Happy Valentine's Day! (pre-dated)
Who: Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley
Where: The Phoenix
When: About 6pm
Rating: Well, beginning around PG...but...it being Valentine's Day, it could go anywhere.
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Harry has lots of sweet things planned.
Harry had spent the entire day in the kitchen. The morning had been spent on dessert. It was a sumptuous chocolate cake drizzled in raspberry sauce that Harry had made himself. It looked absolutely perfect, and Harry was incredibly proud of himself. He had made whipped cream to go with it as well...but that could also be used for other things, if the need arose. That thought had occurred to him while he was making it, and it had excited him more than a little bit. He had had to take care of that after he'd finished with dessert.
After he had finished taking care of...that..., he pulled together ingredients for the salad and appetizers. He was going to prepare them closer to when Ginny arrived, but he wanted everything to be ready so it would be easier for him. He was making a Caesar salad, and for the appetizer, he was making spinach and artichoke dip with lots of mozzarella cheese, with crusty white bread for dipping. He felt like he was being incredibly creative with his cooking. Hopefully it would turn out well.
The piece de resistance would be the main course. Harry would be cooking steaks. He had bought what the butcher had told him would be delicious steaks, and he had been marinating them since the afternoon before. The salad would be tossed immediately before dinner, the steaks would be grilled for about 30-40 minutes...Harry wanted everything to be perfect. He had more French bread to go with dinner, too; he had bought special French butter to go with it. It was extra creamy and slightly saltier than English butter, and he thought it would make the dinner just a little bit more special. Everything needed to be more special.
When Harry had started the steaks on the grill, he took a shower, shaved, and got himself dressed in his tuxedo. Apart from the dinner being perfect, he was going to look perfect. Again he tried to make his hair lie down, but once more he failed. He brushed his teeth for several minutes, making sure that his breath was especially fresh, and he put on several layers of deodorant, in case he got a little nervous and began to sweat. Harry put on a bit of aftershave and then went downstairs to check on the steaks. They were ready to be turned, so he flipped them. They were looking quite good.
Harry checked his watch. 5:40. He had preheated the oven while he was in the shower so he could put the spinach dip in the oven when he was done. He slid the dip in the oven after checking the steaks, and then he began to set the table. He pulled the only nice linen tablecloth out of the cabinet and threw it over the table. He put the only set of nice china out, arranged the silverware correctly, put out nice linen napkins, and set out wine glasses. He brought out a bottle of nice red wine that he had bought the day before and set it in the centre of the table. Finally, he brought out silver candlesticks--the ones that had belonged to Sirius--and put fresh candles in them. He would light them right when Ginny arrived.
Everything was coming together nicely. Harry was quite proud of himself. He went to check on the steaks again. They looked like they were almost done. He stuck a fork in one of them and it looked good. He stuck a fork in the other, and it looked good as well, so he took them both off the grill and turned it off. With the steaks on a plate, he cast a warming charm on the plate to keep the steaks warm until Ginny arrived and he could serve dinner. The oven timer went off at that minute as well, and he set the plate with the steaks on it on top of the oven so he could pull the dip out. When he did, the cheese on top was bubbling away merrily and it looked delicious. Harry cast a warming charm on that, too, so it would stay warm until Ginny arrived.
Now all he had to do was wait. Too bad that was the hardest part.
Where: The Phoenix
When: About 6pm
Rating: Well, beginning around PG...but...it being Valentine's Day, it could go anywhere.
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Harry has lots of sweet things planned.
Harry had spent the entire day in the kitchen. The morning had been spent on dessert. It was a sumptuous chocolate cake drizzled in raspberry sauce that Harry had made himself. It looked absolutely perfect, and Harry was incredibly proud of himself. He had made whipped cream to go with it as well...but that could also be used for other things, if the need arose. That thought had occurred to him while he was making it, and it had excited him more than a little bit. He had had to take care of that after he'd finished with dessert.
After he had finished taking care of...that..., he pulled together ingredients for the salad and appetizers. He was going to prepare them closer to when Ginny arrived, but he wanted everything to be ready so it would be easier for him. He was making a Caesar salad, and for the appetizer, he was making spinach and artichoke dip with lots of mozzarella cheese, with crusty white bread for dipping. He felt like he was being incredibly creative with his cooking. Hopefully it would turn out well.
The piece de resistance would be the main course. Harry would be cooking steaks. He had bought what the butcher had told him would be delicious steaks, and he had been marinating them since the afternoon before. The salad would be tossed immediately before dinner, the steaks would be grilled for about 30-40 minutes...Harry wanted everything to be perfect. He had more French bread to go with dinner, too; he had bought special French butter to go with it. It was extra creamy and slightly saltier than English butter, and he thought it would make the dinner just a little bit more special. Everything needed to be more special.
When Harry had started the steaks on the grill, he took a shower, shaved, and got himself dressed in his tuxedo. Apart from the dinner being perfect, he was going to look perfect. Again he tried to make his hair lie down, but once more he failed. He brushed his teeth for several minutes, making sure that his breath was especially fresh, and he put on several layers of deodorant, in case he got a little nervous and began to sweat. Harry put on a bit of aftershave and then went downstairs to check on the steaks. They were ready to be turned, so he flipped them. They were looking quite good.
Harry checked his watch. 5:40. He had preheated the oven while he was in the shower so he could put the spinach dip in the oven when he was done. He slid the dip in the oven after checking the steaks, and then he began to set the table. He pulled the only nice linen tablecloth out of the cabinet and threw it over the table. He put the only set of nice china out, arranged the silverware correctly, put out nice linen napkins, and set out wine glasses. He brought out a bottle of nice red wine that he had bought the day before and set it in the centre of the table. Finally, he brought out silver candlesticks--the ones that had belonged to Sirius--and put fresh candles in them. He would light them right when Ginny arrived.
Everything was coming together nicely. Harry was quite proud of himself. He went to check on the steaks again. They looked like they were almost done. He stuck a fork in one of them and it looked good. He stuck a fork in the other, and it looked good as well, so he took them both off the grill and turned it off. With the steaks on a plate, he cast a warming charm on the plate to keep the steaks warm until Ginny arrived and he could serve dinner. The oven timer went off at that minute as well, and he set the plate with the steaks on it on top of the oven so he could pull the dip out. When he did, the cheese on top was bubbling away merrily and it looked delicious. Harry cast a warming charm on that, too, so it would stay warm until Ginny arrived.
Now all he had to do was wait. Too bad that was the hardest part.