Happy Day After Valentine’s Day

Normally, I don’t do follow ups to a prior post unless I’m making changes to an already existing recipe. Those of you who have been following along know that this year for Valentine’s Day I decided to build an entire Surf and Turf menu around Pink Margaritas. I’m here to tell you, the night could not have gone better. One of the biggest reasons for success was that I had spent the entire afternoon doing as much prep work as possible. I even had the dessert organized and ready. That’s a good thing, because those cute little Pink Margaritas at the start of the evening were killer. I don’t think I could have managed wheedling a knife after drinking margaritas – at least not safely.

Prepping and staging is so important, especially if you are working alone. Usually, when I’m executing a big, multi-stage productions I have my Sous Chef and Expediter (aka Kiddo and Hubby) to help me. If you are tackling a meal that has a lot of different parts demanding attention, here’s the most practical way to tackle it. Print out the recipes, prep all the ingredients, and line them up behind the recipe in the order needed. I’m fortunate in that I have a tall prep table in the nook just off the kitchen. Perfect for staging when cooking. It leaves the counters free for any small last second details. Here’s a little piece of advise, if you can get a prep table. It doesn’t need to be a professional prep table. Mine is a tall dining table that expands for extra room when we need it. Even something as simple as a folding card table will be of help, and you can put it away when not in use.

So why today’s post besides looking at my prep table? The pictures of our Valentine’s Day Supper turned out nice and I wanted to share those.

A Romantic Table for Three – Hubby, Kiddo and me.
Hubby’s flowers made a beautiful centerpiece for the table.

Our South of the Border Main Entrée
Chipotle Shrimp
Pan-Seared Filet Mignon
Spicy Rice Pilaf

A Beautiful Caramel Apple Enchilada served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 

Here hoping your day of Romance was all you wished for. Have a great weekend everyone!

If you are interested in the actual recipes, be sure to check out Romance with a Mexican Influence.

Author: Rosemarie's Kitchen

I'm a wife, mother, grandmother and avid home cook.I believe in eating healthy whenever possible, while still managing to indulge in life's pleasures. View all posts by Rosemarie's Kitchen