A Dinner With Your Valentine

I love fondue.  And I love crème brûlée.  And for some reason, both of these foods seem romantic to me.  I know, you're thinking . . . fondue, I could never make that!  Crème brûlée, certainly I could never make that!  Well, guess what . . . you can!  These two things might seem difficult to make, but they are actually two of the easiest recipes I have blogged about so far.  Not only are they easy, but they are sure to be so delicious that they will trick your valentine into thinking you are a gourmet chef.  :)

Drink...

Kir Royale

Champagne is a great Valentine's Day drink.  This is a classic cocktail with champagne and crème de cassis, a blackcurrant liqueur.  In France, it is usually drunk as an apéritif (before dinner).  We decided to drink some before and during dinner.  It was really good and went well with the meal.
Ingredients:
(for 1 drink)

• 1/2 shot of crème de cassis
• 4-5 shots of champagne (I preferred more champagne since the crème de cassis is very sweet)

Directions (order of steps is important):

1. Pour the crème de cassis into a champagne glass.
2. Add the champagne and drink!

Dinner...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fondue!  What's not to love?  Coating everything you eat in melted cheese cannot be bad.  But, I not only love the taste of fondue, I also love the experience of eating fondue.  Usually our meals are so fast.  We eat quickly and then shortly thereafter leave the table.  However, fondue forces you to slow down and enjoy everything.  This is a fondue recipe from my mom and it's a classic fondue recipe.  I am sure you could use other types of cheese, but I just love the classic Swiss!

Classic Swiss Fondue (AKA "Mom's Fondue")

*recipe from Maureen K.
Ingredients:
(serves 2)

• 3/4 lb of Swiss cheese
• 2 1/4 tbs flour
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of white wine (we used Chablis which works well in the fondue and is also a traditional wine for Kir [the drink we made, but with white wine instead of champagne—the champagne is what makes it "royal"]
• 3/4 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• dash of pepper
• Dipping ingredients (We used bread, apples, and garlic chicken sausage. You could use so many different things!)

Directions:

1. Cut the cheese into cubes.
2. Toss the cheese with flour in a bag.
3. Rub the fondue pot with the garlic clove.
4. Pour the wine into a pot and set to medium heat.
5. When the wine simmers, add lemon juice and cheese, stirring constantly.
6. Bring the cheese to a bubble, then add nutmeg and pepper.
7. Put the mixture into a fondue pot if you have one.  If not, you can eat it out of the pot in which it was cooked.  It should stay hot long enough for you to eat!

Dessert...

Crème Brûlée

*recipe from Chicago Metallic 
This is one of my favorite desserts.  Before I knew how to make it, I thought it would be very complicated, but as it turns out, it is ridiculously simple!  My parents knew about my love of this dessert and gave me a crème brûlée set a few years ago.  So, I actually have a torch to caramelize the sugar on top.  However, the recipe says you can just put the ramekins no less than 5 inches under the broiler to caramelize it if you don't have a torch. It's good with fresh berries on top as well.
Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 6 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tsp granulated sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Directions:

Before Baking

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved and the egg yolk mixture is thick and light in color.
3. Add cream and vanilla extract and whisk until blended.
4. Fill a baking pan a little less than halfway with water.  
5. Pour the brûlée mixture into ramekins and place the ramekins into the water bath.
6. Bake until the edges are set, but the center is still slightly loose, about 50-55 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and cool.  
8. Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
9. Before serving, sprinkle 1 1/2 tsps of sugar on top of each and torch until the sugar is caramelized.

Torching - the scary part!

After a couple bites

Superbowl Supper!

One of my favorite things about the Superbowl is the good food you get to eat while you watch it!  Most of these recipes can also be made ahead of time.  Then, when it's game time all you have to do it heat them up!

Drink...

