With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, who better to inspire you to cook your very own gourmet meal at home than our in-house gourmet catering chef?! With most of “life” happening in our homes throughout the past year, we might as well bring the restaurant experience home this Valentine’s Day.

Our Lubbock event center has an in-house wedding and event catering team, led by Chef Andrew, who cooks up a delectable and creative variety of gourmet cuisine right here in Lubbock, Texas. He has curated a meal that is restaurant quality (probably, even better!) at a fraction of the cost. The best part? Cooking this meal is something you and your significant other can do together, learning new culinary skills and making memories in the process.

Here’s a photo of the finished product — just to get your mouths watering before we dive into the details!

P.S. Don’t let this meal intimidate you—you are perfectly capable of pulling it off! Our Lubbock catering team is cheering you on.

Recipe: Valentine’s Dinner for Two… At Home!

Steak and Lobster

1.    Mark steak on grill (if no grill, sear in hot cast iron pan)

2.    Finish in oven at 300F (internal temp at 130F – let rest!)

3.    Split lobster and pull meat to top of tail, brush with garlic and parsley butter. Bake at 425F for 8 minutes, or until internal reads at 135F. Pull and serve immediately.

Asparagus Bearnaise

1.    Grill asparagus, roughly 3-4 minutes per side, or until tender.

2.    Make bearnaise sauce:

• Melt 1 tbs butter, add 3 tbs shallots and salt and pepper
• Add 2 tbs champagne vinaigrette
• Reduce
• Over double boiler add 2 egg yolks, 1 tbs warm water, and 2 tbs lemon juice. Whisk until sauce forms. Slowly add melted butter to sauce until it becomes thick and luscious.
• Mix in shallot reduction. Add 1 tbs chopped tarragon.

Roasted Potatoes

1.    Cubed Yukons and roast at 425F for 30 minutes or until tender and golden around the edges.

2.    When tender, pull out and season to tastes with salt, pepper and parsley.

Let’s plate it.

Follow these steps for the perfect plating experience. You know, to get that restaurant quality look.

1.    Right side: roasted potatoes.

2.    Top with tenderloin

3.    Top with salted butter whipped with garlic and parsley

4.    Left side: plate lobster, topping with spoonful of melted garlic parsley butter.

5.    Bottom, plate asparagus, and top with bearnaise sauce and chopped parsley.

6.    Garnish with lemon wedge!

End with a sweet dessert for your sweetheart.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

1.    Gather nice, large juicy strawberries

2.    Melt chocolate over double boiler, make sure water does not touch bottom of bowl.

3.    Dip each strawberry into chocolate and let cool in fridge

Simple as that! Room for your own flair. Think Valentine’s sprinkles, icing drizzle, crushed graham crackers, crushed pretzels, the list goes on!

Always remember to add the special ingredient… LOVE!

We hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and enjoy your experience as you prepare, cook and enjoy a meal together.

If this meal looked delicious to you, you can be sure that anything prepared by the catering staff at our wedding and event center will be a dish to remember. As one of the few event venues that includes full-service gourmet catering, we guarantee The Willows Event Center is the perfect choice to impress your guests at your next event!