How Was Your Valentine's Day?

Mine wasn't especially romantic, but I hadn't really planned it that way. This year it was all about the food and my mom. My mom's birthday is Valentine's Day and this was her 65th, so I decided to make a nice dinner for the whole family to celebrate. That was in January, before I knew I'd be flying to Florida a week before. So, I took a couple days to recover from that trip and started planning mom's dinner.

I had seen a couple of yummy things online that I wanted to try. A few weeks ago, I was watching Giada on the Food Network and she was making Turkey Osso Buco. It looked delicious and easy, so I tried it and it was. That's what gave me the idea to have a big dinner with the family. With the turkey, we had mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes (since some don't eat white) and green beans. One of my favorite sites to read is Coconut & Lime and she had a couple of recipes I wanted to try. This Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing was very nice. And these Intensely Dark Chocolate Icebox Cookies were so cute, I made them too. They weren't a huge hit actually, very dense. My sister thought they would be great for homemade ice cream sandwiches and I had to agree. I also made an Ultimate Brownie mix from Ghirardelli, adding orange peel for a twist. That was very rich and it looked beautiful on the plate with lit candles.

The thing I was nervous about was my creme brulee. I got the recipe from Alton Brown because his show cracks me up and I love the way he masterfully mixes a chemistry lesson with cooking. I'd never made creme brulee before, but was always interested in trying. I usually have it once a year, at the company Christmas dinner, but Stan isn't working there anymore, so I think I need to perfect it for myself, right? I'll need a kitchen torch ... I didn't realize how much paraphernalia is available to create the perfect creme brulee (...and I still don't know how to make that little thingy over my 'e's either.) Last night I carmelized the sugar in my broiler, but that's not ideal. Anyway, they came out pretty tasty.

Today I am just plain tuckered. Luckily I have plenty of tasty leftovers.

Comments

Jan said…
Sounds like a great meal. I'm sure your mother was delighted.
David Edward said…
oh food channel!
Oh Giada

thanks for the visit.

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