Valentine's Day

Okay this post is called Valentine's Day but really it is all about food. One of my goals in life was to learn how to make awesome cinnamon roles. (I know I should really make more important goals.) Growing up my friends mom Mrs. Hawker made fabulous cinnamon roles. I remember going over to her house for lunch and having warm cinnamon roles for dessert. Seriously it does not get better than that. Anyway I believe I have finally mastered them thanks to Mrs. Hawker and for Valentine's day I put a twist on them (Thanks Anne) and made heart shaped cinnamon roles with pink frosting. The girls thought they were the coolest things ever and I am sure they will request them this way from now on.

On to the rest of our Valentine's food. I love, love, love cooking. It is a hobby of mine. I am always trying new things and tweaking recipes to make them my own. So when the movie Julie and Julia came out I had to see it. My sweet husband took me to see it on my birthday and I just loved it. I now own the movie and have seen it a dozen times and have totally been wanting to get a hold of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I remember when I was younger my Grandpa would watch Julia Child. He was a fabulous, patient cook that made lots of wonderful fancy foods. I have been more of a non-fancy home cook but this movie has inspired me to try some nicer things. Anyway I decided to make Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon for our Valentine's dinner. Oh my goodness it was fabulous!! But it was very time consuming ( I started it at 11am and we ate at 5pm) and kinda expensive. It made a ton of food and the leftovers were great for lunch today. I actually woke up excited for lunch. I invited a friend over to come eat it with me because I wanted to share the yumminess.(Is that a word?)

Here it is in all of its glory. I know, not that exciting looking but totally worth it. It is also in my new favorite pot. I doesn't look special but it is awesome (Thanks so much Nana). Anyway, dinner was a success. I served it with mashed potatoes, carrots, and homemade bread. The girls all loved it but I think they were most excited about the fancy glasses and sparkling cider. Audrey waiting for dinner with her cute cheesy smile:) The girls are anxiously awaiting us to all sit down so they could dig in!

Overall it was a nice day spent with our family. I must admit after spending all day in the kitchen I totally went to bed early. I don't think I could ever be chef in a restaurant all day. Cooking is a killer on your back. I can't wait to get Julia Child's cookbook and try some more new things.