Cooking Club-Romantic Dinner for Two

Our February Cooking Club theme was in honor of the upcoming holiday-Valentine's Day. My husband often says he likes my cooking better than going out to dinner. I don't know if he is just saying that to make me feel better or if it is actually true, but I appreciate the compliment.

Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year. I can only imagine what the restaurants are going to be like. We forgo dining out on Valentine's day, opting to go out the following weekend (which happens to be our dating anniversary). I have heard many people say the same thing, why spend a romantic dinner with 200 other people? Why not just cook at home?

I decided to host Cooking Club before I got too big & too tired. We had a great time & a great turnout (15 people!) On the menu for the night:

Feta & Mushroom Bread Tarts; Chicken Fig & Pancetta Bites
Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette; Cream of Asparagus Soup
Beef en Croute with Mustard Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Marsala; Minty Mashed Potatoes and Peas
Molten Lava Cakes; Raspberries in Champagne Gelatin

Some of the recipes are at home, so I will have to update the post later. I also don't have pictures of everything, so those who attended-please post a link to your blog/pictures in my comments section.

I think this was the favorite dish of the night: asparagus salad


Minty Mashed Potatoes & Peas:


Marsala Mashed Sweet Potatoes:


I tried to use ingredients that were deemed aphrodisiacs: asparagus, almonds, avocado, chiles, chocolate, figs, ginger, honey, & oysters.

Thank you to all the members who helped clean up, wash dishes, etc... My house was completely picked up-and we had a lot of dishes!