Photo by Tomas Vydrzal

I don’t know about you, but January has lasted about 293 days. Since having burnout from 2020, new year fog and democratic turmoil, I’m only now just surfacing and realizing that next Monday is February 1^st, and that Valentine’s is only two weeks away. Um, what.

I’ve never been one to go full throttle on Valentine’s, but it always been a holiday that my husband and I make time for a nice dinner together. Either we have a night out on the town a few days before or after Valentine’s, or we cook a nice dinner at home. This year particularly, after a year of pandemic parenting two kids under five… we need a DATE. I’m not alone in this sentiment, and I bet collectively we all need a reason to get out of our pajamas, put our technology away and have some fun.

So we’ve been doing some research for you and have compiled a few lists and details of options for you to have some fun with your Valentine!

Cooking at Home

Food is love and we think there’s no better way to show your love than to cook someone a fantastic meal.  In A Bite of Boulder, here are the top recipes we think would really be a home run on a home date night:

• Oysters Rockefeller – Pg. 134 – a top aphrodisiac
• Garden Vegetable Risotto with Lobster – Pg. 68 – luxurious lobster
• Café Aion Paella – Pg. 44 – a dish to share
• Skirt Steak with Chimichurri – Pg. 26 – hello, beautiful steak!
• Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli – Pg. 78 – classy appetizer
• Sake Marinated Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter Sauce – Pg. 34 – wow your valentine and toast with the leftover sake
• Hamachi Carpacchio – Pg. 74 – sushi at its finest

Dining Out: Dining In and Takeout

Several Boulder County restaurants are serving up incredible menus for Valentine’s Day Weekend (and eating out means you don’t have to do dishes either!) Here’s a few we found:

A Gift for your Valentine

Experiences are a great gift to surprise your Valentine with – and what we miss most about pre-pandemic life! Have no fear, here are several great (safe) events we think would make a great date night:

• Wine Tasting with Opening a Bottle (Virtual) Saturday, 2/13, 6:00 – 7:30PM
  • White Wines from the Garden of France: A Virtual Tasting of the Loire
    openingabottle.com/event/white-wines-from-the-garden-of-france-a-virtual-tasting-of-the-loire/

• Chocolate Tasting with John Lehndorff and Boulder Bookstore (Virtual) Sunday, 2/14, 2:00 – 3:00PM
  • Join the Boulder Bookstore Chocolate Club as they meet to taste different chocolates all around a unique theme.
    boulderbookstore.net/chocolate-club-feb-21 

• Cheese and Wine Pairing Pairing Class with Cured (Virtual) Sunday, 2/26, 5:00 – 6:30PM
  • Enjoy tasting and learning about five cheeses and five paired wines from your favorite local cheese shop owners, Coral and Will Frischkorn.
    curedtogo.com/product/first-bite-boulder-cheese-and-wine-pairing-class-2-28-from-5-6-30pm-on-zoom-/666

If you’re more of a traditional gift giver, we love that too! I mean, who doesn’t love getting a gift? Here are a few great gifts from our favorite partners around town:

• A Cured gift box full of nibbles and treats curedboulder.com/product-category/gift-box/
• Some gorgeous locally made chocolates from Sweet Ruckus Gifts sweetruckusgifts.com
• Love the Local Gift Box from Downtown Boulder Partnership – Order by Feb 1 for Valentine’s Day Delivery! boulderdowntown.com/gift-box-guide
• A Bite of Boulder Cookbook! firstbiteboulder.com/cookbook/

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at First Bite!

Food is Love!