Valentine's Day

 This year, Dan and I were both very excited to celebrate Valentine's Day.  The winter blues had set in, and after the ice storm, we were both experiencing a little cabin fever.  Dan and I are also that cheesy couple that you hate to see out and want to make you gag.  We just really enjoy spending time as a couple, so Valentine's Day is just an excuse for us to really spoil each other.

Dan wanted to surprised me, so on Saturday, he took me to the Rathskeller for their Valentine's day Dinner and Dance.  We lucked out and got some warmer weather.  I borrowed a beautiful dress and jewelry from my friend Windi, bought a really cute new pair of grey heels.  Dan looked as handsome as ever in his black suit and suspenders.  It's always fun to dress up and go out.  This was the first time either of us had been to the Rathskeller, and it is a beautiful building.  The vibe is very relaxed, and the food is all Dutch or German. 

We had our own 2 person table with candles, and Dove chocolates.  For dinner, we both order the filet with stuffed shrimp.  The filet was wonderful.  They topped it with cooked mushrooms. The shrimp was ehh.  They stuffed it with clam, lobster and cheese, and it ended up tasting like potato au gratin which neither of us are a fan of.  We also both ordered the roasted rosemary potatoes, but they were cooked 15min too long.  Dessert was fantastic.  We had a chocolate raspberry torte cake and it was served with a glass of champagne with a strawberry.  Yum.

The band, Living Proof, starting playing about half way through dinner.  They were fantastic.  The female lead singer started off singing Etta James "At Last."  She nailed it.  They continued playing soft dinner music until around 9.  They then played a mix of 70's, 80's, and 90's dance music.   It was so much fun.  My feet gave out in my new shoes, but we had a great time.  I recommend this next year for someone looking for a romantic evening.  It really gave us time to talk about us, and ways we both would like to see our relationship grow.  We talked about things  we would like to change.  It really was just what we both needed.

For Valentine's Day, I made Dan a special candle light dinner and dessert.  I made Caeser salad, Lobster tail, oysters in a lemon garlic sauce, and my own roasted red potatoes.  We topped it off with a bottle of Chardonnay which paired really well with the sea food.  For dessert, I made white chocolate strawberry truffles, to eat while we enjoyed one of our favorite shows, House.  Yum.  (I'll share the recipe on a later post.)  This was a nice dinner, because minimal work was involved for me, but it was special enough for us to feel spoiled.  Oh, and Dan came home with a box of chocolates for me that he hand picked out.  So far I've had 3 pieces, and all three have been fantastic!

I hope everyone was able to have a Valentine to share the weekend with, and you two were able to do something romantic for each other.