Friday, February 7, 2020

Valentine's Meals For Your Sweetie

One of the best Valentine's Day gift is something homemade. Any sweetie will appreciate either a homemade meal .Even if you can't cook you can come up with an easy and delicious table for two.

A lux breakfast in bed is always appreciated. A simple dish would be scrambled eggs with ham . Put it on croissants for a richer look and taste. Another easy breakfast dish is eggs Benedict. This is simply poached eggs on English muffins with a lemon- butter sauce. It's mixed with egg yolks for richness.It's the perfect dish to serve with mimosas , or Bellinis, peach nectar blended with champagne. If you're lucky to have lunch together, then think of a charcuterie platter. This is one for the easiest but also the richest tasting of all lunch time dishes. Start with buying a beautiful wooden charcuterie plate. (you can always reuse it at parties and holidays). Have an array of good Italian cold cuts such as mortadella, hard salami and prosciutto. Sopressata, a spicy Southern Italian dry salami is another good meat, perfect on sliced Italian or French bread. Cheeses are a must. Brie is perfect, especially on French bread but Gruyere and smoked Gouda are also good choices. Have a chilled Cabernet or Zinfandel  to sip with this tasty mix. You could also go old school with grilled cheese and tomatoes. Cut the grilled cheese into a heart . Get creative and drizzle sour cream into a heart shape onto the soup's surface.

Of course a Valentine's Day dinner is a big deal. Just remember that's it's just as easy to make surf and turf at home than ordering it at a restaurant. Keep in mind that the seafood could be anything from shrimp to lobster to crab. As for the beef, any cut will do, from a flank to a T-bone. Serve with a side of buttery string beans almondine and/or sauteed spinach. Cornish hens are another tasty and romantic night dinner. Spike up the flavor with a rub of powdered garlic and paprika and serve with brown rice. Want to impress with a night of exotic flavors? Then try tagine, the Morroccan hot pot of different ingredients and spices. The recipe does call for tagine pot , a kind of skillet with a triangular lid but you can also use a deep skillet or even a crock pot. A chicken one calls for a whole roaster cut up  and cooked with tomatoes, peas and carrots. Almonds and dried apricots are also essential to give it a true Moroccan vibe. You could also make a veggie tagine by subbing in chickpeas and butternut squash. If your sweetie is a vegan, then think about a Beyond Meat burger with all the trimmings. Use a cumin spiced Nayonnaise , vegan mayo with tomato slices and soy bacon. Serve with a big helping of air fried sweet potato fries with a home made tomato paste based ketchup.

Nothing says love more than a home cooked meal.It could be breakfast, lunch or dinner. As long as it's home cooked by a home chef with a heart and a kitchen full of love.





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