Valentine's Day Prize & Ways to Celebrate

Wondering exactly what is in the Valentine's Day prize package?
A set of adorable heart measuring cups, 2 heart cookie cutters, 6 Valentine's Day cupcake stencils, 2 Valentine's Day placemats, 3 Crayola size 7 paintbrushes, McCormick red food color, McCormick pure vanilla extract, a set of 50 mini Valentine cupcake papers that can also be used for muffins, candies or nuts plus menus, recipes, tips and craft ideas.

Here are some highlights of entries so far....

Tiffany
I would love to spend some alone time with my husband.
If some chocolate and prosecco happened to be included, I would not mind that in the least.

Lori Lynn
Fantasy Valentine's Day:
Fly to Paris for a long weekend: Breakfast at Laduree, Lunch at Nomiya, Dinner at Le Cinq, take a cooking class, and shop for kitchen wares.

Linda
I'm thinking pizza with fresh mozarella and prosciutto, orange and fennel salad, and flourless chocolate cookies for dessert - all in front of fire with my honey.

Caroline
Even though I have a significant other, my ideal Valentine's would involve a small gathering of friends and family. My favorite Valentine's Day so far was spent with my cousin and a couple friends at my apartment. We baked dainty pink cakes and invented a drink to celebrate the occasion (vodka and soda water with rosewater, a maraschino cherry, and a splash of maraschino cherry juice).

Aaron
An ideal valentine's day would go something like this: My 16 month old daughter would go to sleep extra early so my husband and I could share some quality time over a fabulous steak and ridiculously rich chocolate desert (perferably one that involved stawberries as well). We would eat, talk, drink wine, watch a romantic movie and then get an amazing nights sleep with a baby that does NOT wake up at 5am.

Maureen
I would love to have a breakfast with my husband and I at a local breakfast eatery. Then the two of us read the Sunday paper and go to the gym. But what I really want is just to have a dinner where the two of us do not have to do any of the work (go out) and share a movie afterwards. Valentine's Day is the day we became engaged.

Tuesday Jane
I really enjoy preparing a special dinner in. And watching movies from our early dating days.

Beth
On Valentine's Day, I love to make my family chocolate mousse for dessert. For dinner I would make one of their favorites - chicken parm, rice pilaf and a salad. This Valentine's Day, I will make the mousse for my family, but my son and I will be serving meat loaf and mashed potatoes to the homeless.

Marjorie
I would love a day in Seattle with my hubby, just walking around, enjoying Pike's Place market, and eating great food. Dinner would be at Quinn's on Capital Hill

Cathy
Valentine's Day - for the past couple of years my kids (9 & 11) have wanted to be part of our celebration. They help make heart shaped pancakes, cookies, and brownies! We plan a fun dinner together and top it off with homemade chocolates. My husband and I plan our romantic night for the 13th or 15th. The kids love celebrating Valentine's Day as a family! We'll see how long that lasts, but for now I'm enjoying our celebration together!

Alta
I would love a brunch together, either at a restaurant or at home. If at home, then I could prepare my husband a steak and eggs (his favorite) while I dined on a lovely spinach and mushroom omelette. Of course, bellinis and coffee would have to be included. Yum.

Salty
We're celebrating with Chinese food because it's my husband's favorite and it's Chinese New Year.

If you'd like to receive Valentine’s Day prize package, leave me a comment on the previous post, and share your ideal Valentine's Day celebration. You must have a US address to win. One entry per person and valid email address (entries must include your email address so I can contact the winner). I will edit out your email address after the contest concludes. Contest ends tomorrow, Wednesday February 10th, 2010.

Good Luck & Happy Valentine's Day!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED--THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CARRIE!

Valentine's Day Giveaway

Is Valentine's Day a silly holiday? Sure it is, but any excuse for being romantic or showing your love is a good thing. Spending a lot on dinner, flowers, perfume or candy on Valentine's Day is showy, and not very original. I actually prefer something homemade or just a little bit unusual or unique. To me, going out of your way says "special" and really, that's what everyone wants anyway, to feel special.

