Valentines Day

See previous post for the start of the day (if you really want to, not the best part of the day). We finally got Valentines day started around 1PM Saturday. For over a week we had been planning to do our own fondue dinner together at home. So on Friday, we spent a few hours going to different grocery stores getting all the ingredients that we needed to make it just perfect. Well there was still a few things we had not gotten as of Saturday afternoon. So after some Mexican food to hold us over until our late dinner, we went to finish our grocery shopping. Around 4:30 to 5PM we finally got back home and I started by unloading the van. Soon enough we have everything set for the activities to happen later that evening.

At this point, I take some time to send Kit a Valentines e-card (Belle was encouraging me to make sure I got this taken care of, to see how big this was, go read the previous post). We both took a little down time at this point and said our Happy Valentines to Bro as well. Then we it was time to start our dinner prep work and the kids special valentines dinner.

Belle made the kids sandwiches on raisin bread with marshmallow fluff and Nutella sauce, with a side of fresh mango, and a mix macadamia nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate chip. Then for dessert was a Oreo no bake pie that I got to make. After the kids were done with dinner, I hurried them off to bed. Once the kids were tucked in, it was time to "dress" for the evening.

I picked out this beautiful pink nightie for Belle, and I went with dorky (red shorts and a t-shirt from Bro that talked about getting crabs *grins*) Of course we took some pics of me holding the nightie in front of me, and then in my final outfit. We sent those to Bro and GF for a laugh. Then Belle put her apron back on over her nightie and we got busy making the first course of the night.
As part of the setup, I moved the table from the kitchen into the living room, in front of the couch. Then Belle setup some candles on the front edge of the table. I picked out a couple of movies for us to watch. After the previous few days we needed comedy and something we have seen before so we didn't spend so much energy watching the movies. The selection for the evening was a double-header. Legally Blonde, and Legally Blonde 2. Shortly after the movie selection we realized we might not have enough garlic for everything we were cooking (we are HUGE garlic fans), so I ran out to the store to pick up some garlic. While there I debated on picking up a single rose for her, but Bro had already sent roses, and it just seemed like it was not necessary. So I decided to be a REAL dork and I bought a lottery ticket for her. I figured with the way things had gone this day, I felt lucky. So I used the only cash I had on me to buy her a ticket with 5 numbers on it. (She ended up winning $50 back on the ticket, where we reinvested $10 into another ticket and the rest went into her art fund).

The first course was an amazing salad (Panzanella) that had fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, red onions, homemade croutons, and a glaze to die for.

The second course was probably our least favorite of the evening, but I was being brave and crazy and trying something new to me. It was a cheese fondue that we borrowed from Melting Pot. It is called the Wisconsin Trio. The part that pushed it from good to just being ok was the Blue Cheese. I've never eaten Blue Cheese before and when we have eaten at Melting Pot, we believe we actually substituted another cheese for it before. But I did try it and probably ate more of it than Belle did, but it was definitely the least favorite of the entire meal.

For the main course, we did a Coq au Vin base fondue. We added thinly sliced mushrooms as well. Then we had spicy tequila lime shrimp, balsamic steak, mojito chicken, and teriyaki pork as the meats for cooking in the base. We added potatoes, beef ravioli, and portabella mushrooms. And the best part of this course, Belle made her own versions of the sauces from the Melting Pot from various recipes. Green Goddess, Gorgonzola Port, Teriyaki Glaze, Curry Mustard, Parsley and Garlic infused butter. We both really loved the steak as probably the best of the meats. The shrimp left a bit to be desired, but we are chalking that up to size and season for the shrimp.

For dessert, we did a Smores Chocolate Fondue. Our recipe was a bit different as we added some additional items like more marshmallow fluff, some Baily's and we left out the actual graham crackers. For dippers, we had angel food cake, marshmallows dipped in Oreo crumbles, pineapples, strawberries, and slice of cheesecake.

The way the evening went once the kids were in bed. We would prepare a course together in the kitchen, then we'd set the table in the living room. We would sit back with the movie playing, and enjoy the current part of the meal we were on. We would take breaks in between courses to make sure that we didn't get too full too fast. Plus it was great just sitting there together. After each course, we would clear the table and I would proceed to wash any dishes needed for the next course while Belle started the prep work. And it continued like this from about 8:30PM until nearly 1:30AM when we finished dessert. I snuggled up in Belle's arms for the ending of the second movie (which we both fell asleep on). We finally awoke a little after 2AM and headed up to bed. We snuggled up close to finish on what was the greatest, most amazing, and romantic evening we have ever spent together.

Almost forgot to include this, but the gifts that we gave each other were shared over the course of the week. The first gift given was by me to her, a small container of watch parts and gears. She uses these to do her steampunk art. She has been needing some of these so I wanted to support her interest. Then the next day I got a set of Guinness glasses with the matching ice bucket. I am a HUGE Guinness fan/lover. The darker the beer, the better for me. And it goes with my Guinness mirror that I have for when we redecorate the formal living room into a social lounge area. On Friday once it was determined that her last and hopefully best part of her gift was not going to make it on time (damn postal service), I went ahead and told her about it. Its a Leather Bound edition of Jane Austen: The Complete Novels, Deluxe Edition (Library of Literary Classics). She is a HUGE book fan, especially of the classic literature. Then she sent me to the garage to find where she hid the last part of my gift. It was a set of salad/pasta bowls that I had been wanting. Currently they are basic white, but she is going to personalize them with some of her artwork using ceramic paint. We got to use the bowls for dinner that evening. It was just so awesome. Just in case everyone reading didn't realize it, I'm a really big dork and love stuff like that. *grins*

I hope everyone had an amazing Valentines Day. Peace and Love to all.