In addition to being Valentine’s Day weekend, it is also R and my anniversary.

Que the rolling of the eyes.

Super sappy, I know.  R swears that our little romance began on the date of our first official date, as opposed to the day we met (which was my vote strictly due to our first date coinciding with Valentine’s Day).

And so, we become that obnoxious couple who really celebrates Valentine’s Day weekend.

In spite of myself, I have really been looking forward to this weekend.  I’ve got a guy in my life who I love more every single day (go ahead- another eye roll is totally ok), a cat that brings us endless entertainment and an apartment we have made into a home we adore.  I’ll take a weekend of unabashed celebration, no problem.

Plus, I love setting a really nice table.

First up, dinner at home tonight.  Chianti Braised Short Ribs, cavatelli with vodka sauce and sun-dried tomato & roasted red pepper risotto.  For a girl that doesn’t eat short ribs (or long ribs for that matter) and who did not read the actual recipe and therefore, did not know that braised short ribs take 3+ hours, the meal was delicious and the perfect thing to warm up a particularly frigid day.

Happy Friday!

A Saturday night post-blizzard and 4 friends.

Que the revival of Chicago Magazine’s July 2010 issue: Best Pizza.

It’s no secret that Chicago has a wealth of delicious pizza joints.  We’ve all had Giordano’s and Gino’s and Lou Malnati’s (in fact, if you’ve gotten married in the last year, chances are that you’ve received Lou’s deep dish in the mail from Ryan and I) but what about the lesser known purveyors of ooe-y, gooe-y, cheese-y goodness?

#10 on Chi Mag’s list was our Saturday night choice- the infamous Pequod’s up on North Clybourn.

Thick, golden crust melded perfectly with the cheese (none of that hunk ‘o cheese meets cornmeal business you get from Gino’s) and the sauce was chunky and sweet.  And plenty of it, which is no small feat considering that Ryan is endlessly complaining about the lack of ample sauce on pizza.

A few bottles of wine, a few hours of catching up about job searches, ski trips, being snowbound and how the heck we’re going to make it through the rest of this winter was exactly what that frosty Saturday night called for.

So grateful.  For good pizza and even better friends.

Next up on our Chicago Pizza Tour: Castel Gandolpho

(photo via CBS)

The MVP at my house this Super Bowl Sunday was the (semi) homemade Turkey Meatball Subs.  Brainstorming a menu on the way to the store usually doesn’t drum up creativity but we definitely surprised ourselves!  For as easy and delicious these subs were, it was a totally culinary touchdown.

Turkey Meatball Subs

1 bag frozen turkey meatballs (Trader Joe’s are my fav)

1 green pepper

1/2 white onion

Rolls

Tomato Sauce

Red Pepper flakes

Basil

Mozzarella Cheese

Saute a clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil; add green peppers and basil.  Cook until peppers are well covered and starting to soften.  Add thawed meatballs, tomato sauce and onion.  Add some red pepper seed to give the dish a kick.  Toss until everything is covered in sauce; reduce heat and simmer for as long as you like but at least 20 minutes (or like we did it, until we were done with our bbq chicken wings and queso).  Spoon onto fresh, soft rolls and top with mozzarella cheese.

Heart.

I made it through the night and am happy to report that 70 mph winds (!!!) did not break my windows as I feared and that I did not, in fact, get sucked out.

Annnnnd it’s still snowing.  19 inches and counting….