My Bacon Valentine

Men really get the short end of the stick when it comes to Valentine's Day. They're expected to do the heavier share of the gift-giving as decreed by Hallmark and the Florist contingent. And since I do wake up every year to some form of chocolate sitting on my computer table when I wake up, I try to show my appreciation for my hubby with what I'm good at: cooking.

Awwww...

I chose his 2 favorite foods: Steak and Bacon.

(Arguably his 2 favorite foods could be bacon and bacon, but that's just redundant.)

I also decided to incorporate bacon into every part of the meal except the beverage, just to really show I care.

And no, I'm not trying to kill the hubs or myself. My genetically high cholesterol has dropped 170 points in the past year thanks to medication, but I am slightly anemic, so I am now not only allowed to eat bacon on occasion, I need to eat more steak!

Yay!

Now bacon-wrapped filet mignon is a classic, but it's an expensive classic, so I opted to go another way.

Bacon compound butter, on a cheaper cut of steak.

(Saving money shows I care about our future...)

Above you see room temperature butter (about 2 TBSP) and 2 slices of cooked bacon, finely chopped.

After mixing it together, spoon it onto some plastic wrap and mould it however you like.

I went with an attempt at a heart...

Awwwwww...

Potatoes!

As potatoes are probably #3 on the hubs's favorite food list, I had to have them for a side dish. These I roasted in the oven in a combination of rendered duck fat, a little bacon fat, some salt, onion, and fresh thyme. Roughly 40 minutes at 400-425º, turning once halfway through, and they come out crispy and brown and fabulous. 

Don't forget to season them again while they are hot so the salt sticks.

Mmmm... more bacon

Not to be left out, I chopped up and crisped one more slice of bacon and cooked the frozen peas in the rendered fat.

There was one healthy-ish aspect to this meal, I swear.

Guess which is my piece

In a very hot skillet, I seared some seasoned (room temperature!) steaks that I had pat dry and brushed lightly with olive oil, cooking until medium-rare. About 2-3 minutes per side for a 3/4" thick steak.

Place the bacon compound butter atop the hot steak and watch it melt.

Just like the hubs's heart when he saw what was for dinner.

(Wah-wah...)

Money shot of the fabulous potatoes

I added the crisped bacon pieces to the potatoes after I had plated them so they would not get soggy.

I cannot stand soggy bacon.

It's such a let-down.

Ta da!

My Valentine's Day dinner to show how much I care was not a let-down.

It was quite tasty.

Unfortunately dessert was not as big a hit as I'd hoped, as I had ordered a custom-made chocolate bar for the hubs, which was dark chocolate with bacon and peanut butter chips in it.

For shame Chocomize.

Your options are intriguing, but your chocolate quality kind of sucks.

Luckily there was plenty of Godiva to go around, and dessert was salvaged.

Hubs to the rescue again.

I do love him so.