BBQ'd Venison Roast and Dark Chocolate Clusters

    Today we got back from our mini- vacation and had a delicious dinner made my fabulous husband! He smoked   2 venison roasts on the grill and they were awesome. 

    First he marinaded them in a mixture of the following for about 2 hours.

• 1 TBS Coconut Aminos
• 1 C of apple cider vinegar
• 2 TBS sea salt, pepper to taste
• 2 TBS Chef Leo's meat rub
• 2 C Water 

 He started the grill, Brandon uses a charcoal grill and he prefers to use wood charcoal. He let the grill heat up to about 275 degrees. Before he put the meat on the grill he rubbed them with some seasonings. One of them he glazed with honey and rubbed it Chef Leo's Mesquite seasoning . (For honey, he just drizzled the top and brushed it in then sprinkled the top with a light seasoning.) 

The second one he rubbed with Cayenne pepper and Chef Leo's Mesquite seasoning. (Use as much seasoning as you like.)

He placed both roasts on the grill and allowed them to smoke and cook for about 50 minutes on each side. He basted them with the marinade after each flip. 

When he pulled them off the grill, I sliced them into thin slices and served them warm with some fresh green beans and a little Dijon~Horseradish mustard. The meat had a wonderful smokey spice flavor to it and I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow for lunch. 

I am the luckiest!

After dinner Brandon headed off to his class and I got the house in order, did some grocery shopping and decided to try to make a little treat for him when he came home. While we were in VA beach, we got a sweet tooth and headed to candy kitchen to get some dark chocolate. While we were there we saw these dark chocolate cashew clusters. We really enjoyed them and I obviously got tons of inspiration on how I could make these. Tonight I attempted this with the ingredients I had in my pantry (it is the end of the month and getting scarce).  

Ingredients: 

• Shredded Coconut
• Chopped Walnuts
• Chopped Hazelnuts
• Raisins
• 2-3 TBS Honey
• 1/2 bag Dark Chocolate Chips
• *You could use anything so get creative*

1.) Mix 1/4 cup of each dry ingredient in a bowl.

2.) Add 2-3 Tablespoons of Honey. You want the mixture to stick together enough to put it into a cluster. 

3.) Place spoonfuls of mixture on a parchment paper lined cookie tray. Place in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes. 

4.)Melt half a bag of Dark Chocolate in a saucepan on low heat. Mix often so it doesn't burn. 

5.) Pull clusters out of the fridge and cover with dark chocolate. 

6.) Place them in the fridge again to harden for 20 min. . 

7.) Pull them out, flip them over and coat the bottom with dark chocolate. Place in the fridge again for 20 min or longer to get a cold hard shell

                                                                       Enjoy! 

I also did some with just raisins- also excellent! 

Love

Love is knowing someone has your back, knowing someone will be there to take care of you, knowing someone will support you through your ups and downs. We don't need Valentine's Day to feel loved but it doesn't hurt! Brandon and I don't go out and do the cliche' Valentine's Day activities- we have always enjoyed staying in and cooking. Generally Brandon cooks but this year, I wanted to make the meal to show him how much I appreciate him! Who says Valentine's Day is a chick holiday? Brandon got me beautiful Peruvian lilies! I decided that since he took time and pre- ordered flowers from pro-flowers that he REALLY deserved an extra special meal. I left work and went straight to Wegmans. (For a girl that didn't like the gigantic, chaotic, busy feeling of Wegmans,  I sure am enjoying it here lately).

On the Menu

Appetizers: 

Smoked Gouda with Bacon Cheese Slices with Apple slices

Main Dish:

 Rib Eye Steak 

King Crab Legs with a garlic butter sauce.

Steamed Asparagus with old bay seasoning

Dessert:

Banana Splits

Recipe's and Process: 

Appetizer: 

I found a nice Gouda with smoked bacon at Wegman's and sliced it into thin slices and served with a crisp Jana gold Apple. I put this on the front entrance table while Brandon waited to be seated. 

Main Dish:

Steak Ingredients- 16oz Rib Eye Steak

             Dry Rub seasoning- I used Chef Leo's Mesquite rub

             1 TBS Olive Oil

Process-

  

Get your steak out of the fridge and lightly rub some dry rub on the meat.Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the meal. Cook your steak last. In a pan pour about 1 TBS of olive oil in the pan and turn the heat onto to a medium/ low. Allow pan to heat but do not boil. Once pan is heated place your steak in and cook on one side for 7 minutes (this was for a 16oz, 2 inch thick steak so times may vary). Flip steak and cook on the other side for 6 minutes. (this will give you a medium steak)

King Crab Ingredients- King Crab legs (got alraedy steamed from the seafood market in Wegman's)

                       2 TBS butter (I used Kerry Gold Butter)

                       1/8 Garlic powder

                       Fresh Lemon

                       Old Bay Seasoning

Process-

I put my oven on a warming setting- about 175F and let the legs warm up for about 8 minutes. While that was warming, I melted my butter and sprinkled in some Garlic powder and mixed it together. I plated my crab legs with the Garlic butter, for garnish I added some old bay and lemon.

Asparagus- cooked in a pan with some olive oil and sprinkled with a little old bay.

I set up our house restaurant style. I text Brandon and told him that his reservations were at six and he must wait in the front foyer until I invited him to his seat. When he came in I had the appetizers set out on the front table. Once he came in I cooked the steak and had him sit down in the dining room while I brought him each dish. He was so excited to see me walk out with a plate of huge crab legs. Even more excited to see the gigantic steak! 

Dinner was a success and we both inhaled the meal. One of the best Valentine's day meals we have had and all for under $40.00. (where can you enjoy a meal like that for that price!!!)

My Valentine and his Feast! YUM!

Dessert: 

Ingredients- Raspberries

             Strawberry slices

             1 Banana

             1/4 C. Dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

             Chocolate Ice Cream

             Vanilla Ice Cream

             Chopped Hazelnuts

          

Process: 

Place Bowls in the freezer before you begin cooking dinner. A cold bowl will help the ice cream to stay cold even with the dark melted chocolate. 

When you are ready for dessert- Melt chocolate chips in the Microwave for about 45 seconds and mix with a spoon until all chips are melted. 

Spoon ice cream into cold bowls. Top with fruit and drizzle with dark chocolate. For some crunch, top with some chopped hazelnuts. 

  

Brandon's treat

My Treat! This chocolate ice cream is amazing!

While I am sure Brandon probably missed his normal Meat and Potatoes followed by a homemade cheesecake, he didn't miss his full tummy and we enjoyed a wonderful Valentine's day! We both decided that this was one of the best meals we have had and the dessert was absolutely delicious. Lucky for Brandon- I packed him leftover crabs for lunch ;) 

Peruvian Lilies- I swear they bloom more and more every time I look at them!  Beautiful colors- Thanks Love!