Even as an awkward 13 year old with braces, glasses, and absolutely NO chance of any secret admirer leaving poems on my doorstep...I still loved Valentine's Day. My mom made it great! She was always my valentine, and she always left something for me to find in the morning when I woke up. Now, as an adult with my own family, my mom still finds a way of making Valentine's Day special.
Brown paper packages tied up with....packing tape. And filled with the most delectable of treats: The big pink sugar cookie!
This is not just any sugar cookie. You have not LIVED until you have eaten one of these monsters. They are addictive and sugary and pink and they last no more than 5 minutes (and that is only with super will power). I know there is virtue in delaying self-gratification, but when you are offered instant bliss, you have to take it...and eat it!
I put myself in charge of planning our Valentine's Day this year. I rearranged our furniture, and with the help of some new plates and cups from Goodwill, I transformed our dining room into a cozy window table at Chez Rose restaurant.
Our friend Kaela designed our menu
First course: Crab cakes with a fresh herb salad and lemon vinaigrette
Second Course: Beof Bourguignon (basically stew meat that braises in tomatoes and red wine for about 5 hours)I bought wine for the first time. I had heard that you are never supposed to cook with a wine you wouldn't drink....and I don't drink any wine. So there I was in Albertsons standing in front of hundreds of different varieties and looking as lost as a little kid without her parent. Finally a woman took pity on me. I explained to her what I was cooking. She told me that any dry red wine would do. I asked her how I would know if it was "dry." She then put me out of my misery and told me that the bottle I was holding would work.
Third course: Molten lava cakes! (not very molten this time, but the next day we tried again and the lava flowed!)
In addition to the meal, I came up with a game wherein we would draw out pieces of paper with questions we had to answer while we were eating. Some of our Valentine's Day questions were:what screen or literary couple most resembles the relationship you have with your valentine?
If you were to write a book about your Valentine what would it be called?
What is one way your Valentine has made you a better person?
If you could sing any song to your Valentine, what would it be?
Make up a poem on the spot about your valentine
Describe a favorite moment with your valentine
What is the sweetest thing your valentine has ever done for you?
what is the first thing you fell in love with about your valentine?
What makes this Valentine's Day special
How do you want to be spending Valentine's Day 20 years from now?
What does your Valentine do to make you laugh out loud?
So we had a wonderful Valentine's Day in! I really wanted to show Richard that I can make more than just pasta, casseroles, and stirfry with rice.
Love to everyone!
5 comments:
how creative and romantic!!! we did NOTHING excepting for a dance lesson on friday night.
im very impressed. im usually proud of myself if i make just a main course, but multiple course is amazing!
mmmm...looks so yummy. johnny wants to know if you've seen julie and julia since you had Beof Bourguignon for your main dish. (yes, we just watched that movie, while we made cinnamon rolls in fact.) they talked about that dish in the movie a lot. if you haven't seen it, i recommend it. it was a good and funny one!
why yes I did see Julie and Julia and was inspired! I will not be attempting to cook my way through the entire "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" until our income can support the purchases of duck and lobster and the possible ruining of any dish I make!
You are quite the cook! That looks delicious!
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