v-day

I'm too full to blog. Since Valentine's Day fell on a weekday, I just decided it would be best to stay in and cook something nice. Maybe we'll hit up Spanish River Grill on the weekend or this new sushi place but it is wise to stay in all week this week seeing as it is Race Week (egads!).

I recently got this cookbook as a gift from Philip. I hadn't really looked through it until tonight when I was at a loss as to what to have for dinner. I'm not quite sure how 'seductive' the recipes. Do tortilla chips spell romance to you? I think he only paid 3 bucks for it so I guess I can't complain. I didn't really follow any recipes in the silly book but I came up with some ideas at least. The book really isn't all that bad, but lacks pictures which I think is the most important part of any cookbook.

So I decided on something light for dinner since I made creme brulée for dessert. I managed to find some fresh salmon fillets which I baked and drizzled with a red wine raspberry jam reduction. The sauce didn't thicken up at all and the flavors needed some doctoring but it was a nice complement to the salmon in small amounts. In addition, I chopped some romaine and added this wonderfully ripe mango tossed in a honey vinaigrette. Roasted asparagus with Parmesan and fine lemon zest finished it off. Now I'm digesting and sipping this pleasant Mumm champagne deciding whether or not to stuff down dessert. I'm a big fan of Alton Brown's creme brulée recipe. He uses vanilla sugar instead of regular and the consistency is totally on the mark. I've made it half a dozen times now and I don't think there is a need to try another recipe.

In other news, Tony Bourdain is my new friend on myspace?!