The 14 Days Of Valentines Menu

The menu has been put together! To be served picnic-style in front of our fireplace:

1st Course: Brie baked with layers of pesto and served with crackers. Recipe credited to Darling Jane, one of my fabulous online Cookies.

2nd Course: skewers of Sea Scallops and prawns over orzo with basil, tomato and Romano alongside Vegetables ala Greque. Rosemary Olive Oil bread from Costco. Recipe for skewers and orzo can be found on Food Network-Rachael Ray. Vegetable recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.

3rd Course: Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. Creme Brulee recipe can be found of Food Network -Ming Tsai. Strawberries will depend on availability and quality.

Movie - I have no idea yet. I need to peruse a few places and websites.

I love cooking this meal for Mr. Wonderful every year. Past menus included:

Greek - Mezadakia - I got this idea from a local SLC restaurant. Sauteed bite-sized chicken breast, cubes of feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, pepperocini peppers kalamata olives served on a platter and drizzled with Greek salad dressing (dressing recipe form Joy Of Cooking). I added heated purchased dolmanthes and made pita bread. This is a very hands on meal. You are supposed to wrap meat and veg in the pita. No utensils. Feed each other. Dessert was baklava.

Italian - Garlic-Lovers Shrimp over pasta (recipe from Cooking Light. You can find it on www.myrecipes.com. Served alongside steamed asparagus and with a good quality crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Appetizer was crab stuffed portabello mushroom (one is enough to share). Dessert was a purchased from our fave Italian place.

Japanese - first course was homemade tempura and California rolls. Main course was Miso-Glazed Salmon (also from Cooking Light, see recipe website above), served with sticky rice and stir-fried veggies. Dessert was purchased.

Other easy ideas - the Chicken Aglio e Olio I posted last year is easy and tastes wonderful. Toss a salad, make orzo or polenta, and grab a great dessert from Costco or your favorite restaurant (get it earlier in the day, you don't want to be anywhere near a restaurant that night). Put together a cheese fondue for dinner and a chocolate fondue for dessert.

Get busy. Keep it simple. The most important thing is that your man feels loved. He is not going to rate your efforts on a scale, he will just be grateful that you care so much for him.