We don’t go out for Valentine’s Day, Mother or Father’s Day, Easter Brunch, etc,., because it’s generally really crowded at places and we do enjoy making nice meals at home. Hubby was going to pick up filets for Valentine’s Day, but it was one of the times when the Publix butcher (very helpful Australian guy) recommended the bone-in rib-eye instead. They were indeed delicious and as is often the case we had leftovers. Not enough for a full second meal, however, there was plenty if we added a first course, and I opted to do steak Bordelaise. This is a stove top prep, is fairly simple, and doesn’t take long. In fact, the plan was to mince the shallots (two in this case) beforehand and liberally grind black pepper over the slices of steak, and set both aside.

I gave Hubby a choice for first course of seafood or French onion soup and he opted for the soup. If we hadn’t been doing Bordelaise, I would have used shallots along with the sweet and red onions for the soup. Anyway, Hubby also prepped the salads while I made the soup. We enjoyed it and then I made the steak dish while he managed the microwave with the potato dish and whatever vegetable it was.

For the sauce, put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-low heat. Saute the shallots, adding more cracked pepper and some salt. It takes about 8-9 minutes to get them to the limp stage. Remove from the skillet onto a plate. Add two tablespoons of butter to the skillet, increase the heat to medium and add the steak slices when the butter is melted. Cook for about two minutes on each side. Remove steak to a plate, put in oven to keep warm. Return the shallots to the skillet, add one TBS of cognac (or a little more) and quarter cup of red wine (maybe a little more). Stir thoroughly and cook another three minutes, adding a bit more liquid if needed. Place the steak on the plates and spoon the sauce on top of the slices. (No, this is not a low-cal dish although it is low carb).

And yes, we still had leftover dark chocolate flourless torte to finish off the meal.