NEWS

 

A Valentine’s Day Dinner for Your Family

With the rising cost of dining out, eating in becomes more appealing, especially when you have easy recipes for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day. These ideas will work for a busy family of four, even when the family chef is a full-time career person. To make the dinner a real family affair, everyone can help by making one (or more) dishes.

Your menu:

Appetizers

Roasted whole cauliflower with cheese

Stuffed red peppers with meat or grains (vegetarian option)

Green salad with sliced red strawberries

Your favorite corn bread or bought small dinner rolls

Dessert- Panna Cotta with raspberry sauce

Children can make sugar cookies from slice and bake, adding sprinkles or icing.

Recipes follow.

 

Appetizer: This appetizer is easy even for children. Simply slide cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese onto 6” wooden skewers. Voilà!

Stuffed Red Peppers with Meat

4 red peppers                                1½ teