How the Elliot's do Valentines Day!

First off...Happy Birthday to my lovely sis-in-law Meridith! I hit the awesome family jack pot when I married Micah!

So Micah and I decided we wanted to host a Valentine's dinner for some of our favorite couples. It was our first dinner party in the new house, very exciting! We did some spring cleaning all week following up to the party, and then flexed our culinary skills to deliver a mighty tasty dinner if I do say so myself!

For cocktail hour I served Caramelized Onion & Gruyer Cheese Tarts (here is the recipe)

For a salad I served a Pear, Blue Cheese and Pecan Salad (here is the recipe) I don't have a pic of it fully finished, but here it is being put together

For side dishes I served a Beet and Red Onion Compote, sadly no pics of that, but man was it tasty! (here is the recipe)

I also served Chive Mashed Potatos, again no pic :( (here is the recipe)

Along with these sides I also served roasted veggies, I also included a couple carrots which isn't listed in the recipe. (here is the recipe)

And here they are fresh out of the oven!

The main coarse consisted of a beer can chicken, one of Micah's specialties! (here is the recipe)

And here is the lonely beer can after the chicken was cooked. PBR ='s Klassy I also served a Beef Tenderloin! It was my first time making it, so I was a bit nervous, but it came out sooo good! (here is the recipe)

Micah checking the tenderloin temp for me.

Bryan helped slice everything up!I served the beef tenderloin with three accompanying garnishes. I cant link those recipes for some reason, but they are simple, so I will list them below each item.

There was a Mayo and Horseradish dip, Not pictured.

Horseradish Mayo: In a bowl stir together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, 1 tablespoon snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Makes 2/3 cup

A Blue Cheese and Parsley Crumble

In a small bowl lightly toss together 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled; 1/2 cup chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; and 1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt. Makes about 3/4 cup.

and an Black Pepper-Olive Relish

In a bowl stir together 1 cup pitted and chopped kalamata or nicoise olives; 1 small red sweet pepper, chopped; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar; and 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper. Makes about 1-2/3 cups.

Here is the Blue Cheese Crumble (on the left) and Black Pepper Olive Relish (on the right)

For dessert I did a yummy super chocolaty Chocolate Cheese Cake, didn't get that one on film. Here is the recipe I used Ghiridelli chocolate, and for the crust I couldn't find chocolate wafers, so I used a box of chocolate teddy grahms and just smashed them up real good :)

I also served Cream Filled Strawberries. They were like what heaven would taste like! (here is the recipe)

Now onto the table setting. I really wanted to make dinner special for all of our couples. I made a menu to guide them through dinner I had assigned seating with place cards at each settingThe table all set awaiting for guests to arrive. Micah flexed his old waiter skills and did fancy bird of paradise folded napkins!
Getting ready to enjoy dinner! Jessica took the pics for me (thanks lady)!