I just have to say--caramelizing onions takes forever. The recipe claims I can do it in 50 minutes and not to skimp--but I've been at it for an hour and a half now, and they aren't ready yet.

I'm actually making French Onion Soup (based on a web version of Julia Child) for Valentines Day, as part of my attempts to get most of my prep done today so that tomorrow we don't have to eat our romantic meal in the middle of our own personal Kitchen Disaster. When hubby and I were dating, I made a nice Valentines meal at Mom's house--she has a door between the kitchen and dining room. Our first house at least had a countertop between the two, even if the spaces were pretty connected. Here, we're country eat-in kitchen--surrounded by counters when we sit at the table.

I'll also say--no attempts at healthy eating are allowed at my Valentines Day dinner. We're having French Onion Soup, Trout Almondine and Spanish tortilla (recipe here: www.easyfoodandwine.com/
Trout-Almondine-Recipe.html ), Green Beans Almondine (too many almonds? I don't care), and Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for dessert. I'm still making the latter from scratch, even though Costco has one on special for less than I'm spending on ingredients--I had no idea red food coloring was so expensive! Oh, and a Valentines Day cocktail involving Kahlua, Creme de Cacao, and Amaretto.

I am, however, also riding the bike again today, so it isn't all decadence.