Valentine's Cupcakes

Ok, so I'm a day late posting these but for Dillon's mommy and me class we had a Valentine's Day party and I, of course, made cupcakes. I made yellow cupcakes with buttercream frosting and tucked a little surprise inside the cakes - a Hershey's Kiss. I topped each cupcake with pink, red and white Nonpareils and little pink and red hearts that I made from candy melts. They turned out super cute and all the other mom's were green with envy at my cupcake making skills (so, not really, but I did get a ton of compliments on them and was told that they looked store bought.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Unhappy Valentine's Day

The day started out great and was fine right up until I burned my hand. I stupidly - out of habit - grabbed the handle of the pan. Normally, it doesn't get hot - it has a silicone handle - but I cooked with it in the oven - a three-hundred-seventy-five degree oven. Ouch! After that, the steak got over cooked because I was distracted by the pain in my hand. Jason had to help me finish cooking everything else and he was nice enough to do the dishes after dinner... until the sink drain started leaking.

The day wasn't entirely a bust: Jason surprised me with a dozen red roses and chocolate covered strawberries (which went great with the cheesecake I picked up for dessert). The table looked great. The dinner was tasty - even with the overcooked steak.

So far today looks better than yesterday... The plumber just left and luckily the leak was covered under the warranty. And, my hand only has blisters in three spots - last night I was thinking my whole hand would be covered.

Happy Valentine's Day

A few years back, Jason and I started a Valentine's Day tradition. Tired of going out and dealing with the crowded restaurants, I decided that I would make us a fancier than usual dinner. The dinner menu is always a surprise to Jason and always something new. Last year we had fondue, the year before that it was a braised roast and homemade french onion soup. This Valentine's Day we are feasting on salad, prosciutto wrapped scallops, filet mignon with mushrooms and sauce pinot noir plus we are having mashed potatoes and green beans. I have not decided on a dessert yet - I'm hoping inspiration strikes when I head to the store in a few.

What are some traditions everyone else has?

I Do

I saw this on a few blogs and thought it was cute and perfect for Valentine's Day...

How long have you been together? Almost nine years

How old is he? Thirty-two

Who eats more? Usually Jason does

Who said I love you first? Jason

Who is taller? Jason – by about a foot

Who sings better? Me. I love to sing – but he plays the guitar like a pro

Who is smarter? In general I would have to say me. But he does have areas where his intelligence kicks my butt.

Who does the laundry? Usually me, but if he gets impatient waiting for his clothes to be done, he’ll do it himself

Who does the dishes? Both of us do, but thankfully we also have a dishwasher that does most of the work.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at the bed from the foot, Jason does

Who pays the bills? We have bills? Oh, that’s right, Jason pays them.

Who mows the lawn? Our gardener does.

Who cooks dinner? Chef Rachel… but we do eat out a few times a week.

Who drives when you are together? I hate to drive, so I am lucky that Jason is usually willing to be my chauffer.

Who is more stubborn? Me. Hands down.

Who kissed who first? It was kind of a mutual thing – but I would have to say Jason really made the first move

Who asked who out? Jason asked me out – he’s so cute!

Who proposed? Jason did. He proposed at Island’s Restaurant in Brea – it’s where we went on our very first date

Who is more sensitive? I’m the crier – I cry at everything!

Who has more friends? Jason. I am mostly friendless

Who has more siblings? Jason has three. I have one. But I also have three step-brothers.

Who wears the pants in the family? Jason. But technically, he wears the shorts because he rarely wears pants.

Valentine's Day

Well, yesterday was Valentine's Day. I hope yours was good...

I had a really nice one. Jason and I decided that we didn't want to go out due to the amount of people that eat out on Valentine's Day. (Are you shocked? See I told you we don't always eat out!) If we went somewhere and had a long wait, then had to wait longer to get our food, and then for us to eat, I don't think Dillon would be too happy. He does really well when we go out to eat, but we have yet to go somewhere and spend several hours there with him. So, anyway, I cooked us a nice dinner. It took me forever to decide what I was going to make, but we were both happy with my choices... Jason & I dined on Onion Soup and we did Fondue (Dillon had carrots and cereal - and some of our chiabatta bread). I will admit, I went a little crazy with the fondue: I made 5 sauces (Curry sauce, Mustard sauce, Onion-Horseradish sauce, Benihana Cream sauce and a Ginger sauce) and 3 meat choices (Shrimp, Sirloin and Beef marinated in a Horseradish marinade). I will be the first to admit that I went a little overboard and made way too much. I made so much in fact, that guess what we are having for dinner tonight - that's right - FONDUE! It's a good thing that we liked it!

For dessert we had my "Famous" (and now award winning) Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies. Jason had asked me to make them for a Valentine's Day Bake-Off at one of his clients' offices. Turns out that they are really good - They won 2nd place! I was happy especially since I didn't even know that there would be a contest.

I was so tired after all my cooking that I didn't do the dishes yet, so there is a sink full of dishes calling my name... Oh yea.