Handmade |

We’ve never ventured out into the madness that is Valentine’s Day night. It started the first year we were together; I knew I would have to work since I was the new kid at the restaurant I worked at. Instead of pouting, I took the opportunity to surprise my pal with homemade paella, a handmade card, and lots of candles in the sunroom of our apartment. The following year he asked what I wanted to do and I decided a tradition had been made. Who needs overpriced, overcrowded restaurants when we already fare pretty well in the kitchen (and enjoy spending as much time as full-time schedules will allow in our pj’s and slippers)? Each year has gotten ever-so-slightly more indulgent than the last, with this year taking the cake (er, souffle). The menu consisted of Lobster Mac & Cheese, Fig Jam & Prosciutto Ebelskivers, and Chocolate Souffle with Raspberry Sauce. It was most certainly a labor of love, but it was worth every cut and ounce of energy used to get that lobster open. I forgot that my three years working at Red Lobster didn’t come with a farewell claw cracker tool. So I tried hitting it with a wine key, beer key, steak knife, and eventually, a hammer (and may have mangled a cocktail fork or two in the battle). In the end, I beat that already dead (and cooked in its shell) lobster. Tex had asked if we were getting a live one, but that scene from Annie Hall kept playing in my head over and over and over. Plus, I wanted to get started on dinner before he got home, and seeing that I can’t even walk by the fish area at the farmer’s market without holding my breath, I figure slaying a live lobster is beyond my culinary reach; and I am fine with that. Dinner turned out pretty great–I even took the time to research and pair wines with our feast (Ooh la la! A Chenin, Moscato, and Pinot Grigio blend with the lobster and ebelskivers, and Cabernet with the souffle.) In Tex’s words, it was “better than pizza”, and that is high praise in this house.