This week was really busy for me socially, with something to do just about every night after work. On Tuesday, I met an old friend and co-worker (and then, by chance, new friends that evening). On Wednesday, I attended my first Yelp event with Jen's sister, Becca (very fun and great freebies!). On Thursday, I went to see "He's Just Not That Into You" with one of the girls I met Tuesday and some of her friends, so all in all it was a packed week. By Friday, I was in desperate need of a workout and a relaxing evening at home.
Yesterday was the first time Valentine's Day has fallen on a weekend night since Brian and I have been living together, and it was nice to celebrate on the actual day rather than a few days before/after due to his schedule. Most of you probably know how much I DON'T love Valentine's Day, but we always enjoy a nice dinner together and exchange cards. We started a tradition on our first Valentine's Day six years ago of Brian cooking dinner for me, and we've continued that ever since (with the exception of our year apart).
That first year, back in 2003, Brian was still wooing me so he pulled out all the stops (or at least he tried). I was a senior in college and he was a young news producer trying to impress his girlfriend. When I got to his apartment, he had spread out a red tablecloth and matching napkins, lit candles and served the food in heart shaped plates! I'm not sure if we still have the tablecloth, but we always eat our V-Day meals in heart shaped plates (though technically, we're on the second generation now - the originals bit the dust in the dishwasher a few years ago).
The menu is always a surprise. This year Brian decided to make an "RW meal," as I called it. Read: NY strip steaks, baked potatoes, broccoli and tossed salads. While I sipped a delicious cabernet we've been saving for a while, Brian got everything ready in the kitchen. It seemed a little disorganized but very sweet, so I didn't worry too much.
Until the smoke detector went off. You see, we don't have a grill so Brian was broiling the steaks. He had just checked them and thought the reason the smoke detector went off was because he opened the oven door (and I let him know that's not really normal). So I opened the oven door and saw flames shooting from the bottom broiler...one of the steaks was on fire! Luckily, it was just around the edge and went out quickly. Crisis averted (barely). I felt kind of bad that I had to intervene, but in the end we were both glad. And honestly, the steaks came out quite nicely, one of them just a little tiny charred bit on the side. A little natural grill flavoring, if you will.
If you read Brian's Facebook status message, you might think Brian's hanging up his apron, but I think he's already had a change of heart. He said next year, he's going with a simple past dish. Fine with me, as long as it's served in heart-shaped plates.
By the way, we enjoyed this dessert recipe for chocolate ricotta mousse. Not exactly like regular mousse but VERY easy and quite good.
1 comment:
So funny! Tell him he's in good company. I set the oven on fire twice. Once with a frozen pizza and once because cake batter leaked and I didn't know it until the next time I used the oven and it caught on fire. I like your plates!
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