romantic dinner timeline

I apologize! I’d meant to post a schedule for the Valentines dinner but life started suddenly running faster than I could, and here it is days later. Most of you weren’t looking for this anyway, but a promise is a promise, so here we go…

If you wanted to substitute a steak for the ahi, everything would proceed essentially the same as the timetable below. Just replace sesame seeds with cracked black pepper for the steak.

(For the stacked crab bistro salad, hints were already given for how with a few prep steps out of the way the night before, this can be very easily assembled in only a few minutes just before plating. You could enjoy a cocktail and an appetizer and then, in under 40 minutes have the rest of dinner ready to share.)

I know parts of this for some will seem overly simplistic – my hope is that a lovely dinner, this or some other, could be easily accessible and do-able for everyone. Very little should keep you (at least every now and then) from being able to put some love on the table for a sweetheart. So, with that, on to the rest of the dinner:

0:00 (oh-100 hours – I never thought I’d have the occasion to talk like that! 🙂 I sound like a sailor! Oh wait, that’s not what I mean, is it?)

Remove ahi from the fridge to take some of the chill off, and pat both sides with good sprinkle of coarse salt and then the sesame seeds. (Measure water for rice and put on to boil. Have dinner plates nearby for serving, with pickled ginger and wasabi paste on them. Put the rice on to cook. Set the timer for 30 minutes for the rice. 6 minutes total elapsed time.

0:06

Are you blanching the sugar snap peas the night before? Oh good for you. That’ll save time. Remove peas from fridge. The rest of this will come together so quickly. Brush the mushrooms clean, remove stems, slice thinly – about 1/4″.  Slice the shallot. Peel ginger, cut in thin slices (about 1/8″ or thinner). Cut those slices again in narrow strips to form matchsticks. Elapsed time 12 minutes.

0:18

Put one skillet on the stove for your ahi. (Cast iron works great, but any heavy skillet. Turn heat on very low just to gradually bring the heat up.) Put canola & sesame oils in another skillet for peas. Bring heat up to medium. Measure out the tamari and cooking sherry and put together in small cup at the ready. Pat of butter on standby. Pan’s hot, add shallots, 1-2 minutes add mushrooms, 30 seconds later add ginger. 2-3 minutes add peas, 2 minutes or so, add liquids. Stir til thickened. Add butter. Put lid on and hold. 11 minutes elapsed time.

29:00

Towards the end of the cooking time for peas, raise temperature on ahi pan. Once smoking hot, add ahi. Watch for doneness as directed in post. Timer just went off on your rice. Remove from heat, leaving lid on. Turn ahi when ready. Seer on other side. Fluff rice. Elapsed time somewhere around 3-5 minutes.

32:00 – 35:00 

Ta-dah!

 Ask your honey to pour the wine and light the candles. Plate the dinner and bring to the table. Bon appetít – enjoy your night!   ♥

(To print a copy, click here. )