Valentine's Day Dinner - 2014 Version

 

Our Valentine's dinner was a great success. I figured I should document it so we can try it again someday.

Blackberry and Goat Cheese Salad
     Click on the link to find the recipe, but basically I "candied" some pecans in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, made a simple vinaigrette (with blackberry pureé added), and tossed them with lettuce, goat cheese and more blackberries.

Pan-Seared Scallops
     Click the link to find my inspiration recipe, but I didn't follow it exactly. I just cooked the scallops in hot butter in a frying pan, added some sliced green onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and then forgot to add the lemon wedges that I had prepared ahead of time.

Butternut Squash Risotto
     I decided to order a subscription to the new AllRecipes.Com magazine, and this recipe was in the latest issue. It was quite good, and gave a nice "fancy, gourmet" component to the meal. However, I think plain risotto is also fancy and gourmet, and I'll probably stick with that in the future.

Petite Peas
     Publix-brand, frozen petite peas - our favorite! Always tender, sweet and delicious.

Chocolate Mousse
     One of our favorite stand-bys for a special dessert. It never disappoints, (even if the picture isn't very good).