valentine's day doesn't have to be corny

unless you make my creamed corn

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I love Valentine’s Day! I do absolutely nothing special to celebrate it — no gifts for my kids, no special heart-shaped pancakes, no NOTHIN’, but for the past few years, George and I have cooked a really nice meal together, had a few GOWs, and set our laptops aside for the evening.

It’s a nice excuse for a date night in —I’m not into the prix fixe Valentine’s menus that restaurants insist upon, personally., And when done with a bit of intention, those can be the best kinds of date nights.

how to make a date night *in* different than every other night:

1. Set the table. Placemats, linen napkins, candles, maybe even some flowers if you’re feeling wild.

2. Ban sweatpants. Put on a cute (albeit comfy) outfit.

3. Try a new recipe and cook it together. (Recipe ideas below, duh). Make the date about the cooking, not just the eating.

4. If you’ve got ‘em, put the kids to bed first. They can eat hotdogs and broccoli that you boil in the same pot at the same time (this is my latest trick) or a frozen pizza by themselves.

5. Buy a special dessert. We don’t eat dessert on a typical night (or if we do, it’s just me eating ice cream on the couch), so this is a nice touch. We’re already cooking a fancy dinner, no need to make dessert ourselves.

a few recipe ideas + wine pairings + accompanying playlists

pasta alla vodka and a caesar //

A Valentine’s classic — it’s hard to beat. Throw on an Italian music playlist and crack open a bottle of Lambrusco to sip on while you cook. One of you can be on pasta duty, and the other can tackle the salad.

fried chicken sandwiches //

You can halve the recipe so that you don’t wind up with a ton of leftover fried chicken, but it actually reheats really well. It may seem like a lot of effort to fry chicken for just the two of you, but remember: this date night is just as much about the journey as it is the destination. It’s fun to tackle a project recipe like this together! Remember to brine the chicken in the morning for best results, but if you don’t have time, they’ll still be great.

You’re gonna need a nice dry sparkling rosé to pair with these sandos to bring the fun summer vibes, and give this feel good playlist a try. It includes both Taylor Swift and Hall & Oates, just sayin’.

pork chops with creamed corn and kale //

One of you (hey Katie Hendrickson!) cooked this recipe for an early Valentine’s date night in last week, which inspired me to write this entire post. Her exact words “it was a hit!!! So easy yet impressive!” I absolutely love this recipe and fully agree with the ease. One of you can tackle the pork and kale, the other can tackle the creamed corn and wine refills. The creamed corn is cream-less and truly addictive.

With this recipe, I recommend a nice bottle of Pinot Noir (Gary Farrell is a good one) and getting with to some folky John Prine and co. tunes.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I love you all!

xo Caro