This past weekend my boyfriend turned 25, and I wanted to do something really special for him. He is always thoughtful and gives the BEST gifts, so it was my goal (we are fairly competitive, ok, ok—VERY competitive) to really outshine him.
Drew feels the most loved with words of affirmation and quality time, so I tried to be very intentional about my gifts. I decided to paint him a picture of one of his favorite verses, create a book of “25 things I love about him” and buy one his favorite button down shirts… but that wasn’t enough. Being in a long distance relationship for a 1.5 years now, quality time is hard to find so I decided I’d plan a romantic dinner. I have to say, I’m a pretty good cook in the kitchen. I spent a lot of time watching my mom and dad cook growing up, but I wanted to go from amateur to chef status for this special occasion!
So, I got pretty ambitious and decided to make steak. FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. I was pretty nervous to say the least, but I wanted it to be special and what man doesn’t love a well-cooked steak?! I decided to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus for the sides and make an apple pie from scratch for dessert. I don’t know what I was thinking.
I recently moved into a beautiful 2 story home with a balcony just outside my bedroom door. I strung lights all around the balcony and lit a dozen candles, put together a beautiful center piece and carefully wrapped all of his presents.
While I was downstairs making a mess in the kitchen, it started pouring all over my beautiful, romantic, candle-lite balcony. With steak on the oven, my hair neatly primped, my roommate and I raced upstairs to try and bring everything inside and stop it from getting ruined.
She was a lifesaver that evening and set up everything beautiful for us in my room, while I finished preparing everything in the kitchen.
He showed up promptly on time, and even though I was on the midst of a breakdown, somehow, the food..well, it was actually FANTASTIC!
Drew couldn’t stop “mmm-ing” after every single bite. I don’t know if he was trying to be nice or not, but he said it was the best steak he’s ever eaten! (***Girlfriend points!!!)
A friend recently said, “If a girl makes you steak, she is a keeeper. If she makes you filet mignon, you need to marry her.” Here’s to hoping. 😉
Ingredients:
2 Filet Mignon (mine were about 2 inches thick)
Salt
Pepper
Red wine (your favorite choice works best. I used a Cabernet Sauvignon by Bogle)
Preparation instructions:
1) Remove steak 30 minutes from fridge before cook time. Salt and pepper on both sides.
2) In a large skillet, pour olive oil and turn the temperature on high to get pan very, very hot.
3) Once skillet is hot, place steaks in it and let it “sear” for one minute. This locks in all the juices.
4) After a minute, flip steaks over and cook for 6 minutes on medium heat. Flip and cook for another 6 minutes.
5) After steak has been cooked, remove from pan and pour 1/4 cup red wine on bottom of pan at a reduced temperature.
6) Let wine simmer in with all of the juices for about 10 minutes until it is reduced and thickened.
7) Pour wine over steak and serve!
The steak will be a nice medium in the middle. If you like to serve it different, check out this helpful blog to learn about the “finger test.” to find out when it’s done.
