People have strong feelings about Valentine’s Day, for or against.  On the one hand, the holiday was probably invented by Hallmark to sell cards.  On the other hand, I love celebrations of any kind.  Personally, I stand firmly in the “Pro” camp.  What could be wrong about tell the special people in your life that you love them?  I buy cards and send them to family and friends (don’t be offended if you didn’t get one – I limit myself to one package each year).  For Howard, I buy a special card, and we make a nice dinner that starts off with Champagne.

There are so many recipes to choose from, in the books on my bookshelves, the magazines in piles, the recipes I’ve clipped, recommendations from my sisters, and the resources across the Internet.  Now that I’m back on the “Cook the Book” train with Cook the Book Fridays, the choice for a few meals each month is simplified.

This week’s recipe from David Leibovitz’s My Paris Kitchen offered the perfect idea for a romantic dinner for two.  Steak Frites au Beurre de Moutarde  – in English, Steak with mustard butter and French fries.  Because I’m scared of deep-frying, I was wary of the accompanying French fries, but upon reading the recipe, learned they were oven fries.  Russet potatoes are cut in to French-fry-sized batons, tossed with olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh herbs, then baked until crispy.

Meanwhile, rib-eye steak is seasoned with smoked salt, chipotle pepper and fresh parsley, then seared to perfection in a cast-iron pan.  The piping hot steaks are served with dollops of compound mustard butter, made with both Dijon and dry mustard powder.  To round out the meal, I made this delicious recipe for tahini-roasted broccoli from Food52.

What a winning combination for a relatively simple, yet restaurant-worthy meal!  I’m excited to know how to make really great fries without frying too.  There’s some leftover mustard butter so I’m curious if anyone has suggestions to use it up.

I have to mention dessert too.  I’ve long been a fan of molten chocolate cake.  The recipe for Deep-Dark-Chocolate Pudding Cakes from Joanne Chang’s newest book Baking with Less Sugar is my new favorite recipe.  It’s to die for!!!!

To read all about my friends’ steak dinners, check out their links here.

Due to copyright considerations, I don’t share the recipe here.  You can find it on pages 206 (steak) and 219 (frites) of David Leibovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.  Or feel free to drop me a line and I’ll share it with you.