The V-Day

That inevitable day of the year has come and passed. People with significant others get droopy-eyed and dreamy, try to prepare something special, and also expect something special. All the shops, stores, restaurants try to capture these desire with special prix fixe deals and tackily packaged boxes of sweets. Not that I have anything against those deals, but usually within those boxes are sweets you could buy at any other time of the year,  just without the pink and sparkly wrapping. And the prix fixe deals are usually infused with unnecessary chocolate flavors (cocoa nib rubbed short ribs with chocolate cherry sauce, anyone?) and often disappoint people who would rather have the restaurant's essential dishes by locking them into the obligatory 3-course meal. 

I'm sure the people in the service industry probably had a hard time coming up with those menus. They receive my minimum credit. Then again, it was probably the poor waiters and waitresses with minimum wages who had to work their back off to cut out red paper hearts and decorate the chalkboards with inspirationally sweet quotes singing of everlasting love. Then there's the line-up chefs recreating those dishes all day with ridiculously sweet sauces, creating that last caramelized-golden touch to heart-shaped crème brûlées. Who said Valentine's Day was miserable only for singles? Think of all those people behind the counter, trying to scrape up more tips by offering another glass of champagne topped with chocolate covered strawberries. 

Enough complaining for now. My this year's V-day dinner was spent gloriously with a few of my girl friends at a neighborhood restaurant (started off by annoying our manager by informing him that it would be a party of four than the original six -"I will have to seat you guys at the communal table, as we are extremely fully booked tonight."). We feasted on a brussel sprouts salad with smoked trout, bacon, cherries, truffle deviled egg, and a lobster paella dish. 

The lobster paella did not have that crust that usual paellas finished in the oven has (neither did it come in the traditional cast-iron paella pan, as you can see below), nor did the rice have the chewy texture but was more on the soft side, but overall the paella was tasty. There were huge chunks of lobster, a few mussels, a shrimp or two and some clams. 

At the restaurant, we were met with a few oddballs (first our server-"Oh, my best valentine's day was also spent with the gals!" *wink*-unnecessary. Then this slightly loopy lady who came to us and started rambling, later I even saw her down one of our leftover cocktails- the shock!), but overall it was fun. An evening filled with mindless gossip, passionate ranting about school and the future was well called for. Oh, a few of us did not fail us by ordering those rosé sparking cocktails with that quintessential chocolate covered strawberry. 

I also lived up to the spirit of Valentine's day by baking a chocolate stout bundt cake, recipe credit to seriouseats.com. I used the 2X stout from Southern Tier brewery, which was quite hoppy and strong for a stout (7.5% alcohol). The cake itself was dense and chocolatey, with a slight alcohol scent to it due to the strong alcohol content of the beer. The crust was slightly crisp and chewy. It paired nicely with the Chunky Monkey Ben & Jerry's ice cream which it was served with later in the evening. 

This is actually my first baking project ever in my new house! If you don't count that one instance when S brought her dough and baked cookies. Now, that time was the first time I used my oven, and I had no idea the bottom drawer actually heated up (I thought it was for storage!). Then my oven mitten inside caught on fire (yes, I was using that space for storage!). Then my entire apartment started to fill up with smoke. And that was a night of girls' get-together so all the girls started panicking and it turned into chaos... okay, that's a story for another day.

The oven didn't really cooperate with my own baking project this time either. I pre-heated my oven to 350F, and halfway through the batter I could not feel any heat from the oven. The janitors took forever to arrive; I got frustrated and started calling up all the neighbors I knew to borrow their oven. When they showed up at last, they said: "Wait, this place is reeking of gas," the moment they walk in the door! They started opening all the windows, it became freezing cold and I started freaking out because I hadn't even noticed the gas smell. What if I had tried to light a candle and the spark just caught the gas on fire?! I would have met my end with only my chocolate batter to keep me company... The story of the girl and her stout cake...

Fortunately, I am alive and well, the oven was fixed, and my bundt cake came out beautifully, too! I made a quick chocolate glaze and drizzled it on top. A nice touch, eh? 

The cake did break into two pieces while I was tapping it out of the pan. But I swear, I was thinking of making a glaze before that happened. The glaze is not a cover up. Cakes need glazes. Always. Glazes and love stick everything together. xoxo, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!