Cooking together in the kitchen has always been a favorite past time for Cory and I. We have 26 years of marriage under our belts and have spent many hours fine tuning our skills with a knife, opening bottles of wine and reading recipes; all the while, laughing and sharing stories about our work week, kids and upcoming adventures.
Early in our dating and courting days (which were few-2 months to be exact), we decided that weekly date nights needed to be a priority in our relationship. We wanted a way to keep the love alive. Often our dates involved going out to eat, seeing a good movie, visiting the bookstore or enjoying coffee at our favorite local Café. As the years went by, and kids came along, it became a bit more challenging to have our weekly date nights but we managed. We hired baby sitters and swapped childcare with friends in a similar boat. It worked for us. The time that we have spent together each week has made a huge impact on our relationship.
This year we have set some new goals and one of them is that we want to eat more home-cooked meals. We don’t want to eat out as often as we have in the past for a variety of reasons. One reason being, with my food allergies, it has just become easier to dine in. We will still do our weekly date night but the dinner part will be enjoyed at home, feasting and cooking together.
Hands down our favorite meal is what I am sharing with you today. Steak and sautéed mushrooms have always been an easy dinner that the two of us can work on together in the kitchen.
A romantic dinner can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose to make it. I think that there are times when a quiet romantic dinner is just as sweet as a more executed venture with more bells and whistles. I know, from personal experience, that my time with my sweetie is always appreciated, and vice versa, no matter what effort is put forth on either of our parts.
A dinner for two doesn’t just have to happen at home in the kitchen with a pretty table. Other ideas and suggestions would be a picnic, a BBQ at the beach, a wine tasting tour, going on a hike or spending time on the water. The list is endless of places that the two of you can spend time together eating, drinking and connecting through adventure and food.
Food in all of its many presentations, settings and preparations has always held a special place in my family.
I like my steak on the rare side--so that is what you see here.
2. In a hot cast iron pan, heat oil on medium high heat.
3. Brush olive oil on each side of steak and season with spices and parsley flakes. Seasonings are not measured so you can season to your liking.
4. Sear each side of steak for 3 minutes.
5. Turn oven off and put cast iron pan into the oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. Steaks will be medium rare to medium depending on thickness. To get exact temperature that is desired, use a meat thermometer.
7. Remove from oven and cover with a piece of foil and let rest for 8-10 minutes.
8. Serve with sautéed mushrooms (recipe here).
You can put them in the oven on foil in a pan and use the skillet for the mushrooms.