Celebrating the Day AFTER Valentine’s Day

Every year, right around February 10th, a sense of panic consumes my boyfriend. After over five years of dating he still gets confused about what to do around holidays, birthdays and anniversaries… somehow it’s a shock that I turn another year older every mid January (did I mention his birthday is two days after mine?)

To make things slightly less stressful, I proposed we celebrate what I consider truly the most romantic day of the year – February 15th.

Have you ever seen those people picking through 70% off heart-shaped boxes of truffles, sparkly red glitter headgear and the few boxes of conversation hearts hanging out in the corner of CVS’ shelving? Yeah — those are my people.

Anyone who would choose to dine at a ridiculously crowded restaurant with an insane prefix menu and buy a dozen red roses the morning of the 14th is crazy. The 15th is the new 14th. Go with it.

For my frugal efforts, I was awarded with 24 gorgeous pink roses (which apparently they were almost paying people to take,) adorable heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and the most hilariously round plush little woodland creature ever created.

Dinner (made by moi) consisted of bruschetta, penne alla vodka, salad and a sweet bottle of chianti.

BRUSCHETTA

Place fresh-cut baked with drizzled olive oil on a cookie sheet and place in the broiler for about 1 minute.

Take out and place fresh mozzarella slices onto the bread and place back in the broiler for another 2 minutes or so (check every so often so you aren’t burning the bread!)

 Cut two small tomatoes into fourths and blend in a food processor (or chop if you’re not lazy like I am) until small enough for a salsa-like mix. then, do the same with fresh basil, adding a bit of olive oil to the mix. Add the two blends together with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix and place onto melted cheese/bread from the broiler. EASY, delicious appetizer in less than 20 minutes.

SALAD

For the salad (I apparently didn’t take a photo of this) I used mixed greens, one peeled and sliced cucumber, slices of an asian pear and  croutons along with my boyfriend’s mother’s homemade salad dressing recipe:

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs shallots

5 tbs olive oil

pinch of salt & pepper

whisk or use a food processor to mix and viola! amazing salad dressing

 PENNE ALLA VODKA

I first had this dish when I was in Florence and completely fell in love with it. A spicy mix of savory and heat make this pasta dish a must for any italian cuisine lover. I’ll admit this recipe takes a bit of time, but with some patience, it will come out delicious! *I used whole grain pasta* 

 

I hope everyone had a fabulous *post* Valentine’s Day!