Valentine's Day #37

In 1976, I planned a very romantic, candlelit dinner with my soon-to-be husband.  My roomates vacated our apartment and I prepared a steak dinner my mother would have admired.  Just as the mood became sweet, an unexpected guest (we'll call him Earl), rang the bell and being a bit unaware of his surroundings, sat and talked our ears off for 90 minutes.  It's still painful.  

While I adore restaurants and try to get waited on as often as possible, Valentine's Day at home is still my favorite venue.  This year, I didn't really want to cook, but carry-out Thai didn't inspire me either.  Below is what a quick trip to Whole Foods produced.  By the way, it was a tad pricey, so I might limit the brussel spouts and nix the Asian salad.  But left-overs for two days insure that nothing goes to waste.

Valentine's Day 2013

1.  Soft-shelled crabs (breaded and pre-cooked by those fine folks at Whole Foods), quickly sauteed in bacon grease.  (Relax...once a year won't harm you) You can enjoy the crabs alone with a bit of fresh lemon juice OR make a CLT-crab, lettuce and tomato sandwich. 

2.  Key-lime shrimp 

3.  Asian noodles

4.  Quinoa salad with edemane and fresh red peppers (Once home, I added 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a few shakes of red wine vinegar-so much better!)

5.  Marinated cold brussel sprouts

6.  Fish spread with Raincoast Crisp crackers

7.  Two cheeses-Saint Agur bleu cheese (Yes, Carol!  It is the best) and cheddar with espresso rind.

8.  Serie Riberas "Gran Reserva" cabernet sauvinon