my heart is made of food.

the last month of life has been one crazy mix of events, some of which make sense, and some of which leave me saying, "huh?".

valentine's day just passed last week and even with an early start on my "search" for that special one to buy me flowers, dinner and a new pair of sally's, i ended my search early so i could focus on making sure everyone else's valentine's day dinner didn't suck. i'd like to think that my crew did a great job with it.

valentine's day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. it's the one day where people spend money to enjoy time with the ones they love, the ones they want to love, and the ones they hope will love them. if not for love, they're probably just hoping for some booty.

i spent weeks pulling my hair out on what would be the perfect valentine's dinner. i tend to base my menu selections on the things i know my loved ones like to eat, and (if i didn't know already) asked many of them what would be an ideal valentine's day meal for them. this is my one chance to cook what i truly enjoy cooking and using flavor combinations that i would like, rather than what everyone else would like. i give myself this one day. consider it a valentine's day gift to myself considering the search came up with nothing. 90 people fed, full and feeling loved. awesome.

here's the rundown in amateur pictures of the featured items of the night:

dynamite oysters

roasted pork cheeks with garlic noodles

wagyu beef medallions with roasted red pepper coulis and shiromiso

this is what my crew looked like after a busy night of service.

p.s. i'm still thinking about my last meal. i'm getting closer to figuring it out, but it just gets more and more difficult every time i eat something amazing. patience, i'll get there.