Starting in January, my boyfriend and I started something unknown to the both us…a long distance relationship. He graduated from Auburn in December (war eagle!) and being the smart and talented guy he is, he got a job before even graduating. He now lives in South Florida and in case you were wondering, that puts us roughly 9 hours and 21 minutes apart. Due to saved up SkyMiles and occasions such as his birthday and Valentine’s Day, we have been blessed to have the opportunity to see each other so much more than we expected.
With that being said, I was lucky enough to have my man fly out to see me in Auburn for Valentine’s weekend. I spent the actual Valentine’s Day with my girlfriends and picked him up on Friday in Atlanta! Side note -the Atlanta airport is only an hour and a half from my apartment, which makes it really easy (and affordable) for us to find flights to get to one another!! Since he was taking the time to travel, I didn’t want him to feel obligated to fight the Friday night crowd and take me out to dinner, so I planned a wonderful Valentine’s date at home for the two of us. Sometimes a simple night in is so much more special than the ones out at any restaurant.
Living in an apartment my space is very limited and I decided to decorate my tiny little kitchen table with some cheap and simple items. For the “tablecloth” I just used plain strips burlap because I have a bunch on hand. My cousin and I threw a baby shower for her sister back in October and for some of the decorations she had beautifully wrapped all these vases in yarn and I just loved the way they turned out looking. So… I decided to copy her style and do some of my own for my at home date. I also wrapped two of those super cheap candles that you can find at the Dollar Store.
These turned out too cute and they ended up being some of the easiest things I’ve made in a while! It did not need any adhesive or anything…you literally just wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap….you get the point. Because it was the week of Valentine’s Day, baby roses were on sale at Publix and that’s what I got for my vases. I thought it would be so weird buying flowers for myself, especially the week of Valentine’s Day…but sometimes a girl just needs to buy HERSELF some flowers…try it, they will without a doubt brighten your home.
My main focus of this at home date was dessert. I had been craving crème brûlée for some time and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try it out myself. I did not want to make a boring one either, so I found a fabulous recipe of Bobby Flay’s and went with it. I initially chose this recipe because it is Pistachio Crème Brûlée but of course could not find the Pistachio Paste that it calls for, which caused mine to be just plain vanilla bean. Pistachios are one of my absolute favorite things so I am currently on the hunt for Pistachio Paste for next time. I knew the actual custard was going to hold up just fine without the paste and so I stuck with the recipe! Here is a picture I took of the crème brûlée right after I torched it!! SO pretty if I don’t say so myself!!
LOOK AT THAT!!! Bobby did not stop it here with his recipe though…the topping that you add was what made the whole dessert. What could go wrong with crème brûlée, blackberries, pomegranate, and mint!? The answer is NOTHING.
I was nervous too because I had never actually seeded a pomegranate before, but it was really easy once I did it! The best thing I found, after watching a short YouTube video, is that if you put it in a big bowl of water it will not make a mess!! My camera unfortunately died before I could snap a photo of the topping on the actual crème brûlée, but I think with these photos you can get the idea of how great this dish was. Will be making again for sure!
Ingredients
1 quart heavy cream
2 tablespoons pistachio paste
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup pistachios, toasted
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for topping
6 egg yolks
1 pint blackberries
1/4 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
For the rest of the instructions click here!
I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day and were able to share it with the people you love! I know I did and there is just nothing better than getting to be with the your best friend and better half. I can truly say that I know the meaning of the phrase, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, but I sure don’t want to do long distance forever!! 😉
Have a great week everyone,
xoxo
Emily
sweetbasilblog.wordpress.com 