A la carte: Romantic dishes for food lovers

If you’re a food lover, nothing is more romantic than enjoying a home cooked meal prepared by someone you love. If your cooking skills are still a little sub-par, there are many high-end restaurants in

Heather Holland

Kalamazoo offering great specials for Valentine’s Day. Food Dance, located at 401 E. Michigan Avenue, has a Valentine’s Day prix fixe four-course dinner for $49 per person, and several romantic themed drinks for $7 each. Reservations are available for 5 to 9 p.m. by calling 269-382-1888.
February 12-15, Epic Bistro is offering a Valentine’s Day themed Taste 3 menu, complimented by chocolate and champagne. The restaurant is located at 359 South Kalamazoo Mall and reservations can be made by phone by calling 269-342-1300.
These recipes are relatively simple to prepare, and feel free to substitute your favorite dishes for a personal touch.

Prosciutto wrapped figs
These are very similar to one of my favorite appetizers, bacon wrapped dates. Rich and delicious, they’re easy to make and sure to impress.
4 large whole figs (or 16 small mission figs), quartered
Goat cheese
1 (3-ounce) package prosciutto (can substitute bacon)
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Cut a small hole in the center of the flesh of each fig. Fill each hole with 1/4 teaspoon of goat cheese.
Take a prosciutto slice and tear in half. Use one half to diagonally wrap around the fig, starting from the top. Tuck underneath at the ends. Repeat until all figs are wrapped (secure with toothpicks if necessary). Place wrapped figs on prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced.
In a small bowl, combine honey and pumpkin pie spice. Drizzle honey evenly over each fig. Place in the oven on the top rack and roast for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Glamour Magazine’s Engagement Chicken
Glamour’s chicken recipe is infamously guaranteed to make your significant other propose soon after you make this recipe. Apparently, all of the staffers at the magazine who cooked this for their boyfriends were engaged in less than a month. Will it work? Make it and find out!
1 whole chicken (approx. 3 lb.)
2 medium lemons
Fresh lemon juice (1/2 cup)
Kosher or sea salt
Ground black pepper
Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temp (about 15 minutes). Pat dry with paper towels. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside). Season with salt and pepper. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity. (Tip: If lemons are hard, roll on countertop with your palm to get juices flowing.)
Place the bird breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up (use wooden spoons); return it to oven for 35 minutes more. Test for doneness—a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180 degrees, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork. Continue baking if necessary. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving. Serve with juices.

Pioneer Woman Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This recipe is courtesy of one of my favorite food bloggers, the Pioneer Woman at www.thepioneerwoman.com. This dish can easily be cut in half.
5 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and rinsed
1 1/2 sticks regular (salted) butter
1 package softened cream cheese
1/2 (give or take) Half & Half (or heavy cream if you’re feeling naughty)
3 to 5 heads roasted garlic
Salt
Black pepper
Cut the peeled potatoes into pieces and cook in boiling water until fork-tender. Drain water and return to pot, and mash potatoes over low heat until lots of the steam has escaped. Next, mash in softened butter, cream cheese, Half & Half, and salt to taste. Dump in three to five heads of roasted garlic cloves; stir together, then check seasoning. Be sure to salt adequately. Add some fresh ground black pepper, and serve with one or two roasted garlic cloves on top.

Be-My-Valentine Cookies
If you’re a chocolate lover like me (most girls are), go ahead and dip the whole cookie in the glaze.
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups flour
1/4 cup very, very finely chopped sliced almonds
For the glaze:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, sugar, egg and peppermint or vanilla extract. Using electric mixer, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Continue beating until well mixed. Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out half of the dough (keep the remaining dough refrigerated) to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely on wire rack.
Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in a one quart saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until just melted and smooth (4 to 6 minutes). Dip half of each heart into the chocolate. Place cookies on lined cookie sheets and refrigerate until chocolate is firm. Store refrigerated in airtight containers, with waxed paper separating layers of cookies.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Feb 12 2009. Filed under Recipe, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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