The Perfect Valentine's Date

Ahh February. Otherwise known as the month of love. It’s the time of year where romantics sit and wait for their loves to present them with a gift that showcases their love. C’mon, I know you are wanting to get a little spoiled for the occasion, aren’t you? I’m sure you aren’t picky though. You probably don’t need a gift per say, but you likely just want to know that someone is thinking of you. Does that sound about right?

Throughout the years, I have discovered that one of the best ways to show someone you are thinking about them is to simply do something nice for them. Like making dinner, for example. That’s why my husband and I work hard to be sure that we fit in a dinner date at least a couple of day per month. Because we like to eat healthy and we like to maintain a healthy budget, oftentimes we try to make sure that these date nights are actually done at home. That being said, just because we have them at home, doesn’t mean we don’t want it to have a romantic date night feel to it. This is especially true on Valentine’s Day. In an effort to beat the crowds, save money and keep the evening more intimate, we always do our Valentine’s Day dates at home. My husband and I cook together and we also prepare the table together.

In order to prepare the most beautiful, romantic table, I first cover the table with a Damascato Table Cover, get out 2 settings of our finest china (okay, we only have one set of China, so that would qualify it as our best), and my favorite wine glasses. Then I bring out my favorite set of candlesticks, the ones I got as a gift for my wedding years and years ago. The thing is, regardless of what is being served, a nice candlelit dinner at home with the one I love is just about the perfect evening in my eyes.

We always have a 3 course meal on Valentine’s Day, it’s just our tradition. We start with a nice salad, main course and then followed up by a romantic dessert.

This year I have already planned the entire meal and I am really looking forward to the finished product.

We will be starting with this Strawberry Fields Salmon Salad which I’ve never had before, but it looks amazing! I like a lighter salad that won’t weigh me down, and this one looks like it will be perfect. I will prepare the salmon the day before so it is done and ready.

For dinner we will be having Cheesy Sausage and Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts, made in the Superstone® Bread Dome. If you have never cooked using the Superstone® Bread Dome before, it makes some amazing dishes including chicken and meat dishes and the bread you can make with it is out of this world. Anyway..with these stuffed chicken breasts, we plan to make grilled asparagus and potatoes au gratin. Of course we will be serving it with my favorite Chardonnay.

Then for dessert, we are going to make these Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownies. I am a chocolate junkie through and through and these look decadent, ooey, gooey and delicious. I am saving up all of my junk food calories just for this moment so I am really looking forward to it. I am not, however, looking forward to the cleanup though, so I am planning to bake the brownies in these round paper baking pans so that I don’t have to stress too much about cleanup. I don’t know about you, but spending Valentine’s Day cleaning up a brownie pan mess doesn’t sound like fun to me.

Well, now that I just walked you through what my Valentine’s Day will look like. How about you? Do you have plans yet?

If you too are planning a lovely meal cooked at home with the one you love, be sure to have your presentation ready. This week you can save 10% on Damascato linens when you use promo code 10DAMA. These will help dress up your table for a romantic meal.

If my menu doesn’t look as good to you as it does me, be sure to head on over to Pinterest and look for more great recipe ideas.