Ahi Tuna with Wasabi and Sweet Chile Sauce

For our weeknight Valentine Dinner this week we went with a favorite for the both of us instead of attempting to create a new favorite. We are aware that in our attempts to always keep trying something new that there aren't a whole lot of things we make often to perfect so it is kind of nice when we do go back to our trusted favorites.

 For the record we are believers and practicers of "romance." But we've long since outgrown the restaurant valentine dinner night scene. Not that we blame anyone else for going that route, we've definitely had many fine valentine meals. But about 4 years ago we realized while at one of our favorite Gig Harbor Restaurants, Brix 25, on Valentines Day we'd just had enough. Most of the nicer restaurants serve a limited menu on these occasions as to accommodate as many diners as they can, the wait staff on duty is often anyone and everyone available, the restaurant's entire goal is to get you in and out and this leads chefs in the back to not do their best cooking. So it was that year in particularr after being told both of our first picks on the menu, which were 2 different things, were  already sold out along with drinking our full bottle of wine before our appetizer arrived and our server not even stopping by to let us know why the appetizer was taking over an hour to get to the table that we just mutually said; "You know we love to cook, we can and do often make a great romantic meal on our own, why are we here  tonight actually?" And don't get me wrong we don't hold this against the restaurant its still one of our favorites as well. That holiday scene and environment is just not for us on this one day of the year.

So this week we were still in the sick recovery mode and it was Monday so we went with familiar food "loves" for our at home meal.

We started our meal with dungeness crab cakes with wasabi aoili. On our top 10 things to make and eat.

Then made my favorite Ahi (Yellowfin) Tuna (another top 10) that I replicated from a meal that we had at our local wine bar Pour At Four a few years ago.

 I brush the tuna with a mixture of olive oil & rice wine vinegar and dip it in a combo of black and white sesame seeds and then sear it only 3-4 minutes per side to just get color on the edges. I plate the tuna on a drizzle of sweet Chile sauce (Mae Ploy brand tonight, sometimes I do make my own but not tonight) and then drizzle the top of the tuna with a purchased wasabi sauce. The combo of flavors with the rare ahi literally just melt in your mouth.

We usually served this with Saffron Jasmine rice (a spiffy idea we learned from a sample at Metropolitan Market) add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of saffron threads to the rice cooker and cook as you normally would in the rice cooker and the aroma and flavor that comes from these minimal additions are amazing. We also had some steamed asparagus to meet the green requirement I always think are essential for a truly complete meal.

Oh yeah and we can't forget the Corvidae Rook Red Blend to round out our own at home perfect meal. (Corvidae also makes our very favorite $12 Chardonnay called Mirth. A must try especially if you like Northwest Chards)

We shared a dark chocolate small heart cake from The Met bakery to really make it feel like it was Valentines day, but we really only took a bite or two each because it wasn't needed.

Not our most exciting of Valentine Dates but definitely one of our guaranteed favorite meals served in our favorite most comfortable place; At home in front of the fireplace.