up for making a special dinner on Friday night. For that we waited until Saturday, and we ended up having a great steak after all, in the comfort of home and at a fraction of the cost of going out.
We started with an appetizer of smoked salmon, draped onto thick-cut gourmet potato chips and dolloped with a zippy sauce of creme fraiche and coarse ground mustard.
There are two cuts of steak we like to make at home. In the summer, on the grill, it’s ribeye. The rest of the year, it’s filet mignon, pan roasted medium-rare.
We usually have potatoes as a side with steak, but because we had potato chips as an appetizer, I kept it simple and just served vibrant green broccoli, topped with lemon butter sauce and toasted pecans.
Nothing says Valentine’s Day quite like chocolate, so I felt I had no choice but to go with chocolate cake for dessert. This one is dark and moist, studded with cherries, and cloaked with dark chocolate ganache.
On Saturday night we always listen to Frank Sinatra, of course. But in the spirit of the holiday I did create a new “Love” Songs playlist. These are not all classic love songs, just some of my favorites that all have “love” in the title. Listen on Spotify.
The Game Plan
- Make the Chocolate Cherry Cake the day before for the best flavor, or early in the day. It’s important to note that if you’re going to make your own cherry pie filling, it needs about an hour to chill before you can mix the cake batter together, so plan accordingly.
- Early in the day, or at least 3 hours before dinner:
- Salt the steak.
- Make the sauce for the smoked salmon appetizer.
- Blanch the broccoli.
- Toast the pecans.
- Two hours before dinner, arrange the smoked salmon, potato chips and sauce on a platter, and enjoy the appetizer.
- Half an hour before dinner, start cooking the steak. While the steak rests, finish making the broccoli dish.
- For a detailed plan with step-by-step instructions and timing, download the Game Plan document linked below.
Game Plan for Saturday February 15 2020
