Recently, on his Facebook page, the New York Times writer Frank Bruni grumbled about eating out on Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t agree more. Usually the restaurants are crowded, the wait is long, and the service is at best rushed or at worst abysmal. I would much rather prepare something special at home, and this is what I have done for many years on Valentine’s Day.

For my husband, Clif, and me, steak is a special meal. As a rule, we eat mostly vegetarian, and we usually have steak twice a year, once in the summer on the grill and once in the winter, broiled. A few weeks ago, I bought a big New York sirloin from Wholesome Holmstead, and I popped that steak right into the freezer. My plan was to serve it for Valentine’s Day, and that is what I did.

Really, the meal couldn’t have been more simple to prepare. Clif and I always want baked potatoes with our steak, so an hour before dinner, I put two potatoes into the oven to bake.

“What about a vegetable?” I asked Clif

“Steamed corn,” came his prompt reply. Again, what could be easier? I didn’t even have to mix up a salad dressing. (I am happy to report that finally I have gotten the knack of making salad dressings. Phew! I was a late bloomer on that one.)

We would, of course, want some kind of bread to go with the meal. Recently, I had made bread, and it was still fresh enough to eat untoasted.

Dessert, especially for me on a noncheat day, was a little trickier, but I came up with an idea for a dessert that was not only delicious but would also keep for a while. I could eat a small amount and still be within acceptable parameters for a noncheat day. The solution? Homemade chocolate ice cream, so smooth and rich that it almost tasted like mousse rather than ice cream.

I briefly considered making some kind of wine and mushroom sauce to go with the steak, but here’s the thing—Clif and I have steak so infrequently that when we do have it, we just want to taste the meat. (We have a similar attitude about lobster.) So no wine sauce.

The whole meal, including making the ice cream, took about an hour and a half, and much of that was baking time for the potatoes. There were no annoying crowds, no harried servers. Just me, Clif, the dog, and the two cats.

And the price? Well, for us it was little expensive, and by my calculation the whole meal came to about $25 for the two of us. Not something we could do on a regular basis but well below the equivalent of a similar meal in a restaurant.

After the steak had cooked, I lit the candles on the dining room table. In the flickering light, Clif and I ate our steak and enjoyed it hugely. The animals got their fair share, and when the meal was done and the dessert cups were scraped for the last bit of chocolate ice cream and the kitchen was cleaned, we all headed into the living room for a contented snooze on the couch as we sort of watched the NewsHour. Growling in his sleep, the dog lay in his spot by the entertainment center. The rest of us settled on the couch, me in the corner spot with my fleece blanket and Clif right beside me. The orange cat sprawled on my legs, and the black and white cat was perched on the back of the couch.

A very happy Valentine’s Day for all of us.