You really couldn't pay me to go out to dinner on Valentine's day. My husband and I can go get something fantastic from the grocery store and whip up an amazing meal for 1/10th of the cost to go out.

We both had a hankering for lamb this Valentine's Day and Earth Fare had some very pretty free-range, organic lamb chops. I kept the flavorings very traditional by marinating them with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. I seared them on a grill pan until medium rare and then let them rest. For accompaniments I did one of my favorite go-to Cooks Illustrated recipe of roasted broccoli and grilled off some bread for a little starch.

The broccoli recipe works just as well for green beans and many other veges. Don't be afraid to let them get dark, they aren't burnt, they're caramelized! Here's the recipe (simplified and modified by me):

Preheat a half sheet pan to 500 degrees. While pan is heating prepare veges (I used 2 heads of medium sized broccoli, florets and peeled stalk, and half of a container of button mushrooms) and set aside. In large mixing bowl add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 4-5 Tablespoons olive oil. Toss veges in the vinaigrette. Once pan is heated, put the veges on the pan and roast for 15-20 minutes moving the veges once with a spatula. I tend to drop the heat to 450 after 10 minutes. You will get some smoke coming from your oven, so I don't recommend it when you have guests over, but it's absolutely delicious anyway. You could always do the recipe ahead of time and reheat, or use the veges for a pasta salad.