We’ve never been huge fans of eating out on Valentine’s Day, it always seemed too frazzled and over-priced. We prefer a relaxed dinner at home that we can cook together with no worries about who is the designated driver. Neal is a huge fan of the French cooking phrase ‘mis en place’ which means having all your ingredients ready (washed, chopped, measured) and all the necessary tools and spices on hand. With all the ingredients and tools assembled, cooking is very relaxing.

Mis en place featuring Neal’s salt and pepper cellar and cutting board. Tammy’s roadrunner dishtowel, Spicy Me Foods spice blends and a wood prep bowl by Courtney Gale of Oakenwell.

Good kitchen tools make the job more fun and tactile – like a salt and pepper cellar you can dip into to pinch salt or sprinkle pepper or a nice cutting board or a soft dishtowel with a fun design. We also stock our kitchen with items from our guest artists. Two of our favorites: spice blends from Spicy Me Foods (Silver City, NM, @spicymefoods) and the perfect wood mis en place bowl from Albuquerque wood turner Courtney Gale (@oakenwell). I’m currently obsessed with the ‘Taco AF’ blend and putting it on EVERYTHING. You can find all of these items in our retail store.

I like ending a special meal with desert – the more chocolate the better. Chocolate lava cakes are a favorite because it’s easy to modify the recipe for 2. If you keep a little chocolate in your cupboard, you probably have everything you need to pull off this quick desert. If you are looking for a recipe, I’ve been obsessed with the blog ‘Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking’ (website: www.biggerbolderbaking.com). I like that she just gets right down to the business of baking, I don’t have to scroll through 47 pages of childhood reminiscing before I get to the recipe.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone, and bon apetite!