A Valentine Meal for My Sweet, Year 2

This post is rather late, I know. After the deep appreciation for last year’s A Valentine Meal for My Sweet, it seems hubby now wants it to be an annual affair. I can’t complain, as planning for the V-day’s little feast always brings out my resourcefulness and creativity. It has been a busy month though. After getting wed, spending our honeymoon, travelling, going back to work and suffering from a car breakdown on the first week back, it seemed practical to focus on easy-to-prepare meals such as these ones ( I even forgot to prepare the soup).

Here’s to you, Mah Dear <3:

Salad: Tomato and Cheese Fans

A different way of presenting good’ ol Tomato and Mozzarella Salad I must say. Only that I didn’t have mozzarella. So I used the kesong puti (native white cheese) instead. I don’t regret it one bit. The trick is to pick an extra-large tomato, begin slicing it but stop short of cutting it all the way through, then insert cheese slices. Slather with some olive oil, season with salt, and decorate with chopped onion, herbs and what-have-you.

Pasta: Bangus-Malunggay Pasta, made from scratch

I’ve always wanted to make pasta from my favorite canned good of the moment, Century Tuna Gourmet Bangus Belly Spanish-style, (about fifty bucks from the supermarket), and this was the result. Instead of herbs, which I couldn’t find, I used malunggay leaves from the garden instead. Yeah I know, Europeans south of the Mediterranean Sea will crucify me for this, but I gotta experiment sometimes. This was a successful pairing 😉

Entree: Fish Fillet with Garlic-Anchovy-Caper Sauce

Adapted from the book Cooking Lessons by local author Beth Romualdez. This was creamy dory fish pan-fried till golden brown, then topped with anchovy-caper sauce. The accompaniments are mashed potato and green vegetables like grilled zucchini.

Dessert: Crepe with banana-rum filling

Soft crepes and caramelized bananas make a good mix. If you’re feeling too heavy, you may skip the crepe and savor the banana instead.

Banana crepe and tomato fan recipes were adapted from Fast Food My Way book of Jacques Pepin, the hubby’s favorite cookbook author.

P.S. I love the bearbrick in the background. It says “Eternally.” 😛 Bon Appetit! I should be able to post the recipes soon.