Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day! What are your plans for the evening? The Hubby and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday night. We watched The Proposal and had a four course dinner at home with some champagne. The table was set with our wedding china, crystal, and silver since it was a special occasion. We started with cocktails, pesto goat cheese from Appleton Creamery with French bread, and raw oysters. Then the Hubby made my favorite Belgium endive salad with roquefort blue cheese. We had stuffed Lobster with asparagus for the main course. It was so rich and delicious. I made Ina Garten's Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert. It was a wonderfully romantic evening. The Hubby even surprised me with flowers and pretty earrings. Tonight the Hubby is making Linguine with Clams (recipe below) from the Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook for us. He has made this recipe before and it's delightfully simple and delicious. I hope your Valentine's Day is as wonderful as mine. Love you Hubby!

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Linguine with Clams

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh clams such as littleneck or Manila, preferably baby clams

½ lb. dried linguine

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large clove garlic, peeled and left whole

¼ cup dry white wine

Kosher salt

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Rinse the clams under cold water and rub away any dirt with your fingers. The clams should glisten and feel clean. Discard any clams that do not close to the touch.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, tender but firm, according to the package directions.

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the clams, garlic, and wine. Cover and steam until the clams begin to open, 3-5 minutes. For clams that do not open, try to open them by inserting the flat end of a pair of tongs between the shells. If they open easily, return them to the pan. Discard any clams that do not open easily.

Drain the linguine thoroughly and add to the pan with the clams. Season the linguine liberally with salt and mix in a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss. Divide the linguine between warmed plates. Ladle the clam mixture over the pasta with the clam juices. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley on top. Serve at once. 

pg. 141, The Bride & Groom Cookbook, by Gayle Pirie & John Clark, chefs of Foreign Cinema