Valentines Day 2006
Valentines went wonderfully this year. The day before, Halbe and I discussed the menu, and settled on the above: Three French Cheeses with an Apple, Fennel, and Walnut Salad, followed by Fresh Tomato Risotto, with a main course of Rosemary-Lemon Cornish Hens with Roasted Potatoes. For dessert, we chose Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
While Halbe was still at work, I did the shopping. Three stores didn't have the cornish game hens, so I settled on two pretty-small Glatt Kosher chickens. Game hen, pretty-small chicken -- is there really a difference?
One of my favorite parts of Valentines day is seeing all the men who come to a flower shop. Skinny, fat, rich, or homeless looking -- all types, looking out of place, hands in pockets, surveying the arrangements, trying to find the right one for their Special Someone.
Halbe made the chicken and salad, and I made the risotto and cake. It all took over two hours to prepare, so we didn't eat until nearly 9, which I guess would have been the time we would have had a restaurant reservation for.
We had a nice ambiance going, with the candles and Sinatra on the stereo. All of the food was delicious. Mid-way through, we presented each other with cards. Halbe made me a very sweet card with a picture of us on the front (on the back, it read "Halbemark"). I gave her my card, which had a certain "cartoonish" flair with the typography, but she seemed to like it. I also gave her a flower arrangement, which she really liked (and, it had actually been sitting on the table in a vase since mid-day, so I didn't so much "hand" them to her as I just pointed at the arrangement and reminded her who I got them for).
We ended up not eating the cake (it was getting too late), so I frosted it the next day, and we enjoyed it for dessert on the 15th. Between the food, the music, and of course, the girl I love very much, I think it was a successful Valentines Day.