Michelada 
I wanted to serve a beer cocktail for this meal because let's face it...the best thing to drink during the Superbowl is beer!  However, I did not want to just say open, pour, and drink, so I began my search for a beer cocktail.  I found some that sounded pretty good, but they seemed a little too fancy for the Superbowl.  One drink that repeatedly popped up during my search was a Michelada.  I took a look at the ingredients and though it sounded disgusting.  However, it kept showing up and getting good reviews.  Then, Doug read an article praising this drink in one of his beer books, so I thought, "Hey, everyone seems to like it, so let's give it a try!"  Well, that was a mistake because while some people may like them, Doug and I apparently are NOT Michelada people!  I would love to hear from you if you do enjoy Micheladas...maybe you could tell us something we were doing wrong?  Anyway, here's the recipe...many people seem to like them...it's just not for me.
Ingredients:

• 12 oz beer (we used Pacifico, but I think Corona would be better) 
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 dash soy sauce (We didn't use this.  It just sounded too strange) 
• 1 dash hot sauce 
• 1 pinch black pepper 
• salt

Directions:

1. Rim a glass with salt.
2. Mix ingredients in a tall high glass with lots of ice. 
3. Add beer, mix, and serve.

Dinner...

This is not a traditional dinner.  It's more like delicious Superbowl snacks!  While the Micheladas may not have been a hit in our house, these certainly were (at least with me)!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

*recipe from allrecipes.com

I originally tasted this recipe when my friend Ashley L. made it for our work Thanksgiving party.  Everyone loved it and I thought it would be a perfect Superbowl snack.  I changed a couple of things in the recipe to meet my personal tastes. 
Ingredients:
(serves 10-15)

• 1 chicken breast, shredded (the original recipe called for canned chicken, but that weirded me out a bit, so I used a chicken breast.  I also learned a new, easy way to shred chicken.  I cooked the chicken by par-boiling it in a pan with 1 1/2 cups of water.  After it was cooked and cooled I shredded it with my hands.  I found this to be a lot easier than cooking the chicken other ways and then shredding it.) 
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup blue cheese dressing (the original recipe said to use ranch, but I like to eat my buffalo chicken with blue cheese...so you could use either.  Doug doesn't like blue cheese so I tried to sneak this in without him knowing, but you really can taste it and he noticed it while he was eating.  I like the flavor, but if you don't, do not use it because you can taste it.)
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (This made mine really spicy, so you might want to use less.  I don't know if mine was spicy because of the amount, or because I used a little of Doug's extra hot sauce mixed in with the regular hot sauce.)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• tortilla chips (the recipes said to serve with celery [eew] and crackers, but I liked the tortilla chips)

Directions:

1. Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. 
2. Stir in cream cheese and blue cheese dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. 
3. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a casserole dish. 
4. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  You can refrigerate the casserole until game time, or make it right away.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes (depending on if you are cooking it right away or after it has been cooled in the refrigerator) until hot and bubbly. 



After my dip came out of the oven

6. Serve with tortilla chips. 

 Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Sliders

*recipe from Burger Bar

This recipe is from Chef Hubert Keller.  He owns the restaurant Burger Bar in Las Vegas and has written a book by the same name.  I have seen him on TV where he hosts a show on PBS and his burgers always look so good.  Now that I have tried one, I can honestly say they are so good!  
I was unsure of how these ingredients would taste together, but they were great!  It's a little different too because the cheese is stuffed inside the burger, so it's a pleasant surprise when you bit into it!
Ingredients: 
(serves 4)

• 8 slices apple-smoked bacon
• 1 ripe but firm pear
• About 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1.5 pounds coarsely ground sirloin, chilled
• 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces (about 1/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese, at room temperature (Doug doesn't like blue cheese so I stuffed his with a shredded 3-cheese blend)
• salt
• 12 soft, mini burger buns
• 1 1/4 cups baby arugula leaves
• 1/2 small red onion (about the same diameter as the buns), very thinly sliced
• 1 pint basket cherry tomatoes (optional) 

Directions:

Stuffed burgers before adding the top layer

After the top layer is on and the cheese is nestled inside

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, and then drain on paper towels. Cut 4 of the slices crosswise into 3 pieces each; crumble the remaining bacon and set both aside separately.
2. Peel the pears, halve them lengthwise, and core them. Cut them crosswise into thin slices and put in a bowl. Toss with the sugar and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the meat, thyme, crumbled bacon, and 11/2 teaspoons pepper. Using your hands, knead together lightly. Form the mixture into 24 evenly sized balls (about 1 ounce each). 
4. Make a small depression in half the patties. Fill them with a little mound of cheese, dividing it evenly among them. Top with the remaining patties, and then pinch them together around the cheese. Make sure the stuffing is completely enclosed. Pat and mold the burgers to fit the buns. The burgers can be shaped and refrigerated, covered, for several hours or overnight.  (Make sure you really pinch them together tightly around the cheese.  I thought I did mine pretty thoroughly, but I still had some cheese leakage when I cooked them.)
5. When ready to cook, generously season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
6. Cook the burgers in a skillet, in batches, turning once or twice, about 3 minutes for medium-rare. Do not press down on the patties. Be gentle when you turn the burgers so they do not break open. With a large spoon, baste the sliders several times with the fat in the pan.
7. When the burgers are done, remove them to a warm platter, keep warm, and let rest for several minutes. 
8. Meanwhile, heat a half teaspoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the pear slices. Turn and repeat, then remove to a plate. They should still be crunchy.
9. To build the burgers, arrange a few leaves of arugula on the bun bottoms. Top each with a pear slice or two, a piece of bacon, and a burger. Add an onion slice and a bun top, and skewer securely together. Add a cherry tomato as a topknot, if you wish, on the skewer. Serve immediately. 

Dessert...

Football Cake Pops
These were a touchdown! :)
Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate cake mix and the ingredients called for on the box to make the cake
• 1 can of vanilla frosting
• 1 1/2 bags of milk chocolate chips
• lolipop sticks

Directions:

My cake, the crumbs, and the frosting.

The cake crumbs mixed with frosting.

The cake shaped into little footballs.

1. Bake the cake according to the directions on the box.
2. After the cake cools, crumble 3/4 of it into crumbs.
3. Mix in 1/2 to 3/4 of the vanilla frosting.  You want the cake crumbs just moist enough so they can be formed into balls.
4. Form the cake crumb/frosting mixture into football shapes.
5. Place the football shapes in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Melt the chocolate chips.
7. Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and insert it halfway into the football.
8. Dip the entire football into the melted chocolate and tap slightly to allow the excess chocolate to drip off.
9. Allow the football to dry.  (I got a cool cake pop stand for xmas that helps with this process - thanks mom and dad :)
10. When the chocolate has hardened (you can put them in the fridge to speed up this process) use a piping bag to pipe vanilla frosting on the footballs for the laces.

Veggie Delight

I am not a vegetarian, but there are many vegetarian-friendly dishes I enjoy eating and making.  This meal is so good it's sure to please all your vegetarian and meat-eating friends!

Drink...

The Swamp
Typically I don't drink things with vegetables in them, but this drink not only has vegetables, but it tastes wonderful!
This creation was inspired by a drink from one of our favorite bars in L.A, Seven Grand.  The drink is called "The Swamp."  I am not a whiskey fan, but this drink is from a whiskey bar and therefore has whiskey in it.  However, it doesn't have a strong whiskey taste and I love it! 
I never got the exact recipe for the drink from the bar, but I did my best to replicate it here.  I think I did a pretty good job!  I love this drink because it tastes so light and refreshing.  It's great for summer, but I would drink it any time of year!

Ingredients:

• Whiskey
• Ginger Ale
• Cucumber, chopped
• Mint leaves
• Sugar
• Lemon Juice

Directions:

1. Muddle together the mint leaves, cucumber, and sugar.  (I dont have a mortar and pestle, so I just put the mint, sugar, and cucumber in a glass and mushed them up with the wide, blunt end of a kitchen utensil)
2. Put the muddled mixture into a glass with ice.
3. Pour 1.5 oz (1 shot) of whiskey into the glass. 
4. Add 3-4.5 oz (2-3 shots) of ginger ale, to taste.
5. Add a splash of lemon juice.
6. Stir and enjoy!

Dinner...

California Veggie Sandwich & Oven Fries 

Simple, but delicious!  This recipe is great anytime of year and is a good change of pace from the dinners I typically make.

