I love my husband so much. Genuinely, I do. But he sure knows how to put the pressure on.
“I think I’m looking forward to Valentine’s Day more than I looked forward to Christmas,” he said about a week ago as I cooked dinner. “I can’t wait to give you your gifts.”
If our lives were a movie, this is when everything would have suddenly frozen. The music would cut. I would look at the camera, and say, “Well, I bet you’re wondering how I got here.”
Cue the montage of every Valentine’s Day we had ever celebrated together since the age of 16, where he first asked me to be his Valentine ironically. We both knew the commercialized holiday wasn’t cool, but we liked each other, so we put up with it.
Every year following would have shown us making little gestures to each other with a bouquet of flowers here and a bobblehead there. Nothing extraordinary. Because surely if we liked each other, we would just show each other all year long, right? Right?
This year, when he said he couldn’t wait for Valentine’s Day, my life flashed before my eyes.
I had made plans for us for Valentine’s Day, sure. I had booked reservations for us at a local restaurant over a month in advance. I had gotten him a card. I had even picked out his favorite candy for him. But looking forward to it more than Christmas? And GIFTS? Plural?
At the time of writing this column, I still have no idea what his plans are for the day-of. We’ll have to see how that goes. But in order to compete with the Magic of Christmas, I decided to pull a trick out of Hunter’s own playbook so I would have the chance to surprise him: surprising him in advance.
See, when Hunter was planning on proposing to me a few years ago, he knew I was on his scent. So, instead of telling me the real day he was going to propose, he gave me a fake picnic date plan for the week after.
Really, he had a whole plan to surprise me on a random Tuesday when I was supposed to be bringing furniture to his house and eating pizza with his friends.
In the end, he was so convincing that I actually moved my nail appointment back by several days, leaving my engagement ring dangling from a very plain and boring hand. I was wearing overall shorts. But I was definitely surprised.
So, for Valentine’s Day this year, I told him all about our reservation for Wednesday night (still on the books), and then didn’t tell him about the secret surprise date night dinner I was now planning for him at our house a few days in advance.
I searched for Valentine’s Day themed recipes I could make, many of which were just variations on seafood, pasta and steak. But since we were still going out to dinner later, I decided to make something a little more fun and cheesy (pun intended) for us to share. I found a recipe for a homemade heart-shaped pizza online, and I knew I had found the perfect way to make him laugh.
Now, I was on a time crunch. I couldn’t get home from work, knead homemade pizza dough, prepare the pizza crust into the heart shape, bake it, dress it with sauce and toppings and then bake it again before he got back home too.
So, I used a store bought pizza dough this time. But if you want me to share a pizza dough recipe that has worked for me in the past, email me. I’ll be happy to share it.
One heart-shaped pizza, a bottle of wine, some good music and a dessert from the grocery store later, and I had created the Magic of Valentine’s Day on a time crunch and a budget. And, sure, it wasn’t Christmas. But there was pizza there, which is basically the definition of romance.
And now, the ball is in his court. At least, if he’s up to the challenge. Your move, husband.
HEART-SHAPED PIZZA
(Adapted from Lil’ Luna)
Ingredients
1 ball pizza dough homemade or store-bought
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
10 slices pepperoni
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil *optional
Directions
■ Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if you’re using store bought dough, follow the temperature on the package). Line a pizza pan with parchment paper, set aside.
■ Fold each pepperoni in half and cut it into heart shapes using kitchen shears.
■ Lightly flour a surface (I used a cutting board for easier clean up) and roll the dough out into a flat rectangle. Fold in half gently, not pressing too hard so the dough can be separated again once it is cut. Cut it into a rough heart shape, then unfold gently. Fold edges over and press to create the crust and the final heart shape.
■ Transfer the pizza dough to a prepared baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, then dock the dough with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming.
■ Place in the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes. Remove and spread sauce over top, then add cheese and pepperoni.
■ Return to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes (checking often, following package instructions if using store bought dough) or until the crust is golden brown and the pepperoni is crispy. Remove from the oven and top with fresh parsley or basil, if desired. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
