Valentine's Day Menu: Sole Almondine, Lemon-Smashed Potatoes & Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Tyler Florence.  Yeah, yeah-- he's cute.  But, so is my husband.  That's all that matters, right?  I've hung on to these unposted photos of last year's Valentine's Dinner that I made for Craig for a year!  Why didn't I post these sooner? I meant to.  Alas, I found myself not being happy with the photos of the plated dinner.  I rushed the shots, because...well, it was Valentine's Day and we were hungry.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.   I decided to get over myself, because this dinner was memorably delicious-- and it's time to share the photos whether I like them or not! The real story behind this dinner menu was seeing Tyler Florence make this on one of his Ultimate shows on Food Network.   I was so impressed with the simplicity of all three recipes, that I decided to make this for my man, last Valentine's Day.  As I edited the photos, my taste buds remembered how delicious this dinner was-- and I am definitely going to make this again.  This is easy enough for beginners, and it will impress anyone if you make this:

You want fresh filet of sole. In my case, I used tilapia, because fresh sole wasn't available.  You want white wine-- but I favor Dry Vermouth for cooking.  You also want slivered almonds, fresh lemon, fresh Italian parsley and shallots.  First, I'll show you how to make Tyler's Lemon Smashed Potatoes.

Unlike the tradition way of making mashed potatoes, you use Yukon Gold potatoes. No peeling, no cutting-- put them into a pot, whole and add cream and milk (I used 2% milk). Bring to a boil over medium heat, then add 1 teaspoon of salt. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. NOTE: Cooking times vary-- mine took more like 40 minutes to cook.  Easy!

Remove about 2 cups of the liquid and reserve. Add the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Use a potato masher to break up the potatoes while adding about 1 cup of the reserved liquid, to just 'wet’ the potatoes.Add more, for desired creaminess. Spoon the potatoes into a serving bowl and serve immediately.  NOTE: You can keep the potatoes warm, on very low heat. The extra milk/cream can be added right before serving. Works beautifully!

Dee-lishus!

 After starting the potatoes boiling, I'd move on  to prepping the green beans:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Trim off the tough end of the beans and arrange the beans on a nonstick cookie sheet.Drizzle with olive oil season with salt and pepper, to taste.Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top and bake until the cheese melts and forms a crisp shell over the beans, about 10 minutes.Let the beans sit a few minutes for the cheese to cool slightly. Lift the beans out onto a platter and serve.

Back to the fish:

Set a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.

Return the pan to medium heat (if you have 2 pans you can work simultaneously at this point, i.e. 2 fillets per pan) and add a 2-count of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to each pan.  Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In another shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the fillets in the seasoned flour, then dip them into the egg mixture. Allow some of the excess egg to drain off, then add them to the hot pan.

Cook 2 pieces at a time. Fry for 1½ to 2 minutes, then carefully turn the fish over to cook the other side.With a spoon, baste the fillets with the butter sauce. Repeat basting to ensure the fish remains moist. Once the other side is cooked (about 30 seconds) carefully remove the fillets from the pan to a serving platter.

Once the fillets have been removed the pan, add the chopped shallots and gently saute over low heat until translucent, about 1 minute.Deglaze the pan with the white wine and finish with the lemon juice. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the parsley and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

 To serve, spoon the sauce over the top of the fillets and sprinkle generously with the toasted almonds. (I did this step backwards, but it all turned out fine.)

Serve with chilled white wine and candlelight...

TASTING NOTES:  This menu is one of several of Tyler's Ultimate success in my own kitchen.  Truly, this menu is so easy to make, that you can do this on a work night.  It's pretty fool-proof, and much cheaper than going out on a very busy night on February 14th.   As for the potatoes, they are creamy and delicious!
The lemon zest works well in the potatoes, and as a side dish with fish. I've used this technique to make galric smashed potatoes by adding  whole garlic cloves to the milk and omitting the lemon zest. So good!

 The green beans...  while I didn't get a decent photo of them, they were excellent. C'mon, melted cheese on anything is good!

All three printable recipes are at the bottom of this post.  Tyler Florence-- yes, he's one of my favorite Food Network chefs. 

Made with love by,