Thanks for the Chicken!

Last night I was treated to the most romantic and delicious Valentine’s Day dinner, and it was NOT from my husband!

My 14 year old son offered to make a Valentine’s Day dinner for us. It started with glasses of wine at our bistro table outside by the lake. When it became dark and buggy we were remanded to the bedroom, so as not to ruin the surprise.

Forty-five minutes later, after some pot banging, scurrying around and typical kitchen noises, we were allowed out. The staircase was lined with tealight candles, the table was set beautifully and Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” was playing on the stereo.

We were presented with a beautiful candlelit dinner of Teriyaki Chicken with a dish of riceballs garnished with black sesame seeds. Accompanying the dinner was pineapple sticks garnished with chopped scallions. My son soaked the pineapple in water first to remove the acid bite. (I never knew this trick) He said he sort of followed a recipe, but added many of his own touches. I can’t imagine a better tasting dish, so I must conclude that his ‘touches’ are far superior to the recipe he started with.

He said dessert presented some creative problems for him, as we don’t normally have dessert ingredients in the house. Dinner was topped off with strawberries and sliced bananas on skewers, accompanied by a fudge dipping sauce that he created by melting an ice cream bar which was in the freezer.

We were both amazed at the thought, creativity and romance put into this wonderful Valentine’s Day gift. All from a 14 year old who can’t remember where he left his keys!

Girls…get in line!