If you're looking for that Surf and Turf menu for a romantic night in or a dinner party, I've got you 100% covered!
This surf and turf menu is no joke!! It's better than any steakhouse you'll ever go to and it's for sure guaranteed to rock anyones world. If you need a special dinner menu for a special occasion, look no further.
We've got steak for 2, lobster risotto, an incredible avocado grapefruit fennel salad, a champagne cocktail and chocolate mousse for dessert. Truly a perfect menu. All the recipes below serve 2 people, with the exception of the risotto - that will feed 2 people and then leave leftovers because leftover risotto is the gift that keeps on giving!
T-Bone Steak for Two
You absolutely can make steak inside the house! The flavor will be perfect.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons
- 2 pound T-bone steak, about 1-1 ½ in thick
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 whole garlic cloves (4 left whole and unpeeled, 4 thinly sliced)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
- ¼ cup parsley leaves
Instructions
- Remove the steak from the fridge and pat it dry with paper towels, sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper on all sides and let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
- Heat ¼ cup of butter and the oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat, when melted and foamy add the steak, thyme and whole garlic cloves. Cook 4-5 min per side, moving the steak around every minute and spooning melted butter over the steak. Don’t forget to sear the sides. If you like a steak more than medium rare cook an additional 1-2 min.
- Remove steak from the pan and let rest 5 min.
- Return pan to high heat, add in 2 tablespoons butter, when it’s melted add in rosemary and thinly sliced garlic and quickly fry until the garlic just begins to brown.
- Pour directly over the steak and serve topped with parsley.
Notes
The truly decadent meal! If you have leftovers save them to cook up with eggs the next morning.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 1347kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 95g | Fat: 104g | Saturated Fat: 44g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 46g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 315mg | Sodium: 433mg | Potassium: 1492mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 1495IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 10mg
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Lobster Risotto
Risotto means love - the technique takes time and is so worth it!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lobster tails (thawed)
- 5 ½ cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 leeks, white part only washed and chopped
- 1 ½ cups arborio rice
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- pinch of saffron
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup frozen peas
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- fresh chives
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, carefully place lobster tails in the pot and cook about 1 minute per ounce. If the average weight of the tails is 4 ounces it will take about 4-5 min total. Remove from the pot and allow to cool before removing the shells with kitchen shears. To remove: cut along the length of the tail and pop out the meat. Reserve shells. Chop lobster meat into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Heat the chicken stock and reserved lobster shells in a small pot over medium high heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove shells and keep stock over low heat
- In a large sauté pan over medium high heat melt the butter and cook the leeks until soft about 5 min.
- Add the arborio rice to the leeks and butter and cook the rice for 3 min.
- Add the white wine and a big pinch of saffron, stirring often and cook until the wine is almost gone.
- Start adding the stock ½ cup at a time, making sure not to add more until the previous addition has been absorbed, stirring often.
- Once the rice is just tender add in the parmesan, lobster pieces and frozen peas. Continue stirring to melt cheese and warm the lobster.
- Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and serve with additional parmesan, chopped chives and a squeeze of fresh lemon
Notes
I guarantee that after this recipe you will always want to make your own stock!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 645kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 929mg | Potassium: 650mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1354IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 5mg
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Avocado Citrus and Fennel Salad
The bright flavors mix so nicely in this nontraditional salad.
Ingredients
- 1 small fennel bulb, core removed shaved thin, about 1 cup
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped
- 1 bunch upland cress or arugula
- 1 cara cara orange, peeled and segmented
- 2 radishes, sliced paper thin
- 2 tablespoons toasted pistachios, crushed
- 1 ripe avocado, cut in half and peel removed
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons chopped shallot
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- pinch of ground coriander
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Add the fennel, watercress, orange segments and radishes to the vinaigrette, toss to combine
- Place half an avocado onto a salad plate and top with fennel salad, garnish with toasted pistachios and chopped fennel fronds. Drizzle any remaining vinaigrette over each salad.
