Is anyone doing anything special for Valentine's day?

This has never been a huge holiday for me, but I made a Pea salad and I have some lemon-pecan bars in the oven (I tried to think of something I could make into a heart shape....I didn't do so good :( )


Then I am going to make Dave a nice steak dinner....but that's about all... oh and I put together a basket of chocolates.

Trish

Trish, we have reservations at Lawry's tonight. Prime rib dinner (OK on low carb) spinning salad (I can do that also), mashed potatos (Oops, only for Diana), Yorkshire pudding (again only for Diana) special chocolates (of course for Diana), and fabulous dessert (again for Diana) and Cliquot Champagne (well, maybe one glass for me). ;)

Since Valentine's Day is usually crazy at many restaurants, we went to our favorite special occasion restaurant, Mark's, and had an outstanding dinner.

Don, I love Lawry's. I didn't realize they have a location in Dallas.

Nancy

Well, we were going to. There are Alaska King Crab legs in the freezer and Veuve Clicquot ready to chill. Stuffed mushrooms caps and an awesome salad from the cookbook of that wonderful restaurant Rebar in Victoria, BC. Until... GF had to fly out this afternoon to attend her grandmother's funeral. Won't return until Sunday a few hours before I fly to D.C. for 3 days. Oh well, the legs will wait for us... all comfy in the freezer.

We're going to dinner with friends at a favorite casual restaurant. We're regulars and the waiter gives us Compass Rose type service and he always gives Frank a bowl of Cappucino Crunch ice cream too!

We had our romantic dinner on Sunday. I made broiled Lobster tails, baked potatoes, salad, asparagus and steamed artichokes. The Tails were from Brazil - not Australia. They were delcious.

mmmmm, kathy that dinner sounds so yummy!
Tonight my hubby has to work :( so Im taking my dog Chloe to her Good canine citizen class. Isnt that romantic! lol

I am making chicken Cordon Bleu and rosemary roasted potatoes. I just spent 15 mintues pounding chicken breasts.


I don't really have any desire to go to a restautant tonight, it's like New Years eve, too crowded! We will wait til the weekend to venture out.

I'm with you Karen about going out - Tony asked I said NO - I don't have any special dinner planned - he just got home but he did bring flowers!!! I got him a card -

We are about to head out and I got on the boards for a quick look. All those ideas sound great. Love the lobster tails, oh and Cordon Bleu, the crab legs, suffed mushrooms, and...

NOW I'M HUNGRY!!! LOL

Of course P is working so I'm going out with the single gals for martinis at a favorite place around here.

R, wish O,S, and M could be with you and keep you great company! We coulda had a great time!

Oh YEAH!

We coulda, shoulda and would'av! :banana:

For Valentine's day I opened a bottle of Prosecco, and cooked dinner for the two of us. I tried making Arctic Char - first time I made it. (Maybe it's Not a good idea to try something new when trying to make a romantic dinner?). BUT - It came out tasty. A nice Garlic/Oregano crust, and fish was tender & tasty. And Garlic bread, of course. (Garlic is OK if BOTH people eat it :D ) And for dessert, wonderful chocolate truffles from Arlene.

(How's this for a turnaround - I was given the chocolate & I made the dinner :banana: )

And now today it is back to the mundane

Is it any wonder why I love him? Can't get much better then that! ;) :hug: :)

And to make things even better:

1 - Today the magazine spotlighting Arlene & her art hits the newsstands. It is called American Artist Drawing. Nice article on Colored Pencil art, and the first artist they write about is Arlene.

2 - Baseball is in the air!!!!

I can hear John Fogarty now:

"Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We're born again, there's new grass on the field.
A-roundin' third, and headed for home, it's a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.

Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
Look at me, I can be Centerfield."

Congratulations to Arlene! How wonderful to be recognized for your talent.

Yes, Nancy Lawry's moved a few years ago from their downtown Dallas location to north Dallas. If you ever come up to Dallas, we'll be happy to meet you there!

I know what everyone says about restaurants being crowded and such, but we had a wonderful time. The noise level was low, and we were able to talk. The food was, as always, great. Our adult daughter is temporarily staying with us, so we had to go out to get some alone time!

Diana

My husband, the ever practical engineer, actually pulled off a great valentine's this year. He got me an ipod I've been drooling over, took me out to lunch, made a romantic fondue dinner, and topped it off with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. Woo. Not sure what got into him but I'm sure not complaining :D

Lauri, the fondue dinner sounds like so much fun! It sounds like you had a great day.

Speaking of fondue, has anyone tried the Melting Pot restaurants? It sounds like such a neat idea. Karen, I know there is one at Station Square. Perhaps we should try it sometime?

Sheri, anything dipped in cheese or chocolate sounds good to me!!

Don, you're on..one day I'll make it to Dallas. I'm glad your dinner was wonderful.

Nancy

I've been to the Melting Pot in Phoenix. My sister and I went to celebrate our birthdays. It really is alot of fun and alot of food. I loved the appetizer cheese fondue and the dessert chocolate fondue was out of this world. The main course I wasn't as crazy about, you actually cook your food and I kept forgetting how long some things had been in. So some things were overcooked and some undercooked. But my sister who has been there numerous times didn't have any problems. Just takes practice I guess!

I've been to the Melting Pot in Sacramento. Dessert was the best part, I think. Like Lauri, wasn't impressed by the main course. But the thing that stuck with me the most was the aroma (pun fully intended). It got into all of my clothes and required multiple washes to get rid of it completely! Kind of a oil/savory smell.

Masaki

We have a Melting Pot restaurant very close by. We went there last year for our daughter's birthday. I'm with you, Lauri and Masaki. I was not impressed. Very expensive for what you got and the main courses were just OK. The desserts, however, were good.

Ahh the Melting Pot - My ONLY experience eating there was in college. I developed a wicked infection (Camphylobacter) and was in the infirmary for 3 days with fevers of 104 - 106. I was literally delirious for about a day and remember littel to nothing.

THe infection was not there fault, but have never been able to go back

Anthony

Anthony,
Don't you get campylobacter from undercooked chicken? My son had that, along with giardia, and was really sick!!

You certainly can get campylobacter from undercooked chicken. That's one reason I don't like the communal fondue pot when raw meat is involved.

Let's scratch the Melting pot off the list, I think I just lost my appetite ;)

Karen,
For some excellent cheese fondue at home, see if you can find TIGER brand, made in Switzerland; it's in a foil vacuum pouch and 1 pkg is perfect for 2.

Karen,

Sorry, I didn't mean to gross you out. It's an occupational hazard for me, very little grosses me out and I sometimes forget that not everyone has my level of tolerance. <img border="0" alt="[c]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />

Melting Pot is great for cheese fondue and dessert fondue too.

Lauri, it's good that you brought up the meat and poultry aspect of fondue, I wouldn't of thought of that!

The Hyatt at Penn's Landing offers cheese fondue like most restaurants give you a basket of bread! It was very difficult the 4 months I "lived" there Mon-Thur to resist. It was winter, so I didn't venture out much to other restaurants even though there were many just on the other side of I-95. But, the chefs there were great. They'd make whatever I wanted. As a "semi-vegetarian", who eats fish but no other meat, menu options are slim sometimes. But, man, that fondue was memorable!

The Melting Pot in our area has a nice lounge. We have gone there and, without a reservation, you can sit at one of two or three tables or at the bar and have a bottle of wine, a cheese fondue and choc dessert fondue. Perfect!

Betty