Valentine's Dinner

As I mentioned before, I decided to make flank steak, twice baked potatoes, salad, and Farm Boy's favorite dessert cheesecake.  All started well with the twice baked potato recipe and the marinade.  I loosely based it on one from Pioneer Woman, and partially did my own thing.  I mostly chose my own way due to lack of concentration during the trip to the grocery store.

It started well until....

The steak smoked.... smoked a LOT!  The vent fan is going full blast and yet the smoke detector went off.  More than once.  Farm Boy had to fan the smoke away from said detector to prevent it from continuing to shriek!  While I tried to speed up the cooking process.

All the while Holly's running around with her tail between her legs, whining in a way I'd never heard before!  I finally gave up when she took to cowering on the balcony.  Farm Boy had to take over finishing the meat while I took Holly downstairs, so she wouldn't have a heart attack or something.  Poor Dog!

By the time Holly and I got back the detector was going off again, but the meat was done. Yay!  I held the door open while Holly stayed as far out in the hallway as her leash would allow.  When we finally got the smoke cleared and the table set, we sat down and enjoyed a really great tasting meal.  It's definitely not a meal I'll repeat in this apartment, but maybe when I live in a house or have easy access to a grill.

I highly recommend throwing some stuff in a marinade and seeing how it turns out.  Plus twice baked potatoes, well worth the extra effort!  We didn't end up having the cheesecake until Sunday, but it seemed to be a hit as well.  I think for my first attempt at all three recipes it was more of a hit than a miss.