How to Celebrate With A Home Cooked Meal For A Fraction Of The Cost

My man Dan and I celebrated our anniversary last night at home with a scrumptious home cooked meal for a fraction of the cost of a restaurant dinner.  We’ve never had more fun nor a more delicious meal.  Originally my wonderful husband made reservations at a fancy restaurant where we’ve celebrated in years past.  After spending a few days together at the beach last week I felt that we didn’t need to blow a wad of money for a dinner out and suggested we stay in.  When our daughters were young celebrating special occasions out meant alone time and a night “out”, while the girls played Barbies with their favorite sitters.  Now that we are empty nesters staying in can be very relaxing and leisurely, yet tons of fun.

When I first mentioned this idea he said, “I like the idea, but will you be disappointed?”  “Not one bit”, I replied.  We implemented a new plan and decided to keep it simple and enjoy a home cooked meal for a fraction of the cost of a steak dinner out.  This could become a tradition!

Here’s the menu:

Starters:

Mumm Sparkling Wine
Cream cheese and basil stuffed sweet peppers
Black Beauty Grapes
Toast Squares
Tiny Cherry Tomatoes

Main Course:

Porterhouse with béarnaise sauce (for the gentleman)
Filet Mignon with béarnaise sauce (for the lady)
AuGratin Potatoes
Grilled Asparagus

Wine:

2014 Blackbird Vineyards Paramour

Dessert:

Chocolate Chip Cookies (the gentleman’s favorite)

I planned my menu based on the idea that we would have steaks on the grill.  I chose the side dishes and planned to make a béarnaise sauce from scratch to make it special.  I’ve never made béarnaise before and I’ll tell you about how that went a little later on.  I didn’t decide on the cuts of meat until I arrived at the butcher.  As you’ve read I chose a juicy porterhouse for my man and a smaller filet mignon for myself.

My late morning was spent baking the chocolate chip cookies to serve for dessert.  I used this recipe as it is my mother-in-laws and my husbands favorite cookie! They are traditional chocolate chippers, using (GASP!) Crisco.  Not an ingredient I make a habit of putting into my baked goods, only for this particular recipe.  They are GOOD!

While the cookies cooled I set the table with placemats, chargers, colorful plates, cloth napkins, forks and steak knives.  I placed a water and a wine glass at each setting, added candles and a wine coaster for the amazing Paramour. Beautiful !  Late in the afternoon I uncorked the wine as this elegant bottle of red needed to breathe before pouring.  If you’d like to read a bit about Blackbird Vineyards, a boutique winery in Napa click here and go visit them next time you’re in Cali wine country.

Next to set the mood I put on one of our favorite music stations.  To step it up a notch I cleaned up and chose a long, flowy dress with flip flops, so I’d look and feel pretty and still be comfy while preparing the remainder of the meal.  That’s it!  My man came home with an armful of flowers which were quickly put into a vase and added to the table.  After getting that small task out of the way we uncorked the Mumm and toasted with a glass of bubbly.  Mumm is another favorite vineyard of mine in Napa.  Here is a story about visiting this vineyard, which should also be on your next Napa wine tour.

I’ll share the recipe for the béarnaise sauce in this post as it was the highlight of the meal.  The steaks were delicious and of course I grilled them perfectly.  Topping our steaks with the sauce created a classy feel for our celebratory meal.  The AuGratin potatoes were fabulous with panko bread crumbs and Havarti cheese covering the surface.  To keep the heat in my kitchen to a minimum I grilled the asparagus alongside the steaks, while we sipped on our sparkling wine.

Let’s talk a bit about béarnaise sauce.  Smooth and velvety, rich and delicious béarnaise sauce turns the simplest cooked vegetables or grilled or roasted meats or fish into superb dishes. The most critical stage in making béarnaise is the initial whipping and cooking of the egg yolks.  You must begin by whisking the yolks and liquid, (lemon juice or water) off heat until light and frothy.  Then, over barely simmering water, continue to whisk vigorously to warm the yolks.  They will become pale yellow, thicker, and expand to three or four times their original volume.  This is a time when you must pay close attention to your yolks, the simmer of the water and make sure not to actually cook the yolks.

I used a stainless bowl over a pan of simmering water as it gives more space to whisk the egg yolk than a straight sided pan or double boiler.  You will use one of the two methods though, a double boiler or a stainless bowl set over simmering water, being careful not to allow any water into the yolks.

Another important step is making sure the melted butter has had time to cool off to a warm heat, not hot heat before adding it to your warmed yolks.  Remove the yolks from the heat and very slowly add in the melted, warm butter, whisking constantly until you’ve drizzled all the butter into the yolks.  Do not let the sauce or butter cool too much as you work or the butter will harden and thicken; add a few drops of warm water if this happens.

It sounds complicated but if you’re on your best game this is actually easy to prepare and well worth the time.  I made the mistake of allowing my simmer to be too high initially and my yolks cooked.  I sadly poured them out and started over.  I was determined to master the béarnaise sauce.  The second time around I paid close attention to the “simmer” and whisked like a fool!  The sauce was perfect and a lovely addition to our dinner.  Here comes the recipe.

So let’s estimate the cost of my meal with that of a restaurant.  I’m only going to compare the steaks and the alcohol since those are what we’d pay the biggest markup on at a restaurant.  I paid $28.00 total for our steaks.  The Mumm retails around $18-$20. and the Blackbird at Total Wine retails for $129.00.  In a couple of local steak houses, known for fine dining the filet cost is between $38-$41 and a porterhouse goes for anywhere between $45-$48.  I paid half the price.  I’m challenged to find the cost of the Mumm or the Blackbird listed on my local restaurants but I’d venture to guess the cost would double at least.  This is a guesstimate.  Bottom line is I had a great time setting our table, preparing fresh, healthy food,and the bonus  – I now know how to make a killer béarnaise sauce!  We saved money, were relaxed and enjoying our evening at our own pace in the comfort of our beautiful home.

The next day my husband said, “that was the BEST anniversary celebration of all time”.  I recommend trying an elegant evening at home for your next celebration too. We were gifted the Blackbird by our daughter and had she not given it to us to enjoy on our day I’d have spent way less on a bottle of wine to accompany our meal. Creating an amazing meal and mood at home is a Win Win !  If you follow suit and do something similar I’d love to hear what you do, what you serve and share any unique ideas you use.  I’m pretty sure this is our new tradition to celebrate our love and I’d happily  incorporate your thoughts this time next year!

Please pardon the lack of good quality photos in this post.  I didn’t want my anniversary evening to be consumed with photos, social media or distractions of any kind.  These were all snapped with my phone and with the available lighting in my dining room.  It was worth it to put the phones down and focus on each other – we should all devote more time for that!