Valentine's Day Dinner

We typically don't go out for Valentine's day. For the most part we've found that it is tough to get a reservation, and they try to rush you out the door to accommodate more reservations. For the past couple years we decided to do Valentine's day dinner in. This year's menu started with goat cheese and caramelized onions on toasted french bread. This was followed up by Heart of Palm Salad with mixed greens. The main course was Filet Mignon with goat cheese, Shrimp and asparagus. The meal was capped off with fresh out of the oven Toffee Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream on top.



Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion on French Bread
Ingredients:
Goat Cheese
Onion
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Pinch Salt
French Bread

Instructions:
1. Melt Butter in pan and add onions. Let cook on med-low heat until the onions are soft (can take 5-8 mins)
2. While onions cook, toast french bread slices in oven
3. When french bread is almost toasted spread goat cheese on each slice
4. Add Onions to the top of toasts and salt to taste
5. Return to oven to soften the cheese and finish toasting the french bread


Heart of Palm Salad
Ingredients

1 pound canned hearts of palm, drained
1/4 lb shaved prosciutto (I like Jamon Serrano, but it is a little tougher)
1 cup greens or small mixed baby salad greens
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Champagne Vinaigrette

1 tsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c Champagne vinegar
2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

1. For the Champagne Vinaigrette, in a mixing bowl, stir together all the ingredients. Season to taste with a little more salt and some pepper. You should have about 1 cup of dressing. Cover and set aside.

2. If using fresh hearts of palm, you should have some bigger, thicker pieces and some smaller, thinner pieces. Put the bigger pieces in a nonreactive dish and cover them with 3/4 cup of the Vinaigrette. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

3. Drain the marinated hearts of palm and wrap each piece in a piece of ham. After the pieces are wrapped, cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rings. Slice the smaller pieces into 1/4-inch thick rings and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, toss salad with the sliced small hearts of palm and 4 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mound some of the greens mixture in the center of each serving plate. Place the ham wrapped rounds around the salad. Drizzle the remaining Vinaigrette around each plate. Serve immediately.