Happy Heart Day!

It may be a "Hallmark Holiday," but I, for one, really enjoy Valentine's Day. Red is, after all, my favorite color. OK, so I admit I've gone commercial....I buy my cards these days instead of gathering scissors, stickers, papers, glitter, and the like and then tediously cutting all the letters and hearts out of construction paper and painstakingly gluing them down to create original masterpieces. I still haven't reduced myself to buying baked goods at the store, though. I would rather have nothing baked at all than have something store-bought. I am a bit of snob in the baked goods department.

That's not to say that cake mixes don't have their place, they most certainly do. They form the base of many, many tasty recipes. But I worked in catering and was forced to dip into the 5-gallon bucket of "cream cheese icing" (or at least that's what they said it was) and the 4-lb box of cake mix comprised of man-made ingredients that I couldn't pronounce. It was simply indecent.

Last night I felt slightly more industrious than I have for the past few years. I decided to make good use of two of the literal dozens of Wilton cake pans that are stashed in the bottom of the hall closet. I am happy, though, on nights like this that I have that varied collection of aluminum shapes waiting for an excuse to be slipped into a 350 degree oven. Here's what Dave got as a special V-Day treat.

Every now and then I get the urge to make a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing which is what you see in the picture. Most of the time the thought of all that red dye coursing through my body's filtration systems makes me cringe, but on occasion I really enjoy a piece of well-made red velvet cake. And I know if I make it that it will be well-made which means using real, fresh butter and sans the trans fats that most red velvet cakes contain.

People who like/love red velvet cake have definite opinions about what their favorite one looks and tastes like. Some people like the bright red, almost fluorescent versions that contain a scant 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, if any. I am from the camp that likes a darker, more blood-colored cake that has about two heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder in the blend giving the cake a much richer, almost chocolate flavor. If you're interested in making a red velvet cake for yourself, let me know and I will pass on a great recipe that can be adjusted to accommodate your color and flavor preferences.

Moving on from the cake, Dave took me to my favorite Mexcian restaurant for dinner. It was the cheapest, most delicious dinner we've had recently! Then we came home and watched our latest Netflix movie, Mission Impossible III. It was a lovely day all around.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I hope you all feel surrounded by love.