Tonight’s dinner was better than last night’s special Valentine’s Day meal. Jay came over so I wanted to do chicken or fish.
– I had a bunch of parsnips in the refrigerator and wanted to do something different with them. This soup is good. It lists cream as an optional ingredient. I think cream would have been a nice addition – added body to the soup, but I didn’t add it. I tossed bread with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked it to make croutons rather than fry them as the recipe instructed. Jay really liked the soup.
– I did a similar stuffed chicken breast before, with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. This one was better. I really like doing chicken like this – it’s fast and relatively hands-off.
– The cauliflower was a big hit. I liked it this way, and so did Larry and Jay. Larry told me “this is a keeper”.
– Amy made this tea cake last week and that made me want to make it again. She used poppyseeds instead of caraway seeds, and I did the same. Yum.

• Parnsip & Leek Soup (Fine Cooking #48, January 2002, p. 55)
• Chicken Breasts with Parmesan-Herb Stuffing (Fine Cooking #45, July 2001, p. 60)
• Roast Cauliflower with Shallots, Tarragon and Lemon (Fine Cooking #50, May 2002, p. 52)
• Lemon Tea Cake (Fine Cooking # 63, March 2004, p. 65)

Wine: Ridge 2001 Lytton Estate Grenache. Yum!