Happy Valentine's Day!

Last week at school Alex had to take his address in so they could work on a super secret project. He spilled the beans Friday evening. They had made valentine cards for their parents and mailed them. He had decorated them and his teacher had taken dictation as to why he loves his parents. The first one read, "I love my parents because they let me have chocolate pop-tarts for breakfast, and because we have movie nights together."

The second one reads "I love my mom and dad because they let me do a lot of fun things. They also let me go to Waffle House and McDonald's and I like that, too. I also like that they let me watch TV." I know, I know, such healthy pastimes. Last week when we went to Waffle House (Art had a meeting), it was the cook's last day. He told us he'd miss seeing us on Tuesday nights. I'd like to point out it's not EVERY Tuesday night. Sometimes we alternate with McDonald's.

On to more food topics: we had a great Valentine's Day dinner to celebrate all the LOVE in the household. We had Aunt Nancy's brisket, pumpkin ravioli, peas and a dessert of raspberry brownies. Alex said he didn't care for the "crust" on the brownies. Perhaps he meant the raspberry layer. I couldn't tell because he ate it all. Sorry that he didn't like them! Anyway, here are the recipes:

Brisket

1 beef brisket 1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 medium bottle soy sauce 1 medium bottle Italian salad dressing
black pepper (optional)

Trim fat and cut slits in brisket. Rub soup mix into brisket. Marinate brisket in mixture of soy sauce and salad dressing at least 6 hours or overnight. Turn occasionally. When ready to cook you may add black pepper if you desire. Cook in marinade in a pan covered with foil. Cook 4 1/2 to 5 hours at 275 degrees. When done, remove brisket from pan and allow to cool. Slice on the bias.

Aunt Nancy includes instructions on how to make gravy, but our household is not a gravy-eating group. Also, our brisket was small so it didn't take that long to cook. I consider it a success as Art sliced it for dinner, and before anyone tasted it, put aside a portion for his dinner on the night he gets here late from work. He made sure to show me and tell me its intended purpose, apparently so Alex and I wouldn't raid it. Not us - we're going to McDonald's!

Pumpkin Ravioli

1 c pumpkin
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
won ton wrappers

Combine ingredients. Spoon a tsp of mix into center of a won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with water, fold to form triangle. Pinch edges to seal. Boil with 1 t salt. Cook 7 minutes, drain. Boil 1/2 c chicken broth and 1/2 T butter. Add ravioli, toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes: if you use an entire can of pumpkin, you can almost double the recipe. That uses up an entire package of won ton wrappers. If you don't want all of them at once you can freeze them on a cookie sheet before boiling. I don't usually toss them in the broth and butter. We usually boil and drain them, then saute them in a skillet with browned butter and balsamic vinegar. Alex, of course, thinks they are poison, despite loving pumpkin, Parmesan and pasta. Sigh.