Ken bought me a gift for Valentines Day--a cast iron fry pan, which I had been wanting for a while. My gift to him was dinner.
We went together to the farmer's market, seafood shop and wine store. It was nice to have company on my morning errands. It worked because I skipped Pilates (very bad girl!) and waited for Ken to be ready to go.
I got shrimp and scallops at Southern Seafoods--no surprise there because I had it in my mind to do a seafood risotto. They also had mesh bags of fresh mussels from Prince Edward Island so I got one of those. I cooked them up, very traditionally, in white wine and garlic. They were absolutely fantastic! I also made some focaccia but it didn't really work well as a substitute for "crusty French bread".
We got a bottle of Venica, Jessera, Pinot Grigio. It was perfect with the meal, having a just right acid balance and enough citrusy notes to compliment the seafood.
For the seafood risotto, I used canaroli rice, onions, wine, saffron and a fair amount of butter. I topped the risotto with some chopped fresh arugala from the garden.
That experiment worked well.
The best was Ken cleaning up (he always does)! What a man!
We spent the rest of the night in bed--watching a really dumb movie (Fool's Gold) and eating dessert. It was really a terrific Valentines Day
Comments (6)
It does sound like a terrific way to celebrate Valentines Day. And that dinner you cooked sounds FABULOUS!
Posted by Eden | February 16, 2009 12:56 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 00:56
Sounds really wonderful, food looks perfect! I'd say you and Ken are one lucky pair!
Posted by Barb Cabot | February 16, 2009 1:10 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 01:10
Your dinner looks so delicious! Glad you had a terrific day.
Posted by girasoli | February 16, 2009 2:34 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 02:34
Jan, what a wonderful looking meal! (I absolutely love mussels... anything seafood!)
Posted by kaydee | February 16, 2009 7:54 AM
Posted on February 16, 2009 07:54
Those mussels looked amazing. Beautiful photo!
Posted by Krista | February 17, 2009 1:22 PM
Posted on February 17, 2009 13:22
What a great day, from shopping to cooking to eating to movies in bed - thanks for sharing.
Posted by Marcia | February 17, 2009 4:51 PM
Posted on February 17, 2009 16:51