California Veggie Sandwich
*recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Yum!  This sandwich has it all...delicious veggies, foccacia bread, and cheese!  These vegetables work really well in it, but I am sure you could substitute with other vegetables.
Ingredients:
(makes 4 sandwiches)

• 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbs. lemon juice
• 1 cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 loaf of foccacia bread (I used Trader Joe's this time, but many grocery stores have really good ones with herbs and tomatoes on top which I have used.  Those are even better if you can find them!)
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• olive oil and rosemary for the foccacia (if yours doesn't already have herbs on it)

Directions:

The sandwiches before smooshing

1. In a bowl, mix the mayo, garlic, and lemon juice.  Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Heat up a skillet and saute the veggies until they are cooked.  (The original recipe says to grill the veggies, which I think would be even better.  Too bad I don't have a grill here in NYC :(
3. Slice the foccacia bread horizontally and then divide into quarters to make 4 sandwiches.  
4. Spray olive oil on the bread and sprinkle with rosemary if it doesn't already have herbs on it. *see my product endorsement below :)
5. Spread the mayo mixture on the cut side of the bread.
6. Sprinkle with Feta cheese.
7. Layer the cooked veggies on top of the cheese.
8. Put the other slice of bread on top and place the sandwich in a heated skillet.  Put something heavy on top of the sandwiches (the bottom of another pan with something heavy inside of it works well) in order to smoosh them down and melt the cheese.  I used to put the sandwiches in my Forman Grill and put the lid down on them.  That worked great, but I don't have a Forman Grill anymore.
9. After they have heated up and the cheese begins to soften, they are ready to eat!

Great Product...

I usually don't talk about what specific products or appliances I use, but I got something new for Christmas and thought it was worth mentioning.  It is called a Misto.  All it does is spray olive oil, but it it very helpful and saves a lot of olive oil.  It is great for food that needs a coating of oil or for coating a pan.  Also, I find my olive oil lasts a lot longer when I use it because it uses a lot less than if you just pour the oil.  I used the Misto a lot in this recipe.  I sprayed the pan and veggies with it before cooking them.   I also sprayed the top of the Foccacia bread before I sprinkled on the rosemary.  Finally, I sprayed my pan and potatoes with it before I put them in the oven.
You can buy it on Amazon or other websites.  But I have also seen it at TJ Maxx and wouldn't be surprised if they have it at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Oven Fries

These fries were okay and they were healthier than typical french fries.  However, no oven-baked fry can beat a traditional fried french fry.  I seasoned mine with garlic salt and parsley, but you could season them with anything...the possibilities are endless!
Ingredients:
(serves 4)

• 2 potatoes, sliced into thin, long strips (I like my fries thin, but you could cut them thick if you prefer.  Just make sure to adjust the baking time)
• olive oil
• garlic salt
• parsley

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray the pan with olive oil to prevent the fries from sticking.
3. Spread the sliced potatoes out onto the pan.
4. Spray the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and parsley.
5. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until fries are golden brown,  turning the fries over halfway through baking.

Dessert...

Garden Party Cupcakes

*recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake!
What could go better with a vegetarian dinner than a veggie garden for dessert?  I know I say this about everything, but seriously...these are so easy to make and they are soooo cute!!  The most time consuming part is making the veggies, but the time is well worth it.  I usually try to make the cake and frosting from scratch, but this time I was feeling lazy and used a box mix for the cake and pre-made frosting.  Oh well, it was still good!
Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix and ingredients called for on the box.  (I used Trader Joe's Vanilla cake mix and I would not recommend it.  Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker are much better.)
• Chocolate frosting
• vanilla frosting
• Oreo crumbs
• fondant
• 2 graham crackers
• toothpics
• icing colors
• edible markers
• cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box.
2. After the cupcakes cool, cover them with chocolate frosting.
3. Dip the frosting into the cookie crumbs to coat the tops of the cupcakes.
4. Break each graham cracker into 2 pieces.
5. Ice the graham cracker pieces with vanilla frosting.
6. Use the chocolate frosting and a piping bag to write the words Radishes, Peas, Carrots, and Lettuce on the graham crackers.
7. Dye a small amount of fondant orange and form into small carrots for the top of the cupcakes and the sign.
8. Roll some white fondant into the shape of radishes and use a red edible marker to color the tops of the radishes.
9. Dye some fondant green.  Form the fondant into balls for peas and flat, long pieces for the peapods.  
10. Use the remaining green fondant to make the lettuce.  Roll a small ball for the middle of the lettuce head.  Flatten small pieces of fondant and put 6-8 of those pieces (leaves) around the center ball to form the lettuce head.
11.  Place the vegetables on each cupcake.
12. Color some of the vanilla icing with green food coloring and use a piping bag to add leaves to the radishes, vines to the peas, and tops to the carrots.
13. Put two toothpicks into a cupcake and lean one of the veggie signs against it.
14. Repeat for the other three signs.