Ian's Birthday Dinner

It is my wonderful husband's birthday today.  Growing up we had a rule at our house if it was your birthday you could have whatever you wanted for dinner (ask my mom about my sister wanting Bean soup when she was like 6 years old for dinner,,, my mom did have to veto that one and tell her no..she said how can I serve a house full of company Bean soup for dinner?)  LOL  I have carried on that tradition with my family... We have had many delicious dinners... for years my son wanted a "Thanksgiving dinner" except with a whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, squash, and stuffing and of course lots of cake & ice cream.  When he was young I always took the day off of work to spend with him, and I would pack a picnic lunch of all of his favorite things and take lunch up to his school & eat it with him.  And also bring the class cupcakes to celebrate his day... Gosh I miss those days, he is going to be 18 in a few weeks... where does the time go....sigh.....
Anyways my husband requested steak, potatoes (he really is a meat & potato kinda guy) salad, vanilla cake with vanilla icing, and ice cream.  Do you think I could find a really good vanilla (white) cake recipe.  Tested a couple and they were yuckky :(  So I broke down and bought a boxed cake mix & icing... Geez shoot me now.. yuck cake out of a box & frosting out of a can.... maybe homemade next year honey.. got a full year to test drive them :)
I made him filet mingon, loaded baked potatoes, & salad...


Filet Mingon

4 Filet Mingon steaks (can either use the ones with bacon, I didn't but have used those in the past)
Olive oil
seasonings of your choice ( I used a blend of seasoned salt, Montreal Steak seasoning, onion & garlic powder, paprika, no salt herb blend, cajun seasoning, and chipolete cinnamon seasoning & cracked pepper)

Preheat oven to 375.
In large oven proof skillet, turn heat to medium high.  Pour into pan a couple of Tablespoonfuls of olive oil.  Swirl around pan to coat bottom.  Mix all of the seasonings in a small bowl.  Sprinkle liberally both sides of the steak pressing in seasonings.  Place in pan to sear.  Sear on both sides for around 3-5 minutes  per side until seasonings have formed a "crust" and the steaks are browned on both sides.  Place in oven for around 5-10 minutes.  Check for doneness by lightly cutting into steak ( I press down on my steaks instead of cutting medium well feels slightly firm) then cover steak pan with foil to keep warm.)  I let my steak cook until almost done and use that foil method to let the juices re-collect into the meat and the 5-10 minutes that the steak rests the carryover cooking gets the steak to the right doneness.



Loaded Baked Potatoes


4 Large Idaho potatoes scrubbed clean
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
toppings of your choice ( I use shredded cheese, green onions, thinly sliced, sour cream & bacon bits)
butter
Salt & Pepper


Preheat oven to 375.
On pan with a rim around it place potatoes.  Poke each potato a couple of times with a sharp knife.  Drizzle potatoes with olive oil , rubbing all of the potato with the oil.  Sprinkle liberally over the top with Kosher Salt.  Place potatoes in the oven and bake for around an hour. Remove from oven and check potato doneness with a sharp knife, if inserted easily potatoes are done.  Serve with butter, salt & pepper and toppings.