Be My Valentine Dessert

The magic of  Valentine's day is upon us.  

How will you celebrate?  Will it be a lavish dinner out, or something quite at home.  Or perhaps not a dinner at all but a special day planned for the two of you.  We usually do something memorable such as a museum, or day out.  This year we're talking about attending a Flamenco concert...how passionate is that?

So in honor of that passion I thought I would bring you a dessert to make for your loved one that will knock their socks off.  I saw this wonderfully easy dessert over on Stonegable.  I absolutely love Yvonne's blog, so if you get a chance make sure to pop over and check it out for yourself.  She called it "Be My Valentine Dessert".  What a perfect name!  I knew I had to recreate it for MGG, and I did, and he loved it!

(see the medium and tiny puff hearts!  adorable...)

So here' my adaptation of her wonderful recipe.  It's very easy to put together.  The hearts are made from puff pastry, which you can make several days ahead and keep them in a storage bag.  Assembly on the big day is quick and easy.

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this special treat.  I can't wait to make another one!!!

Look for a wonderful valentine breakfast muffin later in the week.  They'll put love in the forefront of your day!

Be My Valentine Dessert
adapted from Stonegableblog.com

serves 2

2 4" square puff pastry sheets, or 1 large sheet puff pastry
8 strawberries
1 T sugar
chocolate syrup
strawberry ice cream
whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Thaw puff pastry for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, cut all but 2 strawberries and sprinkle with sugar. Gently mix and set aside.  Cut the 2 strawberries from the tip almost to the base in 5 slices and open like a fan.  Don't cut all the way through so the base stays together.

Place the puff pastry on wax paper on a work surface.  Using a large cookie cutter cut out 2 large hearts. You can also cut out several medium hearts, and several tiny heart for garnish.  

Put the pastry hearts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave a little room between each heart.  If the pastry is still cold you can now cook them.  If they are more like room temperature put them back in the refrigerator for 15 min, as cold puff pastry will puff better when cold.  

Bake at 400 degrees until they are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.  The tiny hearts will only take about 10 minutes so if you are cooking those remove them after 10 minutes.  Cool the hearts completely. At this point they can be saved in an airtight container for several days.

To assemble: Gently cut the two largest puffed hearts in two.  I used a serrated knife so the pastry would not break.  Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the bottom of a small plate.   Put the bottom heart shell in the pool of chocolate and top with a scoop or two of the ice cream.  Place the sliced strawberries on top of the ice cream.  Add the top heart shell and drizzle a little syrup over the top.

Garnish with whipped cream, and a fan cut strawberry and medium and small heart puffs.  

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

One great thing about living in Southern California is the amount of great Chinese and Thai restaurants that we have.  So many to choose from and so little time!

While we have many favorite dishes that we typically order when we go out, there are a few that I just love.  Chicken is probably my favorite protein in  Asian dishes, so I tend to order that more. Getting a couple of main dishes and sharing them is our favorite thing!  I love Cashew Chicken, General Tao's Chicken, Lemon Chicken...you get my drift.  Another popular one is Orange Chicken, and I love it as well.  The unfortunate thing is that this dish tends to be fried.  So we don't end up ordering it as often as I'd like to.

So everyone loves a good stir fry right?  They are easy and quick to make at home.  You can make a small or large quantity with no problem, and the taste is fresh...outstanding!

So missing my Orange Chicken, I set out to make a dish worthy of the name with the flavors I crave...but with out the frying.  Out came the ingredients to whip up a wonderful glaze and using my base techniques for stir fry it was done!  Quick and simple, fresh, light, and citrusy.  My cravings were satisfied...ahhh!

What a great meal to cook on a weeknight.  This can be done in under 30 minutes.  Prep is the key, and make sure to start the rice first.  A nice bed of fluffy brown or white rice will set the dish off.  The rest is a piece of cake.

Next time you are craving take out, make it at home.  It will be healthier for you and more cost effective. The best part is it will taste just as good as your local Chinese restaurant.

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

serves 4
time:  under 30 minutes

1 T cornstarch
2/3 c orange juice
1/2 t ginger
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size cubes
1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1/3 cup reduced-sugar orange marmalade
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Roasted peanuts, optional
Hot cooked rice, optional

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and orange juice, and ginger until smooth; set aside. 

In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken 2 teaspoons canola oil about 5-7 minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan,  add another teaspoon of canola oil and stir-fry zucchini until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add chicken back to the pan.  Stir in the marmalade, brown sugar and lemon juice until marmalade is dissolved. 

Stir orange juice mixture.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice and top with roasted peanuts if desired.

Peppermint Vanilla Ice Blended Drink

My favorite coffee shop is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Love them!

I'm not a coffee drinker, you see.  What is a girl to do in this age of coffee drinking, coffee shop going people?  MGG is a coffee-aholic...so we visit Starbuks often.  Not my 1st choice mind you, since they don't have many drinks that are not coffee flavored.  But Coffee Bean....ahhh!  teas and blended drinks galore! I'm in heaven.

We actually have a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CB for short!) on the business campus where I work.  How convenient!  So we take a little break and walk over to CB for something wonderful.  One of the best drinks there are their Ice Blended drinks.  They have a variety of flavors such as chocolate, mocha, vanilla, etc...that are flavored powders blended with milk or soy and ice.  Like a milkshake really.  So cool and delishhhh!  You would think they are sinful. 

Even though it is winter time I still love my ice blended drinks.  So today I decided to create one at home using one of my favorite flavors this time of year.  Peppermint.  Love, love peppermint.  One of the great joys of the holiday season, and now captured in a frosty, thick drink!

So to make this winter drink at home you will need some vanilla powder.  I purchased Coffee Bean's French Vanilla No Sugar Added Powder, but you could use your own favorite vanilla powder for drinks.  Here's another good one to try.  The peppermint flavor comes from Torani's flavored syrups.  I picked mine up at my local Cost Plus World Market.

These are easy to whip up, just like making a smoothie in your blender.  You will love the crisp flavor of this drink. 

Enjoy!

Peppermint Vanilla Ice Blended Drink

serves 1

1/2 c low fat milk
1 T heaping, vanilla powder
1 T Peppermint sugar free syrup
1 c ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the blender, liquid first.  Blend on high speed until ice is crushed and ingredients are all mixed together.  Serve immediately.