Table 42: Pronounced "Table for Two"

Appetizer: Italian Mushrooms
Entrée: Pan-roasted Steaks in Mustard-Scallion Sauce
Side Dishes: Fresh Garden Salad, Marinated Potatoes, Signature Seasoned Garlic Bread
Dessert: Moonlight in Vermont
Wine: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel

Complete Ingredients Checklist:
8 ounces fresh (not canned) mushrooms
two fresh 4-6 ounce boneless steaks
16 ounces prepackaged salad mix
16 oz. bottle Italian salad dressing (not lowfat or nonfat)
3/4 pound red potatoes
1 red onion
1 jar Dijon mustard
1 cup fresh parsley
1 bottle red wine vinegar
1 loaf French bread
1 jar sazón completa* spice
1 pint premium vanilla ice cream
1 bottle pure maple syrup
1 small bag chopped walnuts
1 bottle extra virgin olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
salt and black pepper
bottle brandy or cognac
1 bottle Worcestershire Sauce
1 jar dry ground yellow mustard

* - if sazón completa is not available in your area, create your own substitute by mixing 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 1 tablespoon MSG, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon dried and finely crumbled parsley flakes. Store in a tightly covered container.

Complete Equipment Checklist:

10" nonstick frying pan
liquid measuring cups
measuring spoons
aluminum foil
1 quart serving bowl
broiler pan
plastic wrap
6 wine glasses
2 dinner plates
2 salad plates or salad bowls
2 place settings of silverware
2 steak knives
8" chef's knife
bread knife
paring knife
tongs
2 mixing spoons
3 quart nonstick pot with lid
large serving bowl
1 quart nonstick pot
colander
corkscrew
napkins
bread basket
1 box matches

The night before

Prepare the Italian Mushrooms:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Clean the fresh mushrooms by wiping them with a clean, damp paper towel.
Cut off any discolored stems.
Place the cleaned whole mushrooms in a 1 quart serving bowl.
Drown the mushrooms in Italian salad dressing. Be sure there's enough salad dressing left for the salads.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve the next day.

Note: If you forgot to do this yesterday, or didn't have time, don't worry. Just let the mushrooms soak in the Italian salad dressing for at least two hours. Or you can buy a jar of Italian-style marinated mushrooms and skip the work. Add a small splash of red wine to make it your own creation.

One and a half hours before your guest arrives

Prepare the Marinated Potatoes:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Rinse the potatoes under fresh water, and cut away all growths from the potatoes.
Slice cleaned potatoes evenly to 1/4 inch thickness.
Peel off the outer layer of the red onion.
Slice the onion very thinly, separate into half-rings.
Set the onion slices aside on a cutting board or in a small bowl.
Place the sliced potatoes in a 3 quart pot with enough water to just barely cover them.
Boil for about 7 minutes, or until the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork.
Pour the potatoes into a colander over the sink and let the water drain out.
Put the potatoes in a serving bowl, add the onions, and let them cool while you prepare the marinade.
Chop up a tablespoon of fresh parsley and place in a 1 cup wet measuring cup.
Add 2 tablespoons of water to the parsley in the measuring cup.
Add 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 11/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, along with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, and stir well.
Wait another five to ten minutes, and then stir the mixture again.
Drizzle the marinade over the potatoes and onions, then gently stir everything around to coat with the marinade.
Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature until it's time to eat. (These marinated potatoes are supposed to be eaten at room temperature, but they can be eaten warm or chilled, too. If your guest is going to be more than an hour late and doesn't tell you until after you've prepared this dish, just cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until your guest arrives.)

Check to be sure you have enough ice.

One hour before your guest arrives

Be sure your home is clean:

Wipe the bathroom sink clean.
Brush the toilet clean if you need to.
Have fresh, clean and dry cloth hand towels hanging in your bathroom.
Be sure there's enough toilet paper handy.
Be sure your living room is clean and free from clutter.
Vacuum the carpet or sweep the floor. (Mop if necessary.)

Begin setting the mood by playing your favorite romantic music on your stereo.

Set the dining table with the placemat, glassware, napkins and silverware (keep the plates in the kitchen).

Put a single stem rose in a flower vase. (A used, cleaned and rinsed wine bottle with the label intact makes a surprisingly elegant vase for a single flower.)

Place two wine glasses in the freezer to prepare for dessert.

Fifteen minutes before your guest arrives

Uncork the wine and allow the wine to "breathe" before serving.

Begin preparing the Pan-roasted Steaks:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Cut off the roots of 6 green onions (scallions).
Peel off the outer layer of each scallion, then slice the white area and about one inch of the green area into disks. Save two scallion stems for a garnish.
In a small cup, measure one tablespoon dry ground mustard and two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce.
Stir until mixed thoroughly.
Add the 6 chopped scallions into the Worcestershire-mustard sauce.
Cover and refrigerate until cooking time.

Prepare the Signature Seasoned Garlic Bread:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Cut the loaf of French Bread into slices, but do not cut the bread all the way through.
Into each cut, place 1 small pat of butter and a light sprinkle of sazón completa.
Wrap the loaf completely in aluminum foil, and place in the oven on a middle rack.
Do not turn the oven on yet.

