food = love

Valentine's Day. I think of it mostly as a crock of nonsense. Saint Valentine was a special guy, but Hallmark takes advantage of his martyrdom, for sure.

For me food is always love. Not just on V-day. On this particular Sunday of love we were already looking forward to dessert. The whole day we had our brains and eyes and tongues holding out for a recipe from Giada for Orange and Chocolate Zeppole.

We had already whipped up a little fondue appetizer. We weren't in the mood to mess around. A gruyere fondue with Zingermans baguette slices.

We had impressionable children in the house, so as much as we wanted to skip right to the italian doughnuts, we had to put together a little dinner. Just remember it's all about the portion size. Use smaller plates, people.

the last bite of

Seared salmon with a tomato rub, homemade lemon aioli
Black olive tapenade orzo
pan-seared asparagus (threw them in the salmon pan for the last 3-4 minutes)

Here's the finale. This is what we were waiting for. Zeppole dusted with orange sugar dipped in warm chocolate ganache. This wasn't just in honor of the day of love. This also happens to be the week of fat Tuesday, a holiday close to the heart of Michigan.

don't you want to lick the edge of this ..... mmmmmm ... warm chocolate ganache

Sugar. Garrett Gue.
(I'm a sucker for simple music, just as I am for simple food)