Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!

Guy and I usually just celebrate by making a nice dinner. Tonight we're making pasta with peas and prosciutto, and hot fudge sundaes for dessert.

Steak Au Poivre

Guy and I made a very decadent Valentine's Day dinner this year, steak au poivre and potato gratin. Guy was in charge of the steak. He started by cooking the steak with pepper in a cast-iron pan, then added chopped shallots, olive oil, cognac, and an entire cup of cream to make the sauce. It was delicious.

The last picture (of the completed meal) doesn't do it justice at all. That photo is disappointing...but the dinner wasn't!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.