Prepare the Fresh Garden Salad:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Open the bag of premixed salad mix and divide evenly into two salad bowls.
Drizzle one to two tablespoons of Italian salad dressing over each salad.
Sprinkle black pepper over each salad.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

When your guest arrives

Pour you and your guest a glass of wine.

Light the candles on the dining table.

Take the bowl of Italian Mushrooms out of the refrigerator and serve with toothpicks. Have extra paper napkins or paper towels handy.

Begin warming the Signature Seasoned Garlic Bread by turning on the oven. Set the oven to 275 degrees.

Prepare the Pan-roasted Steaks:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
In a 10" straight-sided frying pan, melt two and a half tablespoons of butter (use the wrapper to measure) over low heat. Do not let the butter turn brown.
Add the boneless steaks to the butter and turn the heat up to medium-high.
Cook each steak one minute on each side-just enough for it to turn grey. (This is called searing.)
Using the tongs, remove the steaks, and place them on the broiler pan for now.
Turn the heat down to low.
Take out the mustard-scallion sauce from the refrigerator.
As the pan cools down, add the mustard-scallion sauce mix to the pan and stir for about three minutes.
Return the steaks to the pan.
Turn the heat up to medium.
Cook the steaks until done to your preference, turning the steaks once during cooking:

(3-4 minutes per side for rare)
(4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare)
(5-6 minutes per side for medium)
(6-7 minutes per side for medium-well)
(7-8 minutes per side for well done)

While steaks are cooking, warm up 11/2 ounces of brandy or cognac in a 1 quart saucepan on very low heat.
When steaks are done, place each steak on a dinner plate.
Top each steak with some of the cooked scallion-mustard sauce from the pan.

Beside each steak, place a serving of the Marinated Potatoes.

Place a scallion stem on the edge of each plate as a garnish.

Refill your guest's wine glass, if necessary.

Fill up two wine glasses with iced purified flitered water and serve to your guest.

Bring out the Fresh Garden Salads to the dining table and set to one side.

Remove the warmed loaf of Signature Seasoned Garlic Bread and place in a bread basket on the dining table.

Serve the dinner plates with the steak and potatoes.

Bring out the saucepan with the brandy or cognac in it.

Dim the lights.

Carefully ignite the warmed brandy or cognac. Gently pour the blue flames over each steak.
If the flame gets too aggressive, just cover the pot with a lid to extinguish the fire.

After dinner

Prepare the Moonlight In Vermont:

Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
Warm 1/4 cup of maple syrup in a 1 cup metal measuring cup on low heat. Do not let the syrup boil.
Take the wine glasses out of the freezer.
Scoop one or two scoops of premium vanilla ice cream into each wine glass. Do not pack the ice cream tightly, and do not overflow the glasses.
Pour the maple syrup evenly over the ice cream into the glasses.
Top with chopped walnuts.

For an extra treat, brew some coffee while you're eating dessert.

Preparing good coffee can be an art in itself. You'll get good results immediately if you use ¼ cup of ground coffee for every 20 ounces (that's 2 ½ measuring cups) of filtered purified water you put in the machine.This makes 1 to 2 cups per person, depending on the size of the cup or mug used to serve the coffee. Later on, you can adjust the amount of coffee to the strength you and your guest like the best. (Having everything in the coffeemaker ready to go before dinner will save time.)

The leftover melted ice cream and maple syrup in the dessert glass is ideal for sweetening and flavoring the coffee!

Once you get good at making this menu

Vary the Appetizer:

Add some grated Parmesan cheese to the marinade before refrigerating.
Use a different style of oil and vinegar salad dressing, or make your own (see below).

Vary the Entrée:

Rub the raw steaks before cooking with a clove of garlic.
Sauté some fresh mushrooms in the pan after searing the steaks.
Add a splash of red wine to the scallion-mustard sauce while cooking.
When flambeing, use a fruit-flavored brandy like raspberry to add additional flavor.

Vary the Side Dishes:

Substitute steamed vegetables for the marinated potatoes. Place 1½ cups of fresh chopped vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, red bell pepper, and carrots into a steamer basket. Pour a cup of water into a 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, then immediately drop the heat to low and cover the pot. In about 20 minutes, the vegetables should be ready. Don't let the water boil completely away.
Use canned chicken broth instead of water when steaming the vegetables. You could add a chicken bullion cube to the water instead of using canned broth.
Substitute baked sweet potatoes for the marinated potatoes. Wrap two sweet potatoes in foil and bake at 350 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes.
Make your own oil and vinegar salad dressing by combining 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon dried chives. Cover tightly and shake to blend ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Shake well just before serving to recombine the ingredients.
Make your own seasoned garlic for the garlic bread by mincing some fresh garlic and adding a small amount of salt, black pepper, dried chives, and dried parsley.
Use a different kind of bread, such as mini pita rounds or crumpets.

Vary the Dessert:

Top the ice cream with a shot of raspberry liquor and sprinkle with slivered almonds.
Top the ice cream with chocolate chips and a drizzle of caramel syrup.
Purchase a prepared dessert pastry and serve with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup.
Skip dessert and just serve coffee. Sweeten, flavor and cream each cup with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of undiluted evaporated milk. (Do not use sweetened condensed milk).