This year I will be out of town for Valentine's Day so while I won't be cooking dinner that night, my honey will enjoy something baked from scratch with love. Would your special someone appreciate strawberry cupcakes, shortbread cookies or brownies? Feel free to use my recipes or your own.


If you are not inclined to cook or bake, I think a customized chocolate bar is a really fun idea. I recently got a chance to try Chocri, which allows you to pick from white, milk or dark chocolate and then add any number of flavors and toppings. I made a milk chocolate bar with hazelnut brittle, sea salt, rice crispies and black sesame seeds, a white chocolate bar with raspberry, strawberry, ginger and orange pepper and a dark chocolate bar with orange, orange chocolate drops and bourbon vanilla. While it's too late to have a bar delivered by Valentine's Day, you could give a gift certificate.


If you'd like to receive a kit that includes a Valentine’s Day menu, recipes, tips, products, baking tools, decorations and craft ideas from McCormick, leave me a comment and share your ideal Valentine's Day celebration. You must have a US address to win. One entry per person and valid email address (entries must include your email address so I can contact the winner). I will edit out your email address after the contest concludes next week. Contest ends Wednesday February 10th, 2010.

Need some more inspiration? Here are some more romantic ideas and my recipe for chocolate fondue.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED--THANK YOU! AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CARRIE

Roasted Tomato Pesto with Chicken

There's nothing like the taste of fresh basil, parsley, and tomatoes when looking to bring a little taste of summer into those dreary winter nights. What better way to bring these together than with a nice, creamy pesto. Add a little "roast" to your tomato and you've got one savory summer sauce.

Ingredients

Roasted Tomatoes:

12 Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Chicken:

1 lb chicken breast
fresh lemon juice
salt
pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1 lb pasta

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the tomato halves cut side up in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about two hours, or until they begin to caramelize. Let the tomatoes cool to room temperature.

While tomatoes cool, heat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle chicken breasts with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Heat butter in casserole over medium high heat until foaming, and smother the chicken in the butter. Bake in oven until cooked through (about 6-10 minutes). When cooked, cut into 1-inch strips.

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a food processor, pulse basil, parsley, and pine nuts. Slowly pour in the olive oil. Add the Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Add the roasted tomatoes to the pesto mixture and pulse.

Combine the roasted tomato pesto and chicken with the cooked pasta.

Farro & Winter Vegetables Recipe

I'm finding it hard to drag myself to the farmers market this Winter. It's cold, it's wet, it's sometimes muddy, and let's face it, it's not like I'm going to find luscious peaches, cherries or tomatoes. My haul last weekend consisted of baby cauliflower, Tuscan kale, French radishes, baby carrots, broccolini and sauerkraut. Healthy and delicious, but hardly anything to get excited over. Of course everything I bought was fresher and possibly a bit tastier than what I could have found in the supermarket. The baby carrots I bought were real baby carrots, and not those fake machine rounded carrot nubs you find in little bags. Not quite as sweet as strawberries, but pretty darn tasty when roasted.

When I was shopping a dish started to come together in my mind, and the centerpiece was farro. Farro is often mistaken for spelt, it's actually "emmer wheat" and is rich in fiber, protein, and magnesium. Farro is just the Italian name for emmer wheat. The only time I ate farro in Italy was in Cetara along the Amalfi coast. It was served in a soup. Online I see lots of recipes for farro salad served cold, but I prefer it hot. It has a nice chewy texture that's very satisfying, but it's a little bland. The way to overcome that is to add lots of great flavors, colors and other textures to make a hearty and exciting main dish. I layer the flavors, adding a base of greens to the farro and then I top it with roasted vegetables. Farro is very easy to cook and very forgiving, just don't overcook it. I used semi-pearled farro from Roland that cooks in a mere 20 minutes.

