bubbling rosé & valentine's day

Valentine's weekend was a wonderful

one for Linguine and Dirty Martinis!

Thursday evening, I represented Linguine and Dirty Martinis at a delightful open house held at Melanie Jones' Prim & Proper boutique.

Lauren Essl of Blue Eye Brown Eye (who crafted my precious holiday tags), displayed a trunk show with her gorgeous letterpress and calligraphy creations.

A few shots from the evening:

Prim & Proper-- truly a unique boutique!

L&DM spread complete with romantic menu options

bright scarves & luxe gift wrap

L&DM coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Blue Eye Brown Eye trunk show

complimentary gift wrapping table for guests

calligraphy tags and cherry-red

paper at the wrapping station

(photo courtesy of Lauren Essl)

L&DM strawberry thumbprint cookies

(photo courtesy of Lauren Essl)

Blue Eye Brown Eye letterpress & hand-stitched cards

a plethora of bubbly including sparkling

red wine, rosé and champagne!

(photo courtesy of Lauren Essl)

take-away favors from Blue Eye Brown Eye

(photo courtesy of Lauren Essl)

After a fun evening of sweets, bubbly and shopping, I spent the following evening equally content at a Tuscan Valentine's event hosted by Mike Bloomberg, aka "The Romance CEO," and A Piece of Work painting studio.

Twenty couples sipped vino, snacked on Italian

appetizers, painted a beautiful Tuscan landscape and

enjoyed my Chocolate & Almond-Covered Cherries.

What a fun event!

After sugar-saturated events, I was looking forward to buckling down and preparing a 5-course Valentine's Day dinner for clients Monday evening.

My menu included:

Sweet Potato, Caramelized Shallots, Crispy Sage Pizette with a Brown Sugar Balsamic Reduction

Carrot Ginger Soup with Curried Crostini

Wedge Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing, Candied Pecans & Pomegranate

Rustic Chicken Pies with Herb Cream, Fennel, Butternut Squash & Heart-Shaped Pastry

Filling included sautéed celery, fennel, carrots, butternut squash and tons o' fresh herbs folded with chunks of roasted lemon chicken, pearl onions, peas and a creamy herb cream sauce.

Individual pies just about to hit the oven!

Pastry was a scratch-made pie dough of flour, cold butter, kosher salt and ice water.

Bosc Pear & Candied Ginger Tartlets with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

When I arrived home after a long day, I was greeted with my favorite flowers in shades of white and pale yellow from my valentine.

What beauties!

show love for your love

Just in time for the weeks surrounding St. Valentine's,

Linguine and Dirty Martinis will be offering intimate dinner services for a romantic dinner to remember.

Avoid busy restaurants and overpriced cocktails with a made-from scratch and elegant multi-course meal prepared and served in the comfort of your home.

Meal options include:

O p t i o n I

provencal goat cheese tart with caramelized onions

homemade mascarpone raviolos in an herb butter sauce

surf n’ turf:

seared filet of beef, chive lump crab salad, pomegranate reduction

chocolate pots de crème with a lavender anglaise

O p t i o n I I

pan-fried shrimp and leek potstickers with lemongrass soy

spinach salad with sautéed wild mushrooms and grapeseed oil

roasted tamarind salmon with a sweet chile potato puree and crispy broccolini

pear and crystallized ginger tartlets

O p t i o n I I I

carrot ginger soup with curried crostini

gorgonzola wedge with candied pecans and pomegranate

rustic-chicken pies with heart-shaped pastry, herb cream, fennel, butternut squash

chocolate-dipped cherries with crushed hazelnuts

O p t i o n I V

margherita pizettes with truffled balsamic

lemon caesar with pecorino and housemade breadcrumbs

seared sea scallops with pancetta and acorn squash risotto

lemon cinnamon soufflés

Visit Linguine and Dirty Martinis for more information.

Book your spot early! Valentine's week will fill up quickly.