Love is in the Air

Honing in on the latest trend of "staycations", my fiance and I decided to put on our PJ's and make valentines dinner at home! Not quite willing to sacrifice the sweet tastes of a great restaurant, I set off to begin the menu planning. After all, this was my chance to bring romance into the kitchen and add a little bit of loving flare to everything I touched.

We started the evening with a romantic roll...heart shaped biscuits! These are very easy to make and if you can keep a secret, your guests will even think they are homemade. 

First, start with a store bought canister of buttermilk biscuits (I like the Pillsbury reduced fat variety), pop open the casing and separate each biscuit out onto your cutting board. Then, using a small heart shaped cookie cutter, go ahead and press into each biscuit and pop out the heart shaped dough. Place the little hearts on a well greased cookie sheet and bake as directed...easy!

Next up, my honey was in charge of the main meal cooking (since I am a baker by nature and a sorry excuse for a dinner chef!) and whipped up his seductive staple: roast chicken and root vegetables...yum. I won't spill his trade secrets to the perfectly crisp skin and utterly scrumptious veggies with rosemary essence, but you can trust me that this course was oh so good.

As the evening dwindled on and we let our indulgent tummy's settle a bit, I smiled knowing that I had saved the best for last, dessert.  When I was thinking about what the most romantic sweet could be for our finale, I had one dish that seemed just right - chocolate covered strawberries. Not only are these incredibly easy, but they are also incredibly lovely when paired with a glass of bubbling champagne.

What is this easy trick of a dessert you ask? Shhh, its all in your microwave! Simply buy your favorite melting chocolate (I like to use Bakers semi-sweet because the bitterness of the chocolate is the perfect balance to a nice ripe strawberry) and place it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until melted. Once your chocolate is nice and smooth, take your washed and fully dried strawberries and dunk away, making sure to brush off excess chocolate on the side of the bowl before placing on a cookie sheet lined with foil. After you have dipped all your strawberries, place them in the refrigerator until set (about 30 minutes). If you feel like going the extra mile, go ahead and melt some white chocolate too and drizzle over your chocolate after it has set! The are so delicious, so easy, and so romantic that you are sure to make your loved one smile with sweet delight.

So go ahead and order some romance in! It's not hard, easy even, to bring everything you love about date night right to your living room. As they say...home is where the heart is, and I agree!