Happy Valentine’s Day! Any Plans?

[mimijudy1975]

Alert the media! The man brought home the wrong sized and quantity of shrimps this morning (despite my sending a large font text...sigh) so I changed the main course from curried shrimp and leeks to shrimp scampi w/ leeks.
Guess he wanted me to get excited about something....

That's goodYour we're able to save the day with Shrimp Scampi. It is one of my favorite dishes. Have you ever tried Shrimp DeJomge ? It's delicious too.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Many of our Valentine's days for the past 28 years have been all about our DS. He was a Valentine's day baby. We went out alone for most of his adult years, when he had other plans. This year he chose to spend his birthday with us. Who needs to celebrate Valentine's day, when your adult son chooses to spend his birthday with you? It's been a great night of having his choice of takeout & playing games as a family.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Since DH worked, had an event and then refereed basketball tonight we cooked shrimp and lemon spaghetti last night and spent some time together. Today I went and visited my sister and her one week old and tagged along to pick up my 4.5 year old nephew at school (where we blew a lot of minds - I still forget that people freak out about identical twins sometimes and that gets bigger when the wrong twin is holding a brand new baby everyone wants to touch/hold/see). Tomorrow we’re going to go see Birds of Prey which I’m excited about then back to work for me Sunday night.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We started the festivities early by having dinner at one of our favorite restaurants last night to avoid the crowds and holiday drama. DH's been having a challenging time at work, so I gave him a gift bag with some of his favorite gourmet candies to keep at his desk and some other small gifts to brighten his work space. He got me flowers and a chocolate cake. (Yum!) Tonight we went out to see "Casablanca" (sold out!) and had dinner at a gastropub afterward. We'll end the fun with "Lady and the Tramp" at Disney's El Capitan Theatre and a spaghetti and meatballs dinner (with a kiss, of course!) at one of our favorite Italian restaurants afterward. This year got off to a very hectic start, so this weekend feels like a mini-vacation!

 

[Sabeking]

We were in Italy in the summer and had McDonald's too. People that we were nuts when they heard we went to one there. While, yes, italian food is amazing....we wanted food from home after being there so long(Hubby had been there months for work and I visited for over 3 weeks). We really craved mexican food, which we eat alot of at home), it was even hard to find ingredients to make some of our favorite mexican foods.

My daughter has mentioned that as well. She has found one Chinese restaurant but is really struggling finding groceries other than pasta, bread, vegetables and meats. I am going in April and she asked me to pack ranch dressing and mayo!

 

[ronandannette]

My daughter has mentioned that as well. She has found one Chinese restaurant but is really struggling finding groceries other than pasta, bread, vegetables and meats. I am going in April and she asked me to pack ranch dressing and mayo!

That is SO interesting - I've been to Italy, France and Spain but didn't do any food shopping or cooking while I was there. I couldn't help but notice how trim most of the people are though; very different than in the US, Canada and the UK. I've never given it much thought before but I'd imagine not having high-fat/salt/sugar processed foods as staples would make quite a bit of difference.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My daughter has mentioned that as well. She has found one Chinese restaurant but is really struggling finding groceries other than pasta, bread, vegetables and meats. I am going in April and she asked me to pack ranch dressing and mayo!

It's easy to make mayonnaise (originated in France after all) at home BUT it may be different in thickness from the North American variety. Since ranch dressing is mayo based with herbs and aromatics also easy to duplicate and several recipes on the internet. I've never tried making any but a quick glance at some of the recipes rings true. Maybe bring her a copy of the Joy of Cooking too if she'll be there much longer. It was my bible for American cookery when I lived in Europe.
When I lived in Central Europe, it was ketchup, that was hard to get. Had to go to the gourmet food section of department stores to get it and it was awfully pricey.

That is SO interesting - I've been to Italy, France and Spain but didn't do any food shopping or cooking while I was there. I couldn't help but notice how trim most of the people are though; very different than in the US, Canada and the UK. I've never given it much thought before but I'd imagine not having high-fat/salt/sugar processed foods as staples would make quite a bit of difference.

They don't eat out as much as we do, they food shop more frequently (smaller fridges) and they do a lot more walking than the average North American. Also as you noted most are not keen on overly processed food stuff.

 

[tcufrog]

We were in Italy in the summer and had McDonald's too. People that we were nuts when they heard we went to one there. While, yes, italian food is amazing....we wanted food from home after being there so long(Hubby had been there months for work and I visited for over 3 weeks). We really craved mexican food, which we eat alot of at home), it was even hard to find ingredients to make some of our favorite mexican foods.

When my sister lived in London she craved Mexican food. When we came to visit her at Christmas my gift to her was baked beans, tortillas, salsa, and taco seasoning.

 

[NYCgrrl]

That's goodYour we're able to save the day with Shrimp Scampi. It is one of my favorite dishes. Have you ever tried Shrimp DeJomge ? It's delicious too.

No, I haven't. Have you a favored recipe?

 

[MithrilMaiden]

I took the train up to San Francisco to get fitted for a suit and go cookbook shopping (ending up buying French language workbooks), got Blue Bottle Coffee, then went and spent the evening getting tattooed.

 

[Sabeking]

That is SO interesting - I've been to Italy, France and Spain but didn't do any food shopping or cooking while I was there. I couldn't help but notice how trim most of the people are though; very different than in the US, Canada and the UK. I've never given it much thought before but I'd imagine not having high-fat/salt/sugar processed foods as staples would make quite a bit of difference.

She said that EVERYTHING is so fresh! No preservatives in anything! She told me her friend that did the program last semester ate pasta every day and lost 12 pounds!! That sounds like my kind of diet. She is afraid by the time she gets back she will have to do organic moving forward or she will have a stomach ache!

 

[Sabeking]

It's easy to make mayonnaise (originated in France after all) at home BUT it may be different in thickness from the North American variety. Since ranch dressing is mayo based with herbs and aromatics also easy to duplicate and several recipes on the internet. I've never tried making any but a quick glance at some of the recipes rings true. Maybe bring her a copy of the Joy of Cooking too if she'll be there much longer. It was my bible for American cookery when I lived in Europe.
When I lived in Central Europe, it was ketchup, that was hard to get. Had to go to the gourmet food section of department stores to get it and it was awfully pricey.
/QUOTE]

Great idea; thanks!

 

[Julie's Haircut]

You got lucky with that one! I want them on all the "prescribed" occasions AND unexpectedly on random days. I love getting flowers!

Yeah, she's very low-maintenance.

Doesn't want any more jewellery, no expensive clothes or handbags, etc.

I just have to set a few reminder dates on my phone for those "random flower days" Maybe April 19, July 28, and October 5.

 

[ronandannette]

Yeah, she's very low-maintenance.

Doesn't want any more jewellery, no expensive clothes or handbags, etc.

I just have to set a few reminder dates on my phone for those "random flower days" Maybe April 19, July 28, and October 5.

Random flower days around here occur when our local grocery store has bunches displayed right by the check-outs and DH has to spend a few minutes waiting in line. It's all good but I LOVE that you're actually planning for it.