Here we were again, Valentine’s Day. Yes, it comes around once a year.

What a lovely surprise last Wednesday morning to find two boxes of chocolates and a loving card from Constant Companion. I was up and out early to work at a student matinee at the theater. Almost 400 high school students came to enjoy the current play.

My gift was a surprise dinner to the family was based on a recipe I had sought on-line. Several neglected packages of chocolate pasta from Daughter’s days selling Pappardale’s Pasta at Seattle’s Pike Place Market inspired me. Pappardelle’s is a Colorado-based gourmet food company specializing in handcrafted, flavor-infused pastas, sauces & pesto (https://pappardellespasta.com/). We enjoyed a number of their products during and after her sojourn in retail.

With this product in the pantry, my search for recipes came up with Lamb with Chocolate Pasta (https://www.theapprenticeship.blog/blog/lamb-with-chocolate-pasta). After reading the blog post several times, I realized that a recipe was not exactly provide, but instead readers were led on “a particularly ridiculous culinary adventure” through an “eccentric map of flavors.” Indeed, our Valentine’s dinner was a delightful journey that we all enjoyed.

While the blogger used a rack of lamb, I simply roasted a butterfly leg of lamb from Aldi, the way I always roast lamb. Cloves of garlic were inserted into slits in the meat and the meat was liberally covered with oregano (almost the last of my stash of oregano from Greece. I need to plan another trip to replenish!).  Lacking kale in the larder, I sautéed some spinach with thinly sliced onion and garlic. For the pasta, I followed the package’s instructions.

The final piece tying together the eccentric flavors was a blueberry demi-glace. As the road map did not provide complete instructions, I sought another recipe for this sauce that combined in a small saucepan about ¾ cup of mashed blueberries,* ½ cup of dry red wine (I used a port that had been in the refrigerator for a while), 1 minced clove of garlic, and crumbled dried rosemary. Simmer on a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for about 12-15 minutes. Because the port is sweet, no sugar was added (https://kitchenswagger.com/filet-mignon-with-blueberry-glaze-recipe/). Next time I make this blueberry demi-glace, I’ll add some horseradish.

*The blueberries used were mined from the freezer. When thawed about ½ cup of juice remained; I added this to the mixture.

Upon serving the dish is topped with gently roasted Marcona almonds.

I enjoyed the dinner as well as the leftovers. The chocolate flavor of the pasta came through loud and clear. We had our own Valentine’s culinary adventure, not too, too ridiculous.