Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner?

Looking forward to a beautiful dinner.


http://i40.tinypic.com/120jjpe.jpg

On Feb 10, 7:58*am, Mr. Bill > wrote:
> Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner? *
>
> Looking forward to a beautiful dinner. *

No, although we might go out to breakfast at a new place
that has garnered good reviews.

We don't celebrate Hallmark holidays.

Cindy Hamilton

Mr. Bill wrote:

> Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner?

Thought I'd make some of that 'Chocolate Mug Cake' - but might add some
whipped cream to dress it up a bit ;-) Oh wait! Billy posted that, not
you...

OK, joking aside - care to share your particular recipe for Warm Potato
Salad?
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

"Mr. Bill" > wrote in message
...
> Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner?
>
> Looking forward to a beautiful dinner.
>
>
> http://i40.tinypic.com/120jjpe.jpg
>
>
I hope your husband just ADORES it.

"Mr. Bill" > wrote in message
...
> Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner?
>
> Looking forward to a beautiful dinner.
>
>
> http://i40.tinypic.com/120jjpe.jpg

Talk to me about this artichoke ragout. Sounds interesting ... especially
on a salad. I've had a lovely artichoke ragout on polenta before but am
having some difficulty imagining it on a salad?

TammyM

"ChattyCathy" > wrote in message
...
> Mr. Bill wrote:
>
>> Planning a special Valentine's Day dinner?
>
> Thought I'd make some of that 'Chocolate Mug Cake' - but might add some
> whipped cream to dress it up a bit ;-) Oh wait! Billy posted that, not
> you...
>
> OK, joking aside - care to share your particular recipe for Warm Potato
> Salad?
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy



Kili and I had the same feelings about potato salad and very similar family
recipes. Her recipe for hot German potato salad:

2 quarts red potatoes ; peeled
9 slices fried bacon
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup bacon drippings
2 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. flour
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 cup water
2/3 cup white or cider vinegar

-= Instructions =-
1. Boil potatoes, then slice when done and cooled. Set aside or put into a
bowl.
2. Take the chopped onion and cook over low direct heat using the bacon
drippings.
3. Mix sugar, flour, salt, pepper and celery seed together. Blend into
onion saute'.
4. When onions are wilted, pour in the water and vinegar. Stir mixture
until it boils for about 1 minute.
5. Pour onion and vinegar "dressing" over sliced potatoes. Crumble the
bacon slices over potatoes. Lightly fold everything in together.
6. Garnish with bacon, egg and/or parsley.

Jill

Mr. Bill wrote:

> Watercress Salad with Artichoke Ragout
> Roast Salmon with Mustard Parsley Glaze
> Warm Potato Salad
> Steamed Asparagus
> Strawberry Lime Tart

I'm not crazy about the quality of artichokes available this time of year,
and all the asparagus I've seen has been from Calexico, where I don't
completely trust their farming practices. It's a couple months too early for
local strawberries, and I refuse to eat strawberries which have to travel
more than about fifty miles. Strawberries and lime sound like an interesting
combination, though. I'd guess it's a tart shell with lime curd and sliced
strawberries on top.

Valentine's day may be a completely contrived holiday, but I like it anyway.
Lin's and my "Proposal Day" is February 13th, so I try to take time off from
work to celebrate both days. I posted my Valentine's menus some time ago,
but to reiterate:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2zedlj9.jpg
The tentative brunch menu is:

Plantain, Onion & Smoked Pork Chop Hash
Eggs Over Medium
Toast
Mimosas
Coffee


http://i40.tinypic.com/2r2wrys.jpg
The tentative dinner menu is:

Clams Casino
Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Basil, and Pine Nuts
Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
Frangelico Meringues with Orange-Chocolate Béarnaise


I will have worked until 6:00 AM Friday morning, so I'll be asleep much of
the day. Accordingly, the Friday menu is one which goes together pretty
quickly:

http://i41.tinypic.com/28s5u79.jpg


Bob





























If you don't want to click on the link, the menu is:

Golden Beet and Celery Root Soup

Hungarian Cucumber and Celery Salad

Ribeye Steak

Baked Potatoes

Braised Kale with Caramelized Onions

Pear Clafoutis

Cindy Hamilton > wrote:

> We don't celebrate Hallmark holidays.

What holiday is not a Hallmark holiday, then? St. Valentine's Day
certainly has a very long tradition, harking back to the Middle Ages.
Its premise may be silly and unnecessary, but it has very little to do
with Hallmark and other commercialisation. You are not the first to
invoke Hallmark in this context on rfc, and I already had an occasion to
point to Sir Walter Scott's fairly extensive description of the holiday:
<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/msg/6e0bb556cbe4369d>.

One of the dishes mentioned by Walter Scott was "juice of the meat, held
a delicacy."

Victor

On Feb 10, 5:58*pm, (Victor Sack) wrote:
> Cindy Hamilton > wrote:
> > We don't celebrate Hallmark holidays.
>
> What holiday is not a Hallmark holiday, then? *St. Valentine's Day
> certainly has a very long tradition, harking back to the Middle Ages.
> Its premise may be silly and unnecessary, but it has very little to do
> with Hallmark and other commercialisation. *You are not the first to
> invoke Hallmark in this context on rfc, and I already had an occasion to
> point to Sir Walter Scott's fairly extensive description of the holiday:
> <http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/msg/6e0bb556cbe4369d>.
>
> One of the dishes mentioned by Walter Scott was "juice of the meat, held
> a delicacy."
>
> Victor

Well, the classic Hallmark Holiday is Sweetest Day. However, we
refrain
from observing many other holidays whose principal purpose appears to
be
to sell cards, candy, and flowers. It's not like we wake up and say
"It's
February 14. Time to show each other some love." We pretty much
do that every day. It's worked fine for 20 years.

I do recall that Valentine's day 1999 (or was it 1998?) was celebrated
in
the crawlspace, snaking out the kitchen drain. He used the snake, and
I pushed the buckets of sludge over to the hatch and dumped them out.
(Well, not right by the hatch. Out in the compost pile. By spring
it was fully decomposed.) No greater love hath a woman...

Cindy Hamilton