A Sorrento Valentines...

Morning everyone!  Hope you guys had as sweet of a Valentines day as this faceJ

VALENTINES Recap:

6:45-7:15am:  Dance + Weights x2 + 1 minute plank

9:30am:  Breakfast-  Banana with Peanut Butter

Katie & I shared a nice breakfast yesterday to start the day.  Hers = mashed & Mine = Filled with peanut butterJ

She also did get to nibble on a couple mini chocolate chips (and a few pieces of dried oatmeal) while we tackled our baking project later that morningJ

12:30pm:  Lunch- Strawberry Salad 

And since I knew dinner was going to be CARB OVERLOAD CENTRAL, I knew I had to have a breadless lunch (and breakfastJ).  In this mix:

• Spinach
• 5 diced strawberries  (Katie got a few of those tooJ)
• Handful diced walnuts
• Feta
• Drizzle of olive oil

SO GOOD!!!!!!

2:30pm:  Snack-  Banana Oatmeal Muffin

While Katie & I were baking up our special Valentines dessert for the night, I decided to throw together these muffins for breakfasts/snacks for the week.  They are SOOOOOOOO good and have NO FLOUR & NO ADDED SUGAR.  Just bananas, almond milk, vanilla, oats, eggs, baking powder & mini chocolate chips.  They take about 10 seconds to throw together and they couldn't taste better.  Seriously, TRY THESE ASAP!  

6:00pm:  Dinner- Pasta e patate con provolone  (or in simpiler terms:  Pasta with potatoesJ)

So in keeping with our little Valentines tradition of cooking a dinner for Scott that has memories tied into one of our trips, tonight I took us back to a lovely little patio in Sorrento and attempted to make our absolute FAVORITE dish from Italy (and all of 2011!)

Like most Italian dishes, this was a dish with simple ingredients & simple preparation with excellent results.  I sauteed a diced onion in a pan with olive oil, then added 3 diced potatoes and enough boiling water to cover the potatoes.  I let that boil for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes were soft.

Next, I added a handful of ditali pasta & 1/4 pound of spaghetti broken into small pieces.  I added some heated chicken stock (or you can use vegetable stock), to cover the pasta.  I let everything cook together until the pasta was al dente (about 7 minutes...but the ditali took a few more minutes.  Just keep testing it!)  Stir occasionally to release the starches of the pasta & break up some of the potatoes to make a creamy 'sauce'...

Finally, I added a TON of shredded provolone & some Parmesan for taste...

So there's 2 things that separated my dish from the Italy dish (well, besides the lack of dining on the Amalfi coast & listening to an Italian church choir practiceJ):

1. I DID NOT add enough broth.  The Italy dish was party stew/part pasta dish.  I'll have to remember that the next time I tackle this.
2. The provolone was JUST NOT THE SAME.  Apparently the Provolone del Monaco used for the dish is region specific & is made under rigid standards to ensure it's perfection.  And perfection it is.  While my dinner was good...nothing beats the original.  My hats off to you AGAIN, La Stuzzichino!

Regardless, we enjoyed it.  As did Katie (who may have SLIGHT memories of this dishJ).  She particularly enjoyed the patateJ

After dinner, gifts were exchanged (someone lovvvveess getting cardsJ)

 And then dessert was served...

In ALSO keeping with my Valentines tradition of an ooey-gooey chocolate dessert, this year I went with a...

Well, you'll have to look HERE for the nameJ

A poked chocolate cake filled with a layer of melted salted caramel & condensed milk and topped with whipped cream & heath bar...

So when you sliced the cake, you had pockets of caramel & a 'drenched with goodness' cake.  (albeit, 4 bites in and I felt like I was going to go in a legit sugar coma!) 

We both liked it....but that's all we'll say about THAT!   

So that wraps up our Valentines day!  We're both excited for our Saturday day trip of "Valentines day by Scott."  I hear it involves BURGERS, so it should be a good one!

Have a great weekend & HAPPY FRIDAY!!