Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Stomach + Heart = Love

I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day. I totally buy into the notions and myths of chubby little cupid with his bow and arrows, tacky heart decorations, flowers, love letters etc...Since yesterday was our first Valentine's together as a married couple, we wanted to make it a little extra special.

For me, all the loving started last week when J came home with my new beloved can opener and chocolates! On Friday he came home carrying a bouquet of 12 long stem roses...absolutely breath-taking!


With painstaking creative genius, on Saturday afternoon J presented me with this:


I was thoroughly impressed! As an engineer, for J to get all "arts and craftsy" was a big leap out of his comfort zone! (Might I add that he even composed the little poem Even though the seasons change, my love for you remains the same.) I was definitely swept off my feet!

However, I was in a frenzy as to what I should do for J for Valentine's Day. Let's face it - Valentine's Day really isn't a day that was invented for men. Unlike myself, J has not bought into the whims and fancies of lavish bouquets and copious love letters. If I were to give him the same beautiful arrangement of roses that he gave me, I know for a fact that his reaction would not be nearly as satisfying as mine. Instead, the age old saying "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" led me to the kitchen, where I was sure that a tasty culinary creation would melt J's very heart strings.

I started first off with making Raspberry Crumble Bars:


Raspberry Crumble Bars

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

- In a large bowl, combing the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in eggs and extract. Press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining sugar; add berries and gently toss. Spoon over crust. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
- Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.

I give these bars two thumbs up! The raspberries keep it fresh and tangy, but the addition of almond extract gives it a rich, buttery flavour that melts in your mouth! Perfect with a cup of strong coffee!

I spent the better half of my day preparing for our meal. Thanks to Taste of Home website, I was able to find delicious Valentine's recipes for two.

We started our meal off with Cranberry Almond Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette:


Cranberry Almond Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

enough mixed spring salad greens for 2 people
sliced mushrooms
dried cranberries
1 tablespoon chopped onion
slivered almonds
Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing:
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon raspberry preserves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper

This salad was nice and light. I was pleasantly surprised with how the dressing turned out. At frist, I thought that it may have had too much olive oil, but I chilled it for a few hours, and the raspberry flavour seemed to infuse quite nicely with the rest of the ingredients.

Followed by our salad, we had Steaks with Molasses-Glazed Onions, Twice Baked-Baked Potatoes, and mixed veggies.


Steaks with Molasses-Glazed Onions

2 bacon strips, diced
2 beef top sirloin steaks (6 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon molasses

- In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon; drain the skillet, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in the skillet and 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle steaks with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In the skillet, cook steaks over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side, or until meat reaches desired doneness. Remove and keep warm.
- Add onion and reserved drippings to the skillet; saute until tender. Add the vinegar, molasses and remaining salt and pepper; heat through. Serve onion mixture with steaks; sprinkle with bacon.

The topping on the steaks was absolutely divine! The onions tasted almost like caramel, with a hint of spicy tang. I will definitely be making this recipe again!

Twice Baked-Baked Potatoes

2 medium baking potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 bacon strip, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

- Bake potatoes at 37 for 1 hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each potato and discard. Scoop out pulp, leaving a thin shell.
- In a small bowl, mash the pulp with butter. Stir in the milk, bacon, onion, chives, salt, pepper and 1/3 cup cheese. Spoon into potato shells. Top with remaining cheese.
- Place on baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

These potatoes were to die for! Creamy, rich goodness within a crispy shell, baked to cheesy perfection! Yum!

Let's just say J was extremely excited for his meal:


We finished our meal off with Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce:


Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine, or white cranberry juice
2 medium pears, peeled and halved
3 tablespoons seedless raspberry spreadable fruit
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh raspberries to garnish

- In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and wine to a boil. Reduce heat; carefully add pears. Cover and simmer for -10 minutes or until tender. Remove pears and reserve cooking liquid.
- In a small bowl, combine spreadable fruit and vanilla. Stir in enough cooking liquid to form a sauce consistency. Cover and refrigerate sauce and pears separately until chilled.
- Remove sauce from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Place two pear halves on each dessert plate; top with sauce. Garnish with raspberries.

This dessert was the perfect end to our meal - sweet and light, with a satisfying hint of vanilla flavouring.

At the end of the night, I think the saying holds true - the stomach, when happily fed, will heartily love. At least for my man it does. Mission accomplished.

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