My wife and I sometimes celebrate Valentine’s Day by going out the night before to avoid crowds. But we’ve had some of our best meals at home.
We’ve put together a do-it-yourself menu that’s easy enough to prepare for your Valentine – either with or without your Valentine’s help in the kitchen. (You can also find additional recipes on our Web site.)
Here’s our EVOO-inspired menu:
Appetizer
Almonds Sautéed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Prepare a batch of these almonds to munch on beforehand over cocktails. This Spanish dish is a personal favorite of mine. It comes from a top-notch restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area, César. While we don’t have the actual recipe, my blog post about the dish will give you all the information you need. One other suggestion: Do as the Spanish do and serve the almonds with thin wedges of Manchego cheese.
Entrée
Oven-Roasted Fish with Herb and Citrus Dressing
This recipe for oven-roasted fish with a citrus herb dressing will hit the mark. I recently wrote about this dish. We’ve made it several times using halibut and salmon. You can use either of those two fish, as well Pacific cod or swordfish. Award-winning cookbook author Marie Simmons created this recipe.
Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Meat lovers can savor this Latino-inspired dish. The chimichurri sauce – a traditional accompaniment to South American grilled meats – features fresh cilantro, oregano, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes for heat.
Vegetable
Sautéed Green Beans with Shallots
This dish is easy and flavorful. It comes from Ojai Chef Jamie West.
Potato
These potatoes, also from Chef Jamie West, are a natural match with the beans, the fish or the steak. This dish features a particularly delicious spud: the fingerling potato.
Dessert
What would Valentine’s Day be without chocolate? This cake is phenomenal. And it’s easy to make. It comes for our friend dessert guru Alice Medrich.
Bon appétit,
Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch
