Did you know that for three weeks out of the year I’m older than my husband, yes he reminds me every year. Well those three weeks are over and we are now both 30 (yes we are 30 every year you will notice). I love making my husband feel special. I love making him feel like he is the best thing that was put on this earth because to me, he is. My MIL was only 21 and on her own when she had him. Now that I’m a mother, I take being a single mother very seriously because I think it’s the hardest job in the world. There are so many Friday’s when my husband walks through the door and I hand off my daughter and run to a Kickboxing class, or run into my bedroom and throw myself on the bed. I have that person to help me, I have that other half to be the other half to my child. My MIL never had that. I’m so lucky to have him. Though there are many Friday’s that I want to run screaming out the door the second he walks in, this Friday was NOT one of them. This Friday was a special one. Madison and I wanted to celebrate daddy every second we could. So Madison and I started with wrapping daddy’s gifts and writing out his cards. Maddie loves to write. (Hmmmmmmmmmm…..) Here she is very serious about her writing.
Then I prepped as much as I could before he got home because I knew I’d be making his appetizer while Madison was still up but everything else would be made afterwards. Now I gave him a choice of whatever he wanted, I even volunteered to make a seafood dish (UGH!!) at first it was scallops wrapped in bacon but then it quickly switched to hot wings. I asked my mom to borrow her Fry Daddy machine, I don’t trust myself frying anything on the stove top, I LOVE fry daddy’s, but I refuse to own one because then I’d be forced to fry everything then I’d never loose any weight. So I went on a hunt for the spiciest, hottest bestest Wing recipe I could find……Enter the Neely’s from the Food Network. Love there show. I actually found it on Pinterest. I heart Pinterest btw! So I made the seasoning and dipping sauce before hubby even got out of work, the recipe calls to rub the wings (I used almost a pound and split the recipe in half) and refrigerate for an hour so I wanted to get those babies chilling in their seasoning in the fridge asap!
I chilled those babies and the sauce and then got the batter ingredients ready to go. Remember I cut the recipe in half. I was able to serve about 6 to him then I saved 6 for the football game this weekend! Daddy was happy to know I did that!
For the Batter:
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
I’ve discovered that my anal organization comes into the kitchen with me, however this is the best way to cook because after boo went to bed, everything just flowed, I had everything I needed right there all measured out. Besides it left time for me to enjoy this while I cooked. This is a must for me when I cook a special meal like this.
We opened gifts right before Madison went to bed. Well Madison helped of course.
Daddy was in desperate need of a new cooler for work, his old cooler was one of those old fashioned ones that my dad used to use for work! That’s pretty old! For years I’ve been asking him “don’t you want a new cooler”, and he would always say no, “I like the one I have.” So now are you scratching your head wondering why I went a head and bought him a new one anyways? Here is a sub story: ……….a few weeks ago we suddenly saw fruit flies all over the house, with every passing day they got a little worse and a little more worse. Then one night when I had 6 in my glass of wine with every sip, I said ok hunny we have a problem here, some bad piece of fruit or something. The next morning it was so bad by our garbage disposal in the sink that I couldn’t even cook in my kitchen, we set up some traps and called it a day……with take out of course. Hey I was bummed it was a Sunday and I LOVE cooking on Sundays! They got better but they weren’t leaving completely. Then one day I pulled into the driveway from picking up boo at school and my husband was standing outside of his truck with his lunchbox by his feet, I got out and said “What’s up?” He said with a smile on his face, “I think I found the source!!” I said oh really, he then pushed me into the house because I would not want to see what was inside of the lunchbox!! It appears that he left an orange in the lunchbox inside of our dining room closet. Here is the kicker………..for a month!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG…..so within a few days they were all gone. THANK GOD!!
Enter his new birthday gift, of course I had to get him a thermos to go with it so he can bring all of my yummy soups and chili’s that I made all winter to work with him!! I really wanted to get him tickets for a game to his favorite local hockey team but lets face it, these days we buy what we “need” as gifts, it’s not always what we “want”. I also framed a picture of our family that we had done a few weeks ago. Between that and cooking him a fabulous dinner of his choice, I think he was a happy birthday boy.
