18.4.11

Valentine's Day Feast for One

For anyone who has ever been in a long-distance relationship, you may agree with me when I say that Valentine's Day in the US can really suck.  Luckily, here in France, almost NO ONE celebrates it.  So, even though I'm separated from my beau by an ocean, 5,000 miles, and a 7-hour time difference, it was nice to almost be convinced that the day wasn't a holiday :)

Still, despite the distance, we did have plans!  Even though the internet is frequently out at my house, we planned to cook a meal together--using the same ingredients and making the same dishes--via skype, then eat it together with candles and wine and celebrate our second Valentine's Day together as a couple.  The time difference meant that I ate dinner at 2 a.m. my time, but it was worth it :)

This is what we came up with: ribeye with gorgonzola cream, mashed potatoes with mushroom and onions in a red wine sauce, and Brussels sprouts with orange and almonds (and also bacon, apparently :P)

However, since most of the English assistants here are single ladies, we decided to have our own Valentine's Day Friends Feast :)

I made palmitos, my favorite little cured ham-and-cheese pastry roll-ups.
Therese went all out and made coq au vin, which I'd never had before!
All those root veggies, sooooo goooood.....
Our faithful cook, hard at work!
The finished product--sooooo goood :)
Appropriately heart-themed dessert
Plus another one called bras de Venus (Venus' arm).  So that's where it went...
Happy Valentine's Day, les filles :)

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