A VALENTINE TO REMEMBER

I admit it, Valentine’s Day is one of my all time favorite days of the year. I love the mushy, lovey-dovey day! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT! It puts a twinkle in my eye and pep in my step. I love the cards and I’ll search from store to store if I have to until I find the perfect one for my sweetie. I’ll tackle you for the heart-shaped box of candy, so he better release it quickly and step away so I can do the damage! Most of all, I love the sweetness of the day, not just with the love of your life, but people in general. It’s a sweet day! I never forget my sweetie on Valentine’s, but we girl’s must admit that if our significant other doesn’t come up with something spectacular, no matter if he breaks the bank or gives frugally from his heart (let’s hope it lands somewhere in between!), all will not be copasetic on the homefront.

My absolute most favorite Valentine’s Day ever was right after I had moved to Tennessee with my Hubby. You know, I don’t need the hubby to spend a lot of money for a gift on Valentine's Day, in fact, most of the time I probably won’t like it. Most men get frustrated when they go gift shopping and end up grabbing something and get the heck out of that store! That’s not what I want. I want the lovey-dovey. Well, my hubby knocked my socks off that year. I came home from a long day at work to a wonderful surprise. My handsome hubby cooked a gourmet dinner for me, by himself mind you, complete with Seafood Lasagna (The grill master made a homemade rue girls!), beautiful garden salad, and to top it off, the most beautiful hand-dipped chocolate strawberries you have ever seen. That is no small feat for my man's man hubby! He passed by the pre-made strawberries at our local market, paid out the nose for those gorgeous strawberries, called my Mom to get instructions for dipping, and the man made me my very own plate of chocolate dipped strawberries! I loved it!

SO…I thought I would post my hubby’s spectacular Valentine menu. Unfortunately, this was way before I was using my camera to capture delicious morsels coming out of the kitchen so you will have to use your imagination as to what his version looked like.

Seafood Lasagna
Ingredients:
12 Lasagna noodles
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup grated Romano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 pound sea scallops, cut in half or quartered if very large
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 10-inch aluminum foil pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until they are just done, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet and cook the onion over low heat until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute more. Over medium-low heat, stir in the flour with a whisk, then gradually add the half-and-half, allowing the sauce to thicken slightly before adding more. When the sauce has thickened to about the consistency of whipping cream, add the cheese and stir well. Add the salt and pepper and stir again. Add the scallops and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the shrimp turn pink. Turn off the heat.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the skillet into the prepared pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with 4 noodles, placing them side by side. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles, distributing half of the seafood evenly. Layer 4 more noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, and remaining seafood. Cover with the last 4 noodles and the remaining sauce. (For the top layer, do not spoon any seafood on top of the noodles; just use the sauce.) Tuck in any edges of the noodles so they're all coated with sauce. Top with the Parmesan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered, until bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
MMMM MMMMM GOOD! Enjoy!


Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
12 long-stemmed strawberries

Directions:
Melt the chocolate and cream together in a bowl set over simmering water until just melted. Stir and remove from the heat. Dip each strawberry in the chocolate and set aside on waxed or parchment paper to dry.

Enjoy! I hope you have a fabulous mushy, lovey-dovey Valentine’s Day!