The first time I made this dish I used loads of mushrooms. It was good, but somehow using mushrooms feels a bit like cheating when you're making a vegan meal. This version uses a mixture of "melted" kale cooked with onions, garlic and wine to add flavor to the farro. The toasted walnuts are really important, they add a crisp crunch and some great nutritional benefits as well. This dish is vegan and yet I promise you won't miss the meat one bit. Or the cheese. Or even the mushrooms!

This recipe is as flexible as can be. Change things up to suit your taste and the ingredients you have on hand. When it comes to the roasted vegetables you could swap out the broccolini and carrots for roasted baby turnips, brussels sprouts, parsnips or even baby leeks. Using two different vegetables adds nice variety and contrast, but you could use 3 or 4 vegetables too if you prefer. In place of the kale you could use any green you like such as spinach, savoy cabbage or chard. If you don't want to use wine, I think you could use a lesser amount of red wine or balsamic vinegar instead, or even lemon juice. Since vegetables are the main event, just be sure to use the tastiest, freshest ones you can find.

Note: if you can't find baby carrots just cut regular carrots into thin strips no more than 1/3 inch thick.

Farro & Winter Vegetablesserves 4

Ingredients

1 cup semi-pearled farro
1 bunch Tuscan kale chopped (stems trimmed off)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
16 broccolini stems
12 baby carrots (real baby carrots not bags of rounded nubs)
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Simmer farro in 2 cups water in an partially covered medium saucepan over medium heat until cooked through but still al dente, about 20 minutes. Don't worry if there is a little water left in the pan when it's cooked.

Slice the carrots in half lengthwise. Place carrots and broccolini evenly on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and roast until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium heat, add oil then the onions and garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale and 1/2 cup water, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted. Remove lid and add the red wine and cook without the cover until almost, but not quite dry. Combine kale with farro and stir in the walnuts, season to taste with salt and pepper, and top with roasted vegetables.

Enjoy!

Sunday Morning

There is nothing better than waking up to a luxurious breakfast, the kind of breakfast that you need time for - time for making, time for eating, and time for slowly but happily digesting. This Sunday Morning breakfast has a layer of spiced and sauteed potatoes, topped with melted cheese, topped with strips of bacon, and topped again with fried eggs.  Just cutting into and serving this meal is a delight.

Ingredients
4 slices of bacon
1 1/2 lbs potatoes, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
2 scallions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup fresh parsley
½ teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sage
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
salt
pepper
paprika
3 eggs

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry up the bacon and then set aside. Heat olive oil over medium high heat and sauté the potatoes with the onions, shallot, scallions, and garlic. Mix in parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, and bay leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes become crispy. Place potatoes in an oven-proof pan and sprinkle cheese over the potatoes. Bake the potatoes until cheese is nice and melted, about ten minutes. Meanwhile, fry the eggs and season with pepper, salt, and paprika. Place strips of bacon side by side on top of the potatoes, and then set the fried eggs on top of the bacon. Then, of course, dig in!

Garlic Parmesan Tortellini Soup

Growing up, I would bug my mom constantly to make her tortellini soup. Cheesy stuffed pasta in a garlicky broth of cream and herbs - what could be better? This is my take on her household classic...

Ingredients
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
32 oz chicken broth
8 ounces cheese-filled tortellini pasta
salt
pepper
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped basil
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Sauté celery, onion, and garlic in melted butter over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Toss in the chopped herbs, salt, pepper, and tortellini, and cook for 3 minutes or until pasta is tender. Add heavy cream and heat through. Take off heat and stir in parmesan cheese.

Banana Matcha Muffins

Banana muffins are super easy to make. I just love the way the banana combines with the green tea to form this soft and luscious green delight.

Ingredients
4 bananas, mashed
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/8 cup matcha (powdered green tea)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins or line with muffin liners. Mix together mashed bananas, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour, matcha, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.