Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

The day was fun and full.  I did end up shopping again on Saturday. I don't have to do that now, but I needed some Valentine Stuff.  

I went to Costco--never on Saturday--because I just had to have a red velvet cake and theirs is the best.  I want to tell you about a food demo that I tasted (and bought).  It was Kirkland Signature Macadamia Clusters with salted caramel.  Oh, to die for!  They are better than Turtles.  I cannot describe how good they are.  You gotta get some. 

DON'T PASS THIS ONE UP!

My sweetheart and I celebrate the day before.  We don't like to go to restaurants on holidays.  We went to our new favorite restaurant The Lone Star Steakhouse Restaurant.  Dan can have his steak and I can just check out the rest of the menu.  I love, love, love the Parmesan Crusted Chicken--very high in fat, however.  I tried a more cholesterol friendly Napa Valley Grilled Chicken and it was good, too.  Grilled chicken with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes in a wine cream sauce.  I like the salmon, and the baked sweet potato is yummy, too.  All served with hot bread, salad and choice of side.  Lots of food;  enough for a doggy bag.

For the next two days I planned special comfort foods for my Valentine and I.  Today is homemade spaghetti sauce on spaghetti noodles.  This is my favorite 20 minute meal.  It was especially good today with mushrooms and Pecorino Romano cheese. The original recipe came from my grandmother.  My mother may have tweaked it because my dad didn't like the oregano in it.  I tweaked it to remove the sugar because tomatoes are sweeter these days than they were in the past.  Mom said that the reason sugar was added to spaghetti sauce was to sweeten the extra tart tomatoes.  I don't know if that is true, but sugar is not needed.  I put the dried oregano back in, decreased the dried basil and leave out the tomato paste.  I don't like bottled sauce because of the basil, tomato paste and the sugar.  Tomato paste and dried basil are too strong for me, especially when canned (or bottled). I like the real tomato flavor, but do not have success with fresh tomatoes.  Too watery no matter how long I cook it (carrots don't do it, neither does tomato paste).  I use a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce and drained diced tomatoes, sauted onion and garlic. The consistency is perfect and nothing is too over powering as with tomato paste and basil. I don't use fresh basil mostly because I never have any.  I learned to put EVOO on the spaghetti noodles after cooking, not in the cooking water.  These are the secrets to the best spaghetti.

Tomorrow--chicken fried steak--Dan's comfort food.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Remember "stickies"?

(that's me -- the ghost of Valentine's present.)