Steak and Truffled Potatoes

About a year ago, P and I decided to start a new Friday date night tradition. No phones, no computers, just good wine, conversation and steak...plus the occasional Dateline episode. Our last few months in Houston we ate out a lot as we were trying to hit all of our favorite restaurants before we left town. Our first month in Denver we were trying new neighborhood restaurants. Now we are settled in and back to our fun at-home date nights.

A little over two years ago my dear friend Megan got married in Crested Butte. Her best friend (now sister-in-law and good friend of mine) Abby and I flew out early to relax and help with last-minute wedding preparations. One night in town, we discovered a super yummy french fry appetizer at a local sushi restaurant. It quickly became clear why they called them "Crack Fries." That was the night I fell in love with white truffle oil.

I recently decided to bite the bullet and purchase my very own bottle of white truffle oil. Good gracious! I had no idea how expensive it would be but it is worth every penny. I experimented with a few and there was a clear winner: Boscovivo White Truffle Oil. It is kind of hard to find (lucky for me the little grocery store downstairs carries it) but this one I picked up at Whole Foods is also very good.

I tried this excellent mashed potato recipe from So Tasty, So Yummy. I loved them so much I served them at our housewarming party and then again at Thanksgiving last week. Yummmmm...truffle oil.

The date night menu always consists of the following:

• A bottle (or two) of good wine, usually a Pinot Noir
• Some sort of appetizer, cheese, crackers, what have you
• Two big steaks
• Mashed potatoes or sweet potato fries
• Green veggie
• Good conversation, laughs

Perfection :)

Steak
2 steaks (I used rib eyes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
sea salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large, oven safe pan melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat until very hot.

Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Sear in pan 3-4 minutes on either side, or until browned. Place pan in oven and cook until desired doneness. Use a meat thermometer to check temperature. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.


Truffled Potatoes
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cream
2-3 tablespoons white truffle oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Boil the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Warm the butter and cream. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a bowl. With a hand mixer, whip the cream and butter into the potatoes. Stir in the truffle oil, salt and pepper to taste. Divide the potatoes between two oven safe ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes until the tops begin to get golden brown.