Notes
The textures are what really make this salad!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 1550mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1856IU | Vitamin C: 100mg | Calcium: 222mg | Iron: 3mg
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St. Germain Rosé Spritz
The perfect sparkling drink to your dinner companion.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce grand marnier
- ½ ounce St. Germain
- dash of bitters
- 6 ounces Sparkling Brut Rosé
- Lemon twist for serving
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker filled ⅔ with ice, combine vodka, grand mariner, St Germaine and a dash of bitters. Shake and strain into two chilled coupe champagne glasses.
- Top with brute rose and serve garnished with a lemon twist
Notes
Invest in a cocktail shaker if you haven't yet! It makes happy hour so easy.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.04g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 79mg | Sugar: 8g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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Chocolate Mousse
Mousse looks very fancy but I promise it is an easy technique anyone can do.
Ingredients
For the Mousse
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Raspberry Sauce
- 2 ½ cups fresh raspberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Fresh whip cream for serving
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites starting on low and slowing increasing the speed to medium high, after about a minute start slowly sprinkling in the sugar. Beat egg whites until them form firm peaks. Remove to a small bowl.
- Wipe out the bowl of the stand mixer and clean the whisk attachment, don’t use hot water.
- Whip the cream and vanilla in the stand mixer until soft peaks form.
- In a large bowl with the melted chocolate gently fold in the egg whites. Add half of the whipped cream and fold in, once almost fully mixed add in remaining whipped cream. Completely cover the mousse and chill for 1 hour or even overnight.
- Make the raspberry sauce by combining everything in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain to remove seeds into a bowl and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Serve chocolate mousse with a drizzle of raspberry sauce, a dollop of whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Notes
Make this dessert the day before, including the raspberry sauce. Then assemble with whipped cream when ready to serve.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 1368kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 92g | Saturated Fat: 66g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 203mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 1017mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 91g | Vitamin A: 2682IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 417mg | Iron: 2mg
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I can't wait to make this tomorrow!! can the mousse be made with a hand mixer?
Best risotto I've ever made. I'm making it for company tomorrow night and can't wait to have it again.
I made this dinner for Valentine's Day for my husband and me. The only change I made was to exchange shrimp for the lobster. Everything was perfect. It was like eating in a restaurant. I've made risotto before, and this recipe had such a nice flavor. The salad was light and refreshing with all the things we like in it. We loved every bite. Thanks, Gaby.
Tastiest risotto I've made from Gaby. I think its because this time around I took my time with heat, so the rice was just so tender. Really great recipe!
Every. Single. Thing. Looks. AMAZING!
This looks amazing! Any thoughts on substituting scallops for the lobster?
would be delish
I love your menu and will make it for V Day. I will make sure to wipe out the bowl of the "sandmixer" and cover the "mouse" and chill for one hour... 😉
caught that and "them" instead of "they". i hate when spell check fails me like that! where's grammar check when you need it?
I made the lobster risotto and the citrus fennel salad on Valentine’s Day. They were both delicious!!!
I made every recipe for a late Valentine’s Day dinner. It was all SO good! I cut the risotto recipe in half and it still made enough for 2 dinners + 2 lunches and I made the spitz about 1/2 size bigger bc I had just 1oz of vodka left in the bottle and couldn’t half that. It was all fabulous and tasted great together. Thank you for the foolproof menu - it was fancy but not difficult!
Everything about this dinner was PERFECT
Quick question. On the risotto do you have any recommendations as a to substitute peas or just leave out? My husband hates peas.
just omit!
adding asparagus in lieu of peas would be good (if you like asparagus)
This looks wonderful! Could the risotto be made with shrimp?
totally
This all looks amazing! Can the risotto be made in advance (either entirely or up to a certain point)? How would you reheat to serve?
you could make it up until adding the last 1/2 cup of liquid basically. and then when you want to serve, place it back over the low heat, add the liquid (maybe an extra 1/2 cup) and re-heat
Everything looks so beautiful and delicious! I have never seen such a wonderfully well rounded surf and turf before!!