New Thing 45, New Thing Every Day: Prepare a Meal of Marcus Samuelsson Recipes

For Valentine's Day, what could be better than preparing Leigh a dinner of her favorite chef's recipes?

Here is what we had -- miso/honey/roasted garlic glazed tilapia; warm potato/apple salad; heirloom tomato/watermelon salad.

Here are 10+ things about our experience.

1. Everything worked out surprisingly well and the dinner was absolutely delicious.
2. We skipped dessert because we are watching our figures.
3. Marcus Samuelsson's s Leigh's favorite chef and his restaurant, Red Rooster in Harlem, is her favorite restaurant. We have been there several times.
4. We have also seen and met Marcus a few times, during visits to his restaurant. He is incredibly nice.
5. My favorite dish there might be the shrimp and grits, but there are just so many delicious menu items.
6. Leigh and I have both read his biography, a great read.
7. He did basically abandoned his daughter until she was a teenager, the one major red mark I can see in his personal history. He seems to have made up for it.
8. Marcus one Top Chef Masters.
9. He also won Chopped Masters.
10. He is also a James Beard winner, among many other awards.
11. Last year, for my birthday, Leigh bought tickets to see Marcus speak in Kansas City. It was very cool.
12. Over the course of the day, I tweeted him several times. Later, we were able to meet him and he called me by name. Incessant tweeting works!