So Madison goes off to bed and I start the frying process of the Spicy Wings. It said 8-10 minutes and I wanted to do it right so I fried them for four then turned the wings and fried for another 3-4 minutes.
I did two batches of them. While those were frying I got my shallots and mushrooms sliced up and ready to go. The original recipe for Beef Tenderloin with Shallot and Mustard Sauce came from Martha Stewart. I did alter it a bit, but not much. Before I get to the main course let me show you how awesome these wings came out.
I don’t eat chicken on a bone……you know my chicken “weirdness”. I was starving by now, I snacked on I admit it…..that’s how good they were, at first I had a bite of his, then when I was making my second batch I snuck one!! Oh So good! So gosh darn good that I’m glad I bought another pound because I made them for our friends the following night and they were a big hit! Too bad I didn’t fry things often or I’d say this was a keeper, I am going to try this exact recipe but bake them.
Do you think he liked them??
OK now onto the main course. When I texted my husband the morning of his birthday and asked what side dish and vegetable he wanted he asked for My Red Bliss Smashed Potatoes. Who am I to say no to the birthday boy, he never did tell me a vegetable so I went with my favorite, Broccoli.
I went to the Meat Department at our grocery store, I explained what cut of beef I wanted, I said I’m looking for a Beef Tenderloin for 2-4 people, this woman looked at me like I had ten heads! She wanted me to go on with more description, I didn’t have one, I knew it looked like a long skinny Pork Tenderloin only it’s beef, but I thought with her being the butcher and all she would know, instead she lead me to the cuts of Filet. Not what I wanted one because it’s more money and two because the recipe called for a Beef Tenderloin, I said oh well, my husband and I both love Filet so I would make it work. So the only thing I changed up with the original recipe was I used Filet and I added mushrooms because well mushrooms go awesome with filet!
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat beef on all sides with the salt and pepper. Place a skillet with an ovenproof handle over medium-high heat, and add olive oil. When very hot, add meat; sear on all sides until browned. Transfer the pan to oven for 10 minutes. Add shallots and mushrooms to the pan; return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until a meat thermometer registers 135 degrees for medium rare. Remove beef from pan; let rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes. This is key I’ve come to realize while cooking beef, I never realized how much the beef still does cook just sitting there. So here is my pan going into the oven.
Then I removed the beef onto my cutting board and made the sauce. Place the pan with the shallots and mushrooms over medium-high heat, and deglaze by adding balsamic vinegar, stirring up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the stock, and simmer until slightly reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the mustards and butter. Keep sauce warm until serving. Serve over Steak. I like my steak medium to medium well, my husband likes his practically mooing…….LOL. I actually was able to pull off cooking one a little bit more than the other by slicing it half way through in the oven so it cooked more. I got them both cooked perfectly. I’m patting myself on the back because I’ve come a long way since I started cooking beef.
I can’t even describe how good this dish was, the flavors all came together, either that or we were just really hungry because we ate every drop of this dish! My sweet husband moved our candles to the dining room table while I was cooking, isn’t the sweetest. He’s so thoughtful.
I really do have the best husband so when I get a day to spoil him, I really like to. He is everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. He’s the family man I always wanted, the man who will always put everyone else’s wants and needs over his own. He deserves this kind of meal every night. I think it was part of the reason why Momma’s Meals was born, I love making him happy. I love cooking his favorite foods, I love providing for my family.
I wish I could give him more at times, but he’s one of those guys that is just always so happy. Happy with life, happy with whatever is in front of him, I always say that If I had him in a cardboard box I’d be happy because he would make that cardboard box a home. That’s just what kind of person he is. I am a lucky lucky woman and Madison is even luckier. She has both of us 😉
I wanted to ask him some questions in this feature, but well, he’s not good with words so I will leave you with dessert. Unfortunately I didn’t get to make the Pumpkin Cheese Cake Trifles I wanted to but don’t worry they will be coming soon!! Instead we settled for a min chocolate cream pie from a local baker called “The Pie Guy”. I figured this would be the best way that we wouldn’t eat a whole pie! Then I got him his favorite ice cream. Black Raspberry……YUCK. Happy Birthday to my love.
