Our Valentine's

This year to celebrate Valentine's Day, Brian and I were able to squeeze in two different celebrations. We decided we wanted to go out to eat to a nice restaurant we neither of us had been to before on Saturday and then on Tuesday have a relaxing evening at home. Surprisingly we had a bit of trouble getting reservations for Saturday. Apparently many others shared our same idea. We decided to try out MARKET located in the W Hotel Buckhead.

They were serving a Special Pre-Fixed 5 Course Meal, which we had each planned on ordering, but then last minute decided to order from their regular menu.

I ordered the Chili Oil Poached Alaskan Halibut, served with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and Parsnip and Brian ordered the Grilled Lamb Chop Mushroom Bolognese Pecorino. I was slightly embarrassed as we both cleaned out plates dry. The waiter said that my adding the oil to water when poaching the fish helps keep the moisture and seasoning into the fish. It was awesome!

And how do you celebrate a special occasion without dessert, so we each ordered one of their amazing treats. The Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote Quince Sorbet was calling my name and the Warm Apple Crumble with Cinnamon Ice Cream had Brian written all over it. Again, cleaned our plates. Our waiter even commented on how much we must have enjoyed our meal.

It was such a fun date night. We use to have Date Night the first Friday of every month. During the past year we have gotten out of habit of blocking out time for just the two of us. This is important and I cannot wait to do it again.

Our plan for Valentine's Day was to grill out at the house. Weather man told us that it was going to rain so we had to scrabble and change our plans. I had no idea what I wanted to cook but I knew I wanted to do something out of our standard weekly routine. Sweet Brian volunteered to go by the grocery on the way home from work on Tuesday but would not tell me what he was going to get. Truth be told, he did not know either until he got there. I was nervous I would end up like the cooking show on the Food Network called Chopped. Contested are giving a basket of random ingredients and told to prepare a meal. Luckily for me Brian did not bring home anything I had never seen before.

For starters he got us a little appetizer to enjoy while prepping dinner.

Smoked Apple Gouda and Peach Fig Preserve spread with wheat thin crackers

And his and her bottle of wine.

Dinner was salmon, sauteed zucchini and onions, roasted red potatoes, black-eye peas, and crescent rolls.

Everything was so nice and exactly what we needed after a hectic day at work. Brian said he wanted to get us a tasty dessert but nothing was jumping out at him. But he was able to find a sweet treat- Cinnamon Rolls.

I appreciate the effort and was tickled with his "dessert" of choice. My man loves him some bread. Thankfully we both agreed to wait until this weekend to enjoy these beauties.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day spent with loved one and/or doing things you love.