This Valentine’s Day was a busy one for us, so instead of heading out to a restaurant after a long day, we opted to have a quiet dinner at home.  On the menu: a delicious Slow-Cooked Beef Ragu over Pappardelle pasta.  [note: I used Beef Stock instead of water and bouillon, and used a cup of red wine as well. I cooked it on the stove for much longer than the recipe states–more like 4.5 hours–and it was well worth it].

I also made creme brulee for the first time, and rather than have the standard vanilla variety, we decided to try a coffee-based version: Espresso Creme Brulee.  I let my husband do the “torch work” because my tiny kitchen torch was out of butane, and the heavy-duty torch he uses in the workshop scares me.

Everything turned out great. Happy Valentine’s Day!