True Love

The ultimate 'Hallmark Holiday' was upon us, Valentine's Day. Many people scoff at this day or reluctantly abide by the pressures and demands from society to shower their loved ones with copious amounts of fine chocolate and floral arrangements. Siege and I, silly romantics that we are, embrace it with reckless, I mean, romantic abandon.

It was suggested that I take the holiday day off so she could express her love for me in a most impressive fashion by making me dinner this time around. It should be noted that Siege considers herself only somewhat capable in the kitchen...but she's just being modest. No, she's more than capable and this dinner was a prime example of her skills.

Let me preface by saying that Siege doesn't even like pasta very much, especially big, "clunky," as she puts it, pasta. But she knows that I am a straight up "pasta fiend" and rarely get to devour the starchy delight. So it was with true love and thoughtfulness that she set out to make me Baked Ziti with Meatballs.

Well what did you expect? This is Sunday Gravy.

This is a dish I've talked about having for quite some time, but for one reason or another have never gotten around to making. This version was just as I had imagined it, a beautiful concoction of tart tomato sauce balanced out by the creamy awesomeness of whole milk ricotta cheese, which gave the dish a surprising fresh texture and almost a lightness. The moist flavorful meatballs were also a nice touch that added just the amount of "heft" to put this meal in the "kick ass" category.

We decided to keep our Valentine's day dinner rooted in Italy with our wine choice for the evening. The 2004 Castello di Monastero is one of the finest examples of Chianti Classico I've had. The Dark Cherry bouquet, subtle tannins, and lively fruit flavors melded nicely with our ziti.

We finished our V-Day on a high note with a truly seductive chocolate hazelnut tart, Siege baked, that was the perfect blend of toasty nuttiness and chocolate decadence. It was truly a night to savor and remember.