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