03 Feb, 2010
My favourite way to spend Valentine’s Day in Ottawa …
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Ottawa|Recipes and Food
… is eating. Seriously. Valentine’s Day, for me, is not so much about romance. It’s really just another excuse to eat my favourite foods.
When the girls were small, Mark and I weren’t easily able to go out and celebrate Valentine’s Day. First of all, it was nearly impossible to find a sitter. Second, the dinners we wanted to be eating were often more expensive than we can afford. And who wants to cook dinner on Valentine’s? Not me. Not ever.
I know I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating: order in. And I’m not talking about picking up a quarter chicken dinner at Swiss Chalet. Order in, but do it right. After all, it’s Valentine’s Day (and you deserve it!)
Attention parents-of-young-children-who-can’t-find-babysitters! Order a special freshly prepared dinner from a local caterer. And buy your own bottle of wine. You’ll get an amazing multi-course meal, eat it in the comfort of your own home, and save on sitters and cab fare!
Here’s how it works.
Step one: Check out the menus of a few different places beforehand and decide on your menu. Here are a few of my faves …
Epicuria Fine Food Store and Catering
Here’s their Valentine’s Day dinner menu. As an added bonus, KIDS EAT FREE when two Valentine’s meals are ordered. How awesome is that?
Thyme and Again Creative Catering and Take Home Food Shop
Here’s their menu. We’ve always had great success at Thyme and Again. Love their desserts. (There’s a Tahitian Vanilla Crème Bruleé on the menu this year!)
Red Apron
Here’s their menu (you’ll need to scroll). I haven’t ordered anything from Red Apron before, but I’ve heard good things. (Personally, I’d order the Breast of Chicken stuffed with Walnuts & Caramelized Apple. Be still my beating heart!)
Any others you’d suggest?
Step two: Call in your order.
Please note that each place has a different ordering deadline, and quantities are limited. You’d be smart to place your dinner orders ASAP. You won’t regret it!
Step three: pick up and reheat. All the dinners we’ve ordered in the past have come with simple instructions. All you need to do is heat and serve on pretty plates. And light some candles too. No muss, no fuss… just how I like it.
Afterwards you can loosen your belts and toddle over to the couch for some after dinner smooching, or TV, whatever floats your boat. (You can’t do THAT in a restaurant, now can you?)
Breaking bread with the one you love most… now that’s the way I like to spend Valentine’s Day!
