Valentine's Day
Scooter & Pooter's Dinner Date
Ryan and I have been together since November 2009. I decided this year, I wanted to make him a grand 4 course dinner. Most recently in my life, I have really been interested in cooking and trying new recipes. I spent an entire day shuffling, typing, researching and eliminating recipes to create a wonderfully new, fresh, exciting and delicious menu for Ryan and I. I cannot express how excited I was to create a fun and "fancy" dinner for the two of us. I began using all my spare time at thrift stores and home goods finding the perfect plates, glasses, table cloth, etc. I wanted the setting to be as random and beautifully put together like we are. Different colors, shapes and sizes of plates and dinnerware, they all fit and matched together so perfectly. The table was decorated with a wonderfully simple grey and cream striped table cloth, various small jars that I have collected filled with Baby's Breath (my favorite little flower), white Tulips, and pretty pink flowers (not too sure on the name). Candles gave us warm lighting a I had this EPIC party rock vinyl mix playing on my little travelling Crosley. The mood was set, the smells were excellent, and the evening was perfect!
The menu began with a scrumptous appetizer, Bruschetta! My absolute favorite appetizer (aside from Calamari, guess that's the next thing to try). It turned out extremely fresh and delicious! I decided to serve the bruschetta on these darling little cyan colored plates that I found at a local thrift store, Boysville. We started off with some Chai tea as well. Not the greatest of combinations, however, tea is never a bad idea in my book! I finally had an opportunity to use tw vintage Art Deco tea cups that I had acquired not too long ago. The entire time, my was jumping with joy and enthusiasm because everything looked and smelled so great!
Next on this four course menu evening was a Radish and Arugula salad with Pecorino Cheese and Lemon. 1. I have never had radishes, 2. Had no idea what Pecorino was, and 3. It is now on my top 5 favorite salads of all time list! No doubt! So delectable and simple to make, it was an ideal mixture of zest and crunch (two things I admire in a quality salad). The salad matched splendidly with my newly purchased red glass bowls which I acquired from one of my favorite places, Craftiques. I decided that we would just go with some refreshing water for this course. I used my new grey mirrored glasses that I had purchased at Home Goods.
Now moving onto the main course, I made a Cauliflower "steak" baked in Turmeric, Cumin and Ginger garnished with Cilantro and a Beef Steak on a bed of Jasmine rice. I also attempted to make oven roasted eggplant, which unfortunately did not come out quite right, however, Ryan loved it! (SCORE!) Note to self: Remember that the oven cooks a lot faster than any other oven you have used! My grandmother's oven, being quite the trooper throughout the years, has cooked its fair share of delicious foods and has now gone on strike, being a little unpredictable when it comes to the cook time of one's food. Nevertheless, the main course was exquisite! I paired it with Ryan's favorite wine (at the moment), Dulcis Moscato D'asti White Wine. Served in a couple of round wine glasses, it paired quite pleasingly with our meal, however, even better with the bruschetta! We will definitely be serving Bruschetta and the Moscato together from here on out.
The final item on the evening's menu was dessert. It was my attempt at Chocolate Pudding (which turned out not as easy as I thought it would be). We paired it with champagne that Ryan had purchased during New Year's Eve simply becuase the name was TOTTS (which just so happens to be one of my nicknames). I topped it with whip cream and served it with a side plate of strawberries. We ended up soaking our strawberries in the wine and champagne. The perfect simple ending for our four course dinner.
I have to say that I am proud f myself. Being that this was my first time cooking so much food for one dinner. I think I did pretty well. I cannot wait to have my own dinner parties with friends and family! Hopefully there will be much more to come in the future! I hope that everyone had a wonderful and magical Valentine's day whether you spent it with a boyfriend, girlfriend, mother, father, grandparent, friend or whoever you have in your life that you love unconditionally. I wish I could cook like this every day, unfortunately. I think I will keep it for special occassions for now.
Thank you as always for taking the time to read my post and look at my photographs. Please feel free to go to the ABOUT tab to learn a little about me, the CONTACT tab to send me a message, and stumble around through the site to see more photographs of the people, places and things I love. Have a wonderful day!
Comments