Happy Valentine's Day!

I feel it would be wrong not to post about Valentine's Day (even though I'm already a day late) - a day that is all about love. You see, I love love. I mean, I REALLY LOVE love. I love sappy movies about love, I love seeing people in love, I love being in love. I love love. And, Valentine's Day is all about showing and telling the people you love just how much you love them. I, for one, truly believe that people show their love through food. Why else do we all go out to dinner for special occasions? - Valentine's Day, anniversaries, birthdays, engagements (yeah, we got engaged at dinner), the list goes on and on.

So, the Doc and I decided no gifts this Valentine's Day and, instead, would just go out to a nice dinner. No need to stress out over buying a "good" gift when there's nothing either of us really need or want. Save the money and splurge on a nice meal. So I, ever the planner that I am, started looking into restaurants for where to go. Then, I realized, getting a reservation on Valentine's Day, at a nice restaurant, a few days in advance of the holiday, at a decent eating-hour, would be almost impossible (apparently, I wasn't as on top of my "planning" as I thought!) So, simple solution, we dine at home. I create a lovely meal that is (at least in my opinion) restaurant quality and we don't have to go anywhere. No waiting, no leaving the house, no having to walk/drive home once full from dinner, no problems! (save for having to do the dishes)

The Doc was cool with it - the lazier we can be at home, the better. So, our Valentine's Day was just that - celebrated at home, showing our love for each other by spending the evening together (comfortably dressed in jeans and T-shirts, no less), enjoying a delicious meal and vegging out on the couch watching our new obsession on Netflix, Sparticus.

Side Note: Seriously, need an addicting TV series? Sparticus (think it was originally on Starz or Showtime) has it all - violence, sex, blood, love, plot twists, more blood, gladiators, more blood, more violence, and blood. (note, if you get squeamish at the sight of blood, I rescind my recommendation for this show.)

Back to Valentine's Day, I set the table with themed placemats (gotta have the decor!) and busted out the Nambe candlesticks we got for our wedding - first time using them, so the day of love seemed appropriate. I made a tenderloin roast and cheesy cornflake potatoes. Nothing fancy, but oh-so-delicious. Discovery of the day? Using a roasting rack positively affects the outcome of a roast. Shocking, right? Last time I did a roast, I used a "homemade" roasting rack, which consisted of foil balls rolled up, lining the bottom of a pan and the roast set on top of those. NOT recommended. So, serious shout-out to my mom for sending me aforementioned roasting pan, which resulted in a tender, juicy and tasty tenderloin. Thanks mama!

So, making a tenderloin is about as easy as you can get. Buy pork tenderloin at the store. Make marinade - ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, curry powder, red wine and garlic. Marinate for about 6 hours, pop onto the roasting pan, set for an hour and 15 minutes or so at 325 and voila! Cue deliciousness....

I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day, whether spent with the one you love, or just the things you love (TV, wine, books, sleep, whatever.) Ours truly was a great "first" Valentine's Day as a married couple - good food, good wine, a good puppy, good TV and good times spent together.

PS - Valentine's Day is also my brother's birthday, so here's to you dear brother! Happy birthday - love you!

Cheers!

Maureen

Spain, Italy and Thailand - All in three days!

Ethnic Week continues, rather successfully if I do say so myself :)

We followed up our Sweet and Sour Chicken with a dish derived from the Spanish - chili. I realize this is somewhat of a stretch to be truly "ethnic" but cut me some slack. I use the recipe my mom shared with my from my dad's mom (who was Italian - go figure.) The best part of this recipe is its simplicity - when you've made it once, you don't need to reference the recipe again.


Brown some ground beef with green pepper and onion, add chili beans, chili powder or a package of chili seasoning, a small can of tomato sauce, a bean can-full of water and stir. The chili will thicken, and you can adjust the seasonings/spices to your liking. When it's thickened enough (or you're tired of looking at it and just want to eat it!) serve over elbow macaroni, top with shredded cheese and sour cream if you want to blow your diet out of the water and enjoy. Perfect for those nights that you're tired, not really in the mood to cook and just want something that's going to make you feel full and happy. Of course, top it off with a margarita or two and you night is complete!

Following our pseudo-Spanish meal, I went traditional Italian. I'm Italian, we both like Italian food, it's easy to make and, most of all, it is delicious when complemented with your favorite wine. I made a simple Pasta Carbonara with linguine, and the sauce is just eggs, parmasean cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and bacon. If you're feeling sassy, as I usually am, throw in some peas for color and a different texture. This dish took all of about 25 minutes to make, start-to-finish.

That is my kind of home-cooked meal - takes no time at all to make, but looks and tastes like you poured your whole evening into it. Plus, you basically let the sauce sit while the pasta cooks, so you can enjoy a glass a wine. I opted for my go-to favorite, sauvignon blanc, while the doc enjoyed his pinot noir. I'm no traditionalist when it comes to pairing wine with foods - let's be honest, I'd probably have wine with my waffles if it was socially acceptable. And, given that I don't like red wine (ever, trust me, I've tried most of them and haven't found a one that'll please my finicky palate) I tend to stick with what I like and that's it. Is it right to have a sauvignon blanc with pasta? I don't know what a wine "expert" will tell you, but I tell you "yes!" So, go ahead, pop a bottle, pour a glass and enjoy your pasta, or your hamburgers, or waffles (I won't judge you. Hell, I'll join you!)

So, for tonight, I was stumped. I've pretty much exhausted my very limited knowledge of ethnic foods over the past four days. So, what do I do? I know I have chicken in the freezer, so I turn to my handy-dandy cookbooks to see what kind of ethnic chicken dishes are out there, that also only call for the ingredients I already have on hand. Solution? Thai Chicken Stir-Fry! Easy, tasty, good for you, and I get to use my wok again. Oh the love affair that I have with that wok.


So, I don't know what technically makes this dish "Thai" and I'm pretty sure the version I made definitely doesn't qualify, but since it's got "Thai" in the title, I'm calling it ethnic and it counts!


I cooked up some gingered carrots, onion slices and garlic in the wok, tossed in my chicken pieces and coated everythign in a sauce of white wine vinegar (since I didn't have rice wine), soy sauce, corn starch, crushed red pepper and water. Let heat until everything is cooked and delicious-smelling, toss in some almond slices for crunch and serve over white rice. I had no idea if this would taste good, bad, boring, Thai-ish or what, and it actually turned out quite delicious!

The carrots give the dish a nice crunch, and the almonds have a very complementary flavor to the sauced chicken. Again, this took me about 30 minutes, which is just as long as the clean-up took! Definitely adding this recipe to my stack of go-to meals when I'm in a time or idea bind.

So, now, for the grand finale to Ethnic Week, I'm bringing the big guns. The truest, boldest, most traditional and patriotic dish I can think of - that's right, we're coming back to America with RIBS. And, I'm making them in the Crock-Pot. Nothing is more American than that. And it seems only fitting that we've traveled, culinarily speaking, across the globe this week only to find ourselved right back where we started - home. It's where the heart is, you know.

Cheers!

Maureen