Park City » When David Lancaster was dating his wife, Janet, he seemed like a perfectly romantic guy, saying he loved making candle-lit dinners, watching sunsets and giving flowers. "It was all a lie," Lancaster wrote in recent e-mail. "It turns out that I'm an inconsiderate boob that has absolutely no clue how to be really romantic."
In 15 years, Lancaster, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, has never purchased jewelry for his wife. He has given her flowers on just three different occasions -- when each of their two children were born and an "I screwed up bad" bouquet.
But the Murray man's worst offense: He has never celebrated Valentine's Day with his wife. "Not with a card, not with flowers or chocolates or dinner," he wrote.
It was that lack of romance -- but his desire to change -- that made Lancaster one of the two winners in The Tribune's "Dreamy Dinner Date" contest. About a dozen readers wrote in during the last part of January telling us why they needed help making a romantic meal for Valentine's Day.
The lesson » Last week, Lancaster and the other winner, Michelle Thompson of West Jordan, participated in a 2 1/2-hour cooking class at Park City's No Place Like Home kitchen store. Culinary instructor Susan Odell taught the students how to make a romantic Valentine's dinner for their spouse, providing simple recipes, knife skills and basic cooking techniques.
Odell, along with her husband David, are always encouraging people to cook at home through their online cooking program, Foodell.com. Through the site, members pay a minimal fee ($9 for three months or $25 annually) and receive recipes, weekly menu plans, shopping lists and access to online cooking demonstrations. (Including the Valentine's Day recipes published today.)
For The Tribune's Dreamy Dinner Date, Odell planned a three-course Valentine's day meal that uses every-day ingredients and simple recipes. It started off with a roasted beet soup that was deep-red in color and filled with healthy vegetables. It can be made the day before and kept in the refrigerator. Or it can be made several weeks ahead and frozen.
For the main course, Lancaster and Thompson prepared a tri-tip steak with red wine sauce that took less than 30 minutes to make. That particular cut of beef is both affordable and marbled with fat, which means it won't dry out. It was served with sauteed mushrooms and glazed carrots.
Chocolate pudding cakes, made with just six ingredients, was the gooey dessert. It, too, can be prepared a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator until ready to bake, Odell said.
"This is so much more involved than nuking a pizza," joked Thompson during the lesson.
Enchilada incident » Thompson, a payroll clerk for West Jordan City, is legendary among family and friends for her cooking disasters. For instance, take the "enchilada incident," in which tortillas, sauce and filling landed on top of the cupboards.
Several years ago, Thompson attempted to make homemade enchiladas. She was so excited to start rolling the tortillas that she failed to let the red sauce cool. She burned her hands and had a difficult time keeping the filling inside. In frustration, she threw up her hands and the tortillas and sauce went every where.
The story "has been handed down through the years over campfires and holiday tables, but sadly, it is not the only tale that circulates about my cooking skills," she wrote.
"My sweet husband bought me a Rachael Ray cookbook for Christmas (the fire department said it couldn't be salvaged); my brother gave me a sign to hang in my kitchen that declares "I cook three meals: take out, frozen dinners and leftovers"; and a family friend still gets tremors when someone says "Michelle baked brownies."
Randy Thompson does the best he can, his wife said, shopping, cleaning, disposing of hazardous waste for his wife. Why, he even eats the food.
"I can only assume that all this is simply for the love of a woman who cannot cook," Thompson wrote. "I ask you -- doesn't this caring man deserve to have some edible food?"
On Feb. 14, he will.
"In our household it is known as the "Enchilada Incident." The tale of how a homemade enchilada ended up on top of the cupboards has been handed down through the years over campfires and holiday tables, but sadly, it is not the only tale that circulates about my cooking skills. Fire alarms are like a bell to Pavlov's dogs as my children start looking around and asking if dinner's ready.
My family understands that my desire is strong, but the skills are weak. My sweet husband bought me a Rachael Ray cookbook for Christmas, (the fire department said it couldn't be salvaged), my brother gave me a sign to hang in my kitchen that declares "I cook three meals: take out, frozen dinners and leftovers"; and a family friend still gets tremors when someone says "Michelle baked brownies".
Randy, my deserving husband tries; he goes shopping with me, he cleans up the kitchen, disposes of the hazard waste when I'm done and he actually eats the food. However, since the poor man is so thin he has to shop in the junior section for pants, and our cat begs like a dog for the food my family is purposely dropping from the table, I can only assume that all this is simply for the love of a woman who cannot cook.
I ask you -- doesn't this caring man deserve to have some edible food? Does he not yearn for an enchilada he doesn't need to scrape from the ceiling? How long can a man survive on macaroni and cheese alone?
One man, one meal -- lots of love!"
-- Michelle Thompson, West Jordan
"When I was courting my wife 15 years ago, I told her that I was a romantic guy. I told her that I love candle-lit dinners, with soft jazz playing in the background. I told her I loved to snuggle and watch sunsets. She thought that the one time I bought her flowers was going to be a prelude to more flower arraignments.
It was all a lie.
It turns out that I'm an inconsiderate boob that has absolutely no clue how to be really romantic. There is a permanent ban on my purchase of any jewelry for her. In 15 years, she has gotten flowers from me a total of three times. (When both kids were born and a "I screwed up bad" time.)
We have never celebrated Valentines Day. You read that right. In 15 years of marriage, we have never celebrated Valentines Day: not with a card, not with flowers or chocolates or dinner.
would like to surprise my wonderful wife with a dream dinner to show that I am not a complete failure as a husband."
-- David Lancaster, Murray
1/2 pound (3 or 4 medium) beets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 small leek (white and pale green portion), chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 small bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
Sour cream or crème fraîche or for garnish
Finely chopped fresh chives, optional, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets and cut off all but 1 inch of the stems. Using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, rub the beets with a light coating of oil. Wrap in foil. Place on a cookie sheet and roast until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool. To remove peel, rub the skin with a paper towel. (Beets will stain everything -- so protect your clothing.) Dice the beets into 1/2-inch pieces
While the beets are roasting, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan with a heavy bottom. When oil is hot, add leek, onion, celery and carrot. Stir continuously until vegetables begin to soften and brown slightly, about 12 minutes. Add these diced beets to the other vegetables in the saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the 2 cups of stock or water, bay leaf, thyme and parsley sprigs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove bay leaf and herb sprigs. Using a blender or food processor, purée the soup in small batches until smooth.
Pour the soup into a clean pot. At this point, the soup can be placed in the refrigerator or frozen. Just before serving, add cream and reheat the soup over low heat. Taste, then season with salt and pepper as desired. If the soup seems too thick, add a little more stock or water. Serve in warm bowls with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche and sprinkle with chopped chives.
Servings » 2
Source » Susan Odell, foodell.com
1 pound tri-tip beef roast
1/2 tablespoon olive or canola oil
2 tablespoons dry red wine
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Trim excess fat from the roast and then cut the roast into four steaks.
Heat the olive or canola oil over medium high heat in an oven-proof, heavy bottom skillet. Season all sides of the steaks generously with cracked pepper and sprinkle with salt. Add the steaks to the hot pan and brown on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes total.
Transfer the skillet to a rack in the top third of the oven. Roast (uncovered) for nine to 10 minutes for medium rare. (Note: One steak may be thinner than the others. If so, take it out after 5 or 6 minutes for medium rare.) Transfer steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Put the skillet back on the stove (careful -- the handle will be hot) and add red wine and 1/2 cup water. Bring the liquid to a boil and continue boiling until the liquid is reduced by about half (about 2 to 3 minutes.) Turn the heat down to low and whisk in the butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Slice the steak across the grain and spoon the sauce on top. Serve immediately.
Servings » 2
Source » Susan Odell,foodell.com
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut cross-wise into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar or brown sugar
Chopped fresh parsley, optional garnish
Lemon juice, optional garnish
Fill a medium-size stock pot 2?3 full of water. Bring to a boil, then add the carrots and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the water and leave the carrots in the pot.
Add the butter and sugar to the carrots and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving, if desired.
Variation: For a fancier looking version of this dish, buy small carrots with the green tops attached. Trim off all but an inch or two of the greens, cut the carrots so they are 3 to 4 inches in length, and then use your vegetable peeler to give the carrots a carrot-like shape. Boil and cook the carrots as described above.
Servings » 2
Source » Susan Odell, foodell.com
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces fresh button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and halved or quartered (if large)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or parsley
Heat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and then when the olive oil is hot, add the mushrooms in a single layer. Let the mushrooms cook, without stirring, until they are nice and dark on the bottom or about 2 minutes. Serve over steak as a side dish.
Servings » 2
Source » Susan Odell, foodell.com
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1?3 cup bakers sugar or granulated sugar
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for molds
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocoa), broken into pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Ice cream, for garnish
Raspberries, for garnish
Mint leaves, for garnish
Special equipment
4 small (3/4 cup) ramekins or cake molds
Generously butter four ramekins or cake molds. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together eggs, egg yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes a very pale yellow, 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. (The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water.) Add the butter and chocolate to the bowl. Stir mixture until both are mostly melted. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.
Slowly add the chocolate to the egg mixture and continue beating on medium-low speed until smooth. Using a large spatula, gently fold flour into the batter. Use a large spoon or ladle to pour the batter into the buttered molds. Place the molds on a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Leaving the molds on the baking tray, bake the cakes for about 18 minutes (or up to 22 minutes if your batter is refrigerator cold.) The cake should done slightly and the sides should be firm but the center still soft.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least two minutes. Carefully invert the molds onto a dessert plate, and serve immediately with a dollop of ice cream, raspberries and a mint leaf.
Servings » 4
Source » Susan Odell, foodell.com
