Gumbo and Cornbread Love: Valentine's Day

(With a baby. I feel like all of my posts are how life is different, with baby or life is the same, with a baby.) Valentine's Day was fairly normal for us. We stayed in - I dislike going out on Valentine's because of the high expectations around forced romance. Brian and I worked together to hang out with the babe, make dinner and tidy up the dining room table enough for a meal with candles and flowers.

Valentine's Day 2014

Green Salad with Citrus and Almonds
Surf & Turf
Steak with Blue Cheese Butter & Broiled Scallops Provencale
Green Beans with Almonds
Chocolate Trio
Spiked Hot Cocoa, Chocolate Truffles, Sea Salt Chocolate Covered Caramels
French-style Apple Cider

Not to be too self-congratulatory, but it was an incredible meal. I think I've mentioned the steak with blue cheese butter before. It's a recipe from Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, a recipe I waited almost five years to try and we've probably had it five times in the past few months. The scallops was another recipe I waited entirely too long to try. It's from Serious Eats, posted back in 2012, and I've had it saved since then but never found a reason to pull it out. Scallops and cherry tomatoes are buried under a layer of basil breadcrumbs and broiled until just cooked through. I won't wait until two years to make it again and I'm brainstorming what else I can pair with the basil breadcrumbs.

I wrote a couple months ago that I was going to miss leisurely cooking a really good meal once we had a kid. Thankfully, while life has definitely changed, it's not all that different. I still think about what we're going to have for dinner. I get to have a glass of wine while standing at the stove. I'm taking trips to Whole Foods with my mom, trying new recipes and having fun with Caleb. If this is parenthood, I'm in.