Valentine's Day 2009

...which actually took place on the day AFTER Valentine's Day, 2009. Which is OK, because, I think Jen and I have rarely been able to actually celebrate V-day on the 14th. Anyway... Jen was gone all day on the 14th with her color guard, so the 15th became our Valentine's Day this year.

It was great! We stayed in, and I cooked dinner. I had gone to Wegman's the day before to get all the necessary ingredients. As some know, I absolutely love to cook. I could definitely see it becoming a serious hobby of mine in the future, once I give up one of my other many hobbies, haha! Anyway, I decided to actually create a menu this time and create a multi-course, restaurant style meal. I planned it out Saturday morning while Jen was at rehearsal, and then went shopping in the afternoon. The menu was thus...

1st Course - Appetizer
Shrimp Trio: Three different shrimp inspired dishes.
a) Standard Shrimp Cocktail w/ fresh lemon slices
b) Teriyaki Stir-Fried Shrimp Skewers
c) Shrimp and Shitaki White Miso w/ seaweed

2nd Course - Main Dish
Crab Stuffed Chicken Breast and Brocolli

3rd Course - Dessert
Fresh Strawberries in Heavy Whipping Cream
(and of course, some Hersehy's Kisses)

All in all, it was a fantastic dinner. I am really happy it turned out the way it did. I am going to be writing down the recipe, as I was pretty much making it up as a I went along... so, if anyone wants it, let me know.

I got Jen some flowers and a gift card to a beauty shop she likes. She got me the new Bird and the Bee CD ("Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future"), which I must say, it really a great album. I had read some reviews of it and it was being given some great critique, and I absolutely loved their first album. I am glad Jen got me the CD, because I was seriously considering buying it off of iTunes that very day. The track called "Witch" seriously sounds like it could be an opening credits song to a James Bond film from the 70's or 80's. I love it. Anyway, great Valentine's Day this year! I'm sad that the weekend has come to an end.