Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Fireside Dinner


Instead of bringing flowers home at the end of the day, Tim surprised me with roses at breakfast. He kept them in the garage overnight. Lovely, deep red ones.



I've not taken many (or any) photos of our home since the move. That's because most of our big pieces of furniture - dining room table and chairs, couch, loveseat, china cabinet, piano, bookcases, etc. are still in Parksville, making the house there look more attractive to buyers. That hasn't worked yet, but we're praying that it will soon. For now, we have a small couch, one easy chair, our kitchen table and chairs and a few end tables and our bed, plus a few odds and ends. Functional, but a bit sparse.


So last night, we lit a fire and some candles, spread a blanket on the carpet, and enjoyed a meal of homemade tapas. It was different. It was fun. 



One tapa was Quinoa Pepper Verrines. Verrine is a French word, and in this sense means a glass, or food in a glass dish. I found the recipe here on Tartelette's blog. Because I had no avocado, I made a roasted red pepper cream to top it off. 



Sizzling oven baked shrimp was another course, along with stuffed mushrooms, roasted asparagus wrapped in Tuscan ham, and Patatas Bravas - roasted potato slices dipped in a spicy tomato sauce. The Patatas Bravas recipe came from a Fine Cooking magazine, but the recipe is also on their website. Just click the link above.



To finish it off I made Lemon Meringue Cups - lemon meringue pie without the crust, baked in custard cups. Clicking the link will take you to my recipe blog. 


Tim is always willing to try new dishes, which is a good thing since I love to try new foods. Or serve familiar foods in different ways. This was great for conversation, unhurried and fun.



11 comments:

  1. Now that looks like the perfect Valentine's Day meal to me! Hope your home sells soon!

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  2. What a romantic evening! I love the photo of your fireplace and setting. Just so beautiful and love the mood it puts you in. lol...
    Your foods look delicious!!
    What an awesome surprise of beautiful deep red roses!! Your Tim is a gem!!
    Brenda

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  3. Yes, the food looks delicious and so does the idea of spending unhuried time by the fireplace!

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  4. Hope your old house sells soon! Fingers crossed. Sorry if I haven't visited in a while, I'm crazy busy with my painting!
    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a nice note. My Mom is wearing an old striped apron my Granny made :) Love it too, thanks for noticing it!:)
    Monica xo

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  5. I love your red and white dishes, Lorrie. A fireside dinner looks bvery romantic!

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  6. That sounds wonderful! Y'all are much fancier cooks than we are. We grilled a steak and shared it. Had salad! And some delicious chocolate pie that I bought!!! ha! My niece that got married in May.... her husband kept the roses in the car in water overnight, too! My husband got my roses on the 13th and gave them to me then ... ha......avoid the crowds.

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  7. ...and I wanted you to know I printed out the recipes!

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  8. You know how to make it special even if you don't have a lot of furniture. Guess it isn't all about the furniture after all. These foods and recipes are completely new to me...very enticing, especially the Quinoa Pepper Verrines. Course, I want them to taste like tapioca. I'm pathetic!

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  9. Now that is an original and very special way to celebrate a marriage on V day!

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  10. Oh my that shrimp looks super yummy!!!!

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  11. Not having the furniture obviously does not stop you from preparing delicious food. Looks very cosy in front of the fire.

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