My Valentine

Yes, it is February 14th and love is all around. It’s fallen on a Tuesday this year and that seems kind of weird to me. Valentine’s Day and Tuesday just don’t go together for some reason.  But it is what it is and when I woke up this morning and stumbled to the kitchen bleary eyed with dogs running under my feet I saw the most beautiful vase of flowers sitting on the kitchen table.

Flowers have always been my  husbands specialty and he will always find the most exquisite blooms in town on just about every special occasion. Picking up the phone and ordering a flower delivery isn’t his style at all, he wants to scope them out, bring them home and arrange them himself.  He would die a thousand deaths before he called FTD. This I know for a fact and it’s yet another reason that I love him. As if I needed another excuse.

I have to admit that I do not like to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day. The restaurants are crowded and the popular places will practically set a timer on your table to let you know that you need to eat and then get moving so the next desperate pair can have your seat. There’s something terribly forced in the air as you feel the tension between those who are out on a date and trying hard to pull off a  “first Valentine’s Day” celebration. I remember the unrealistic expectations of Valentine’s past and it makes me squirm. I can recall our first Valentine’s dinner a decade ago and the bearnaise sauce that curdled on me so horribly. David knew that I was trying really hard to impress and so he came into the kitchen and actually tried to help me save the sauce. It was hopeless but he must have told me 1,000 times how delicious it tasted and I finally chose to believe him and get on with it.

But I also have to say that I’m not feeling  jazzed to come home tonight and whip up a fancy dinner this year either. Somehow, working all day on a Tuesday doesn’t inspire me to don an apron and cook steak, lobster & bearnaise sauce.  And so, this year, there will be no culinary creations. It will be take out from a nearby restaurant at our house and that’s just fine with me. We will snuggle up and maybe even light a candle or two. And no clean up. I can live with that.

I posted a couple of new recipes yesterday, there’s a BBQ Turkey Breast under Main Courses that was absolutely wonderful. I made a vintage potato casserole recipe of my Mother’s to go with it and it was perfect. A little sauteed spinach on the side and we had a delicious dinner Sunday night. I also made an Orange Chess Pie out of Southern Living that was a success. Chess Pie is totally old fashioned but oh so good, if you haven’t had a slice in a while you might consider making one this weekend.

My brother sent a recipe for Jambalaya that is on my list of things to make very soon. It is Mom’s recipe and I haven’t made it in years so I’m looking forward to creating a pot of rice and seafood with cajun seasonings.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all and happy cooking!

MMD

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