date night with the byrds!!

friday night was date night for blakey & me!  our favorite little local grocery store had some great new york strips on special, so we bought a couple & decided to have a fancy meal in.  i, shockingly, thought we should go all out with an appetizer, mashed potatoes, two steak sauces, & a delicious dessert.

we love eating well.

& luckily, i love cooking too.

{my friday afternoon mise en place.

chopping is so much fun.}

i strongly believe that grilling is the man's job & blakey is all about man stuff, so he was happy to make our steaks.  we went with his grandpa harvey's tried & true steak recipe - poke the steak with a fork, pour some worcestershire sauce & soy sauce on each side, liberally sprinkle with garlic salt & black pepper.  perfect steak every time. 

{man stuff}

{so so good.  great job, husband.}

for our appetizer, we enjoyed some fresh french bread & olive hummus also from our favorite little local grocery store.  {although i love homemade everything, if you can buy it for cheaper & equally delicious as making it at home, go ahead & buy it.}

i made mashed potatoes for the first time in a long long time.  & you know what, i make really good mashed potatoes.  thanks, julie byrd, for teaching me!  a little butter, a little lite sour cream {it tastes the same, so you may as well.}, a lot of milk, some cheddar cheese, & a lot of salt & pepper.  this time i added some minced garlic, sliced green onions, & some freshly minced rosemary.  oh my gosh, so great. 

blakey really likes fancy sauces to go with his steak.  i think steak is fabulous all on its own.  but sauce he wants, sauce he gets.  let's go with two kinds.  why not?  the pioneer woman graciously provided both recipes.  & they were both delish:  red wine mushroom sauce & blue cheese & carmelized onion sauce.  {i added a sliced onion to the red wine mushroom sauce, as i do not understand how one sautés mushrooms without onions.}

by the way, if i you accidentally make a ridiculous amount of the red wine mushroom sauce, it is really really good reheated the next day with leftover bread.  especially if that bread is your mom's garlic bread.

{our amazing date night dinner!}

{oh, little man.  

he really wanted that beer.  & mushrooms. & steak.}

{ps i promise he's not allowed to do that while we are eating.

but i cave after we are finished.}

& dessert!  i don't bake a lot at home.  & confession - when i do, it usually involves a box of some sort. williams-sonoma pumpkin dessert squares are so good.  & i am totally ok with them coming from a box & a jar.

a happy happy date night!  which always ends with a little family picture session...

{fail.  but hilarious.}

love love,

kjp.