GETTYSBURG, Pa. — If you can't decide where to make a reservation for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner, consider your own dining room.
Olivia's shared recipes for a sumptuous pasta dish and smooth martini.
The meal features a savory pan-seared portion of rockfish topped with a flavorful sauce of simmered tomato, veggies and okra, all served over a bed of fettuccini smothered in a creamy wine sauce with fresh spinach.
Finish off your romantic night in with an espresso martini to add some class and energy to the night.
Meal: Rockfish Florentine
Pan-seared rockfish
Ingredients
8-ounce fillet of rockfish
1 tablespoon, lamb butter
1 tablespoon, sweet butter
1 tablespoon, extra virgin olive oil
Pinch, sea salt
Pinch, black pepper
Directions
Place a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the butters and extra virgin olive oil. Add the rockfish and season it. Pan sear the fillet for approximately three to four minutes and then remove it from heat.
Stewed okra
Ingredients
1/2 pint, heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon, lamb butter
1 tablespoon, garlic butter
1 cup, canned tomatoes, quartered
Mirepoix mix
- 1/2 cup, onions*
- 1/2 cup, celery*
- 1/2 cup, carrots*
*all 3 finely chopped to approximately the same size
1 bay leaf
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup, fish stock
1 pound, fresh okra: cleaned, stem removed, cut into 1/2-inch wheels
Pinch, sea salt
Pinch, black pepper
3 tablespoons, fresh cut dill
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup, Merlot
Directions
In a heavy bottom pan placed on high heat, sauté the butters, extra virgin olive oil, mirepoix, salt and pepper for approximately three minutes. Deglaze the pan with Merlot. Add the remaining ingredients. Let them stew together for approximately six minutes or as soon as the okra is tender. Be sure to not overcook the okra, or it will become very mushy.
Fettuccini Florentine
Ingredients
8 ounces, fettuccini, cooked al denté
1 tablespoon, lamb butter
1 tablespoon, extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces, heavy cream
3 tablespoons, Asiago cheese
1 tablespoon, Feta crumbles
2 pinches, freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup, fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons, fresh chopped dill
Directions
Preheat a sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the butter and extra virgin olive oil. As soon as the butter melts, add the heavy cream. Cook for approximately two minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Fold everything together until the cheeses begin to thicken the sauce. Place the rockfish on top, then add the stewed tomatoes with okra.
Cocktail
Espresso martini
Ingredients
Tito's Handmade Vodka
Espresso liqueur
Licor 43
Marie Brizard Chocolat Royal liqueur
Espresso coffee
Whole coffee beans, for garnish
Directions
Fill a glass with ice. Add all of the ingredients except the coffee beans. Shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass. The top should be light and frothy. Add three whole coffee beans for garnish.
