Follow-Up:The Red Dinner

After a bit of discussion over what our Red Dinner 2010 should consist of (Rack of lamb with a fruit glaze? Salmon and citrus salsa? Red Quinoa?), David and I agreed that we really wanted a simple dinner, and that we really wanted to make lobster. We figured we only think about making lobster once a year, so why not just go with it? Lobsters for every Red Dinner from here on out? Seriously, life could be worse, right?

The Red Dinner

We're not really into Valentine's Day. On occasion, we'll buy gifts for each other, but it's not a yearly 'must do' and we don't go out to fancy dinners, either; It's just too cliche for us. Don't get us wrong, however! We DO like to celebrate the fact that we are lucky to have found one another. A few years ago, David had the brilliant and romantic (at least I think so) idea to make a special Valentine's Day meal. The Red Dinner is a yearly occurrence, usually made sometime during the month of February, but not necessarily on the "big day". David conceives a menu of red-colored foods, starting with cocktails and ending with a tasty dessert. While I do not recall each year's menu, I've been served things like: delicious red wines, lobster with drawn butter, red potato salad, tomato, basil and mozzarella, rack of lamb, chocolate covered strawberries, and pound cake with raspberries, blackberries, and fresh whipped cream. I'm usually involved in the cooking process, since we enjoy cooking together but David designs the menu and does the shopping. We both think it's an exceptionally sweet way to celebrate the fact that we love being together, without feeling like we've been sucked into the Hallmark-ness of the day.

Dave's been tossing around a few ideas for this year's Red Dinner, which I think we actually might make on Valentine's Day. He's mentioned trying to use pomegranates in the meal, red velvet cake for dessert, and he's trying to come up with a special non-alcoholic red cocktail besides a shirley temple (since he makes me one of these a few times a week at this point!).

I wonder, what will The Red Dinner of 2010 consist of??

I'll keep you posted , but in the meantime, what would your Red Dinner menu look like?

A Little Secret

I just finished reading the Ribollita Recipe on 101 Cookbooks, that was posted in early January of this year. The author, Heidi Swanson, writes about opening her freezer, looking in, and wincing at what sees; 'a frosted landscape', 'petrified bags of cheese'...you get the picture. She had no idea what was in there. I, too, winced at her discoveries because I remember having a freezer that once looked like that, and it dawned on me that perhaps I should share a little secret of my own. (For the record, Ms. Swanson goes on to write about how, from the tundra of frozen darkness, she manages to pull all the ingredients for a Ribollita, which I find impressive.)