We have a Valentine's Day tradition in our house, of allowing the kids to prepare a course for the February 14th meal. It's a great way to celebrate the evening (at home). You're not rushed in and out of a restaurant, etc. The kids enjoy being involved, so we went a step further this year. We decided that we would all get dressed up after we prepared our course. We got "fancy", as our little ones say. It was a lot of fun, and I recommend this to anyone that has kids. Stay at home and make it fun. The fine china was out, fancy glasses, grandma's silverware, tablecloths. I bought so much wood from a garden center, that they made me get unto a scale. A roaring fire tonight. I say!

Once the table was all setup, the menu was to be worked on. I had the appetizer. I was going to be daring this year. Grilled garlic shrimp, was what I planned. The GL butcher at Lund's questioned my selection. "The Rookie will be eating.....SHRIMP?" He directed me to some grey, dull looking shrimp, sitting behind the glass. I wanted the orange and white ones. "They are already cooked," he said. I didn't realize that if I was to soak this stuff in oil and garlic, I needed to buy the raw stuff. Nervously, I did buy them, and it was the right choice. Thanks, Butch.

Back to the rest of the menu.

Grilled Garlic Shrimp (that had me out on the grill...nobody's counting in the garage)

Smiley Chop Salad (complete w/ cooked bacon, croutons, and your choice of dressing)

Beef Tenderloin (a pepper/garlic rub)

Feta Cheese Potatoes (Feta scared the kids at first, but they loved them)

Carboara Pasta (pasta with egg and sausage)

Petit Fours (small cakes from La Patisserie)

Desert Plate Surprise (No awards for presentation, but very good and sweet)

If you want your kids to remember something for a long time, make a big deal out of something, and let them be part of it. It sounds cliche, but with busy schedules, you run out of time a lot, and being at home for something like Valentine's Day, makes it all worthwile. The best part about it is to see what they come downstairs wearing. There idea of "fancy" is everything from a First Communion dress, to camouflage army guy. The worst thing that happened that night was the smoke alarms going off, when the damper was not opened far enough. I guess that I'm just giving them something else to remember.

Overall, it was great to cater our own party, eat a wonderful meal, not have to rush, and be in for the evening. Sure, we can start our own family catering business, going out to houses to execute this perfect meal. Just don't plan on February 14th, we already have reservations......at home.