SWEETHEART DINNER 2011

If you ask my family what is their favorite holiday besides Christmas they will tell you its Valentines Day.  My mother started the tradition at a much needed time in my young life and I have carried it on.  No one is allowed in the kitchen and they don't know what I am cooking until it is on their plates.  I keep my menu a secret and it drives them crazy.  I try to cook something new every year.  This year the menu was:
Appetizer: King Crab Legs and Snow crab legs steamed and served with butter
Main Course: Malambre (Stuffed Flank Steak with spinach, feta, cream cheese, asiago and bread crumbs:
                     Sweet Onioin Potatos Au Gratin
                     Corn on the Cob
Dessert: Triple Layer Tuxedo Cake with Whip Cream Frosting and Chocolate Ganache
We took the kids on a little treasure hunt and they got to find presents along the way.  We were pretty frugal this Christmas so with Tax Return we got each of them a big gifts.  Jake got a 4 wheeler, Savanna a power scooter, and Audrey got a net book.  We love our kids and know that it is not just hard on Mark and I with Mark's travel schedule, it is hard on them too, so we just wanted them to know how much we love and appreciate them in our lives.