Trying to impress a "steak and potatoes" girl
 

Ok, so I have a date this Friday in which I will be cooking dinner at my place. Her favorite meal is apparantely steak and mashed potatoes.

I would like to cook this for her, but in a way that shows off my (mediocre) culinary skills...so basically I want to cook a really good meal using some sorta steak and some sorta potato dish. Any ideas?

To keep in mind: I seal my patio off during the winter, so no grilling :sad:.

How about pan roasted filet mignon, roasted garlic parmesan mashed potatoes and asparagus?

For dessert, some fresh berries with flavored sour cream or yogurt.

in that case I would do Just that.
but buy the Best steak you can and also the best mashing spuds you can, let the Ingredients do the talking.

for the mash a nice coarse Champ is ideal IMO, but if you go with ordinary mash, maybe do some fried onions or garlic mushrooms?

Hmm..ok one more thing to keep in mind...filet mignon is a BIT too pricey for my budget :rolleyes: LOL. But the garlic parmesan mashed potatoes sound great! Although might worry a bit about the garlic breath....

If you both eat the potatoes, breath will not be an issue. Besides, it's roasted garlic and a lot less potent. If you're still worried, leave it out and serve parmesan mashed potato. I like to make it with sour cream for an extra 'tangyness'.

Buy two of the best steaks you can and go from there. Rib eye or sirloin strip are less expensive.

Filet would be my first choice....Rib-Eye my second.

Another idea....Instead of mashed potatoes....Twice Baked Potatoes piped back into the shells can be very tasty, with lots of eye appeal!

Fun!

Do you have a recipe for these mashed potatoes?

When it comes to garlic and dating you gotta "weed out" those that don't like it :lol:

Good luck and let us know how everything turns out!

I recommend using either yukon golds or russets.

One big russet is more than enought for two. Make as much as you want. Peel, cut up and boil the potatoes until done. Mash with butter, sour cream, salt pepper and grated parm. I don't measure. Let your taste be the guide. For two potatoes, I'd add 3-4 tablespoons of butter, 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sour cream. Salt pepper and parm to taste. Adjust the sour cream to keep the potatoes from getting too wet.

How bout the roast garlic? How do I incorporate that, if I choose to do so?

roast the cloves whole, take them out and snip the end off with scissors and just squeeze it out like a paste.

Take a whole head of garlic and cut off the top to expose the cut tops of most of the cloves. Add a little oil and wrap loosely in foil. Roast at 350 for about an hour. Cool until it's cool enough to handle but still warm to hot. Squeeze the head like a toothpaste tube and all the roasted garlic will squirt out. Save it in a dish or whatever until needed. Add it to the potatoes before mashing and mash them all together.

Mash them with a fork and then add them to your potatoes when you mash them OR, what my husband and I like to do (but we are NOT afraid of garlic breath :lol:) is to grill some baguette slices in a grill pan or drizzle slices with olive oil and toast in oven and then smear the bread with the roasted garlic.

So how about the steak...anyone think I should make a pan sauce to go with it? Maybe with red wine/ balsamic vineger..

I make my potatos the same as Andy.... but in addition to the sour cream I put in Mayo. equal parts mayo / sour cream. plus butter and milk.
Must be an East Coast thing with the sour cream, I'm from New York. I make them like that and everyone I know born here looks at me like I'm nuts! But alot of people here don't have taste buds either......

You could make...

Steak au poivre
Steak au poivre

Bracciole
(Try a search here - there should be a few recipes)

Steak Pinwheels (stuffed w spinach, etcc., etc.)

Top the steak with crab or a compound butter (sun-dried tomato, bleu cheese etc.)

Serve with appetizer of choice (shrimp cocktail etc), salad, (soup if you wish - i.e. French Onion), sauteed (Portobello) mushrooms, sauteed or stuffed onions, roasted lemon/butter asparagus, baby artichokes, baked potato w butter/sour cream/chives, crusty bread, wine & a fab dessert (cheescake, chocolate mousse etc.)... & woila - Steak dinner.

All these are wonderful ideas - I think we're on a somewhat of a budget here though :chef:

Here is another idea... for a cheaper cut of meat and it still tastes like you spent a fortune on it... maybe try this on a second or third date. We all know that you will win her over on the first date!!!

Whole Foods Market : Recipes : Pan-Seared Flat Iron Steak with Spicy Cilantro Sauce

You don't have to use all of my suggestions; & some items are not very expensive - i.e. it doesn't have to be a rib eye, you could use canned crab, dessert can be picked upat the market, salad can be simple, wine can be inexpensive depending on the brand, veggie - anything in season. The shrooms can go in the salad, as well asa side for the steak. Just some sides/menu suggestions for thought.:chef: Good company is really what it's about. :wink:

Just find out how she likes her steak done before you cook it - won't go down well serving well done steak to a girl who likes it medium or rare :-)