A Valentine for you....

Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day with lots of chocolate!

And maybe some pretty flowers!

The salad was just ducky......

I do not have much experience with duck - either cooking or eating. When I found the frozen duck breasts at the market, I decided the time had come. So Google and I did some research and came up with a salad of fresh greens topped with cherries, slivered almonds, blue cheese and a champagne wine vinaigrette. It was different and delicious. Thank you MyRecipes.com.

The cherries were pitted and halved.

The slivered almonds were toasted slightly over a low heat.

And the salad dressing was assembled.

2 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 Tablespoons Champagne wine vinegar,

1 Tablespoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used less) and 1/8 teaspoon pepper were blended together. 

Years ago I bought a Bonjour Caffe Frother. This handy little tool not only will froth milk but helps in making a vinaigrette. The one I have is probably no longer made but the company makes a similar one today.

I set a very simple table.

The white dish is Apilco and the salad plates are Guy Buffet.

Ingredients were assembled. The duck was grilled on top of the stove. Next time was shall cook it outside on the grill so that more of the fat drips off.

And keeping with the cherry theme - what else but a chocolate covered cherry for dessert!

I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for another Pink Saturday. This week we can share how we show our love. Cooking is a way that we share our love.

Wishing you all a Happy Pink Saturday and a Happy Valentine's Day!

Hearts in a shadow box.....

I saw this idea on a blog and although I believe I bookmarked it, sadly I cannot find it. So, thank you somebody. I have had this shadow box for a long time - just sitting on a shelf. One day while just reading blogs, a woman had cut out lots of hearts and was was folding them and attaching them to a bag. So in the spirit of using up "stuff" I already have, I punched out a bunch of hearts with a heart punch that was still in the box. Because glue was involved I lined the box with card stock (from the shelf of paper).

The hearts were folded in half to create a little dimension and glued in place.

I will display this for Valentine's Day and then perhaps make another display for Mother's Day.

As Martha would say, "It's a good thing!" And I didn't go to the store!

A Valentine for Charlie.....

As many of my followers know, I have been going through boxes and boxes of "stuff". It took me a long time to have the energy and will to do so. I have found some real treasures including this Valentine sent to my father in 1921. He was born in 1916. He died in 2001. I miss him. I was thrilled to find this in one of the boxes.

I will keep it displayed through Valentine's Day and then put away for another year.

He was a cutie as you can see.

I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday's Valentine celebration.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Meatballs and Spaghetti and Chocolate Truffles....

We had friends for dinner this past weekend. Jack did the cooking. It was wonderful. I set the table and chose the dessert. We always make the sauce ahead so the day of the dinner can be more relaxing. The last minute stuff in the kitchen for company no longer works as well for us as it used to.

The sauce and meatballs were made. The house smelled wonderful all day.

A few simple hors d'oeuvres before dinner. Nothing fancy.

Then the dinner....

The meatballs were perfect.

Then espresso and dessert. The heart shaped truffles are from Nancy's Candy Kitchen. They are delicious.

I set up the dessert on the Welch cupboard and used trays so that I could serve on the coffee table. It worked well.

This tray belonged to my Dad.

I remember him serving drinks on the porch and using this to carry them out. There is a stamp on the back which is quite worn but says Wenham Workbench, Wenham, Mass. Google failed me. I believe it is lucite with aluminum sides. I have been reorganizing the dish closet and have found some items I had forgotten about.

I hope everyone is having a good week. I know today will be good for us because we are having leftovers!