Valentine's Day

We went for a walk in the Arboretum. I have no idea what this is, but it sure smelled nice.

For Valentine's Day, Steven and I did what we've done for the last three years, instead of going out for an overpriced and cliched meal, we stayed at home enjoyed a quiet and sweet dinner. I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day food because oh my god, everything is heart shaped! Just because the crabcakes are heart shaped does not make it romantic! And being surrounded by other couples cooing and swooning doesn't make it a special occasion, only awkward. Anyway enough ranting. I really love our Valentine's Day tradition. We started it not long after I began cooking so it's nice to see the meals getting better and better. This year, we really splurged and bought some really great ingredients - black tiger prawns, giant sea scallops, and organic ribeye steak. I really went all out this year because it just happened to be a long weekend after a grueling exam. It's a rare occasion to have so much free time to unwind and enjoy some great food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


Who needs lobster tails when you have prawns. Rawr! Roasted butterflied shrimp with garlic, lemon, parsley, and lots of butter.


For Steven, it always has to be steak, specifically ribeye, cooked medium with mushroom sauce. We added a little blue cheese because according to Heston Blumenthal (our new chef idol), the nutty aroma is supposed to mimic the aromas from a long aging process. Hey, if it's good enough for Heston, it's certainly good enough for us. I also made some unbelievably delicious double cooked potatoes roasted in duck fat (also courtesy of Heston). Oh. My. God. They deserve their own post and trust me, it'll be worth it.


Typically I go with a seafood dish and this year I chose to make scallops. The last time Steven and I went out for dinner to a supposedly great local restaurant, Enotria, I was really let down with my scallop entree (and the restaurant overall, but I digress). The scallops arrived beautifully but deceptively seared because once I flipped the scallop over, the second side was completely colorless. I felt a little cheated! One side of the scallop was overly salted and the other side was completely bland. I dunno about you, but I prefer my food evenly salted and cooked. And the fact that I only got 3 scallops, pretty wimpy... Overall it was very disappointing for an entree that was nearly $20. So for Valentine's Day, I spoiled myself by cooking a generous 6 scallops (even though the picture only shows 3).

Now just for kicks... let's revisit an old photo. Valentine's Day 2007.