Valentine's Day Dinner at Home - A Romantic Night In

If you're anything like me, you hate going out to eat on Valentine's Day. Why do people do it? It's crowded, there are long wait times, and if you have kids, it's harder to find a babysitter on a holiday. I don't think I'll ever understand it.

Now that said, I still love an excuse to dedicate one-on-one time with my husband and get dressed up for a special occasion. So if you want to know what a certified event planner does for a Valentine's Day dinner at home, here it goes:

Menu:

I've gone through a few "fancy" dinners over the years. Everything from hand-stuffed pasta shells, to savory and sweet fondue boards, to re-creating our favorites from our European honeymoon. This year, I'm doing something a little more traditional. We have been eating very lean meats, veggies and whole grains lately so I thought I would treat my husband to a classic steak and mashed potatoes with broccoli. Maybe that's boring to some of you, but for us, it really is a treat these days without sacrificing gluten intolerance or having the high dairy amount we would potentially have in a pasta dish. So that's dinner. You could polish it off with wine or a cocktail if you want, but we'll probably just have water over here.

For dessert, I'm on the fence. I have brownie bites from our Super Bowl party, but frankly, I don't think they are going to last until Valentine's Day! I make a great chocolate chip cookie, so I may do that, but I also have a chocolate cake mix in my pantry that has been waiting to be baked and I figure I could decorate it with strawberry hearts and/or pink sprinkles to be on theme.

Theme:

I tend to gravitate more toward colors vs a "theme" for most adult-geared events so for this year, we are doing a classic pink and red. It matches the décor I have had on my dining table for the last couple weeks. I have a pink table runner, red chargers, and these gold taper candle holders with red taper candles in them. I'm also a big fan of fresh flowers so I'll have some pink and red carnations in my heart-stamped vases. I'll also be keeping with the red color scheme with my outfit: a new red dress and red lipstick.

Timeline:

If I go with the cake (which I probably will), I'll make that earlier in the day before my husband gets home. I know this may not work with everyone's work schedule, so if that's you, the night before works great too. Bonus points if you can keep it hidden and still a surprise day-of. I know I would have to keep it hidden just so my daughter doesn't ask to dig into it before the big reveal!

We have a three year old who consistently goes to bed around 7pm so priority #1 is getting her to bed promptly on time. I'll feed her dinner at 6pm and my husband will do the bedtime routine at 6:30pm while I make dinner. Normally, we all eat together, but since this is a special at-home date night, Jon and I will eat together after she goes to bed so we can have each other's undivided attention.

TIP: I am BIG on efficiency so I like to write out everything I have to do and put it in an order that will make sense.

Cook the potatoes first - they can cook while I get the steak and broccoli prepped. I like to cook them whole so I can make crispy potato skins with them and eliminate any food waste since I'm not personally one for mashed potatoes with the skins mixed in. If you've never tried this, all you do is boil the potatoes whole (for added flavor, boil in a broth versus water), then remove them from the liquid and let it cool until they are cool enough to handle. Cut them in half lengthwise, scoop out the insides for the mashed potatoes, then take the skins and coat with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and cheese and bake in the oven until crispy. I seldom make mashed potatoes without this little extra effort for the yummy snack that comes with it. I digress.

Next, start steaming the broccoli.

Then, cook the steak.

Finish the mashed potatoes while the meat rests.

Lastly, serve it up. I'll set the plates on the red chargers with silverware and drinks, light the candles, dim the lights, put on the red dress, set out his gift, and the cake. The idea here is to avoid going back to the kitchen and keeping everything we need already at the table so we can maximize on that sweet, valuable, uninterrupted, intimate time together.

As a special touch, I'll play music from our wedding day - which, by the way, if you're married and you haven't made a vinyl of your wedding day songs, it makes for a great gift. It was easy to order online and the cover art is my favorite wedding day portrait of us. As I'm thinking about it now, this would make a great gift for anyone you know who is married or getting married and could also simply be songs that remind you of the person you're with. You get the idea.

So there you have it. This is everything I'm doing for a Valentine's Day dinner at home. Regardless of what you decide to do, I hope you're happy doing it!

Happy Valentine's Day!