Fabulous dresses that you fully intended on rocking in 2020 on vacation, anniversary dinner or possibly to NYE, but Covid has ruined those plans? Stocked up on dresses because during Covid the boredom drove you to online shop? Or bought a cute outfit online because it was on sale and you just HAD to have it? I am guilty of all 3 of these! I bought a dress last year in anticipation of going to the event night of the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco; I bought a flowy dress for a tropical vacation Weston and I were supposed to take; I bought outfits online out of sheer boredom. What to do with these? Well I pitched to Weston about having a fancy date night in! We chose our recipe the night prior....Filet Mignon in a Mushroom & Wine Sauce. And we absolutely LOVED it!

We both dressed up in cocktail attire for the night. I wore one of my cute cocktail dresses and he wore one of his new Bonobos suits (which if your man hasn't tried their shirts, pants and suits...do it!!!).

For an appetizer we wanted to use the new cheese board that our friends got us for our engagement. We paired Trader Joes Goat Cheese Gouda and topped it with homemade fig jam and crackers! Such a gouda way to start dinner... and we are just dying over how freaking cute this Stephens cheese board is!

For dinner Weston made the filet mignon in a skillet and it was heavenly... but even you can make this restaurant-worthy meal with this simple technique!

Weston is a big fan of the old-fashion seasoned skillet; these are affordable and will pay you back in spades with some TLC. He started by heating the skillet on high with fresh garlic (lots of garlic) and light butter to coat the pan. Dry season the filets with salt, pepper and rosemary before transferring them to the hot skillet for a quick 1 minute sear on each side; coating the butter over the top of the steak. Toss a handful of your favorite fresh herbs on top and get the oven ready at 400 degrees. Take the skillet and toss it in the oven for 17 minutes; cooking to medium temperature. This gives you the nice high-temperature sear for a tender cut every time.

For the mushroom reduction, we used goat milk (to avoid lactose ), but this little trick works great too! Bring the milk to a light simmer and let it reduce. Once it starts to thicken, add in some cooking merlot and a splash of beef stock. Bring it to a simmer for a few minutes before adding in the mushrooms and onions. Let this sit at a simmer for the duration of the steak. This will cook it down and create a flavorful topper to your perfectly cooked filets.

I took to the asparagus prep. Chopped off the ends of the bunch and laid them evenly across a baking sheet. I drizzled them with EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion seasoning. Roasted them in the oven while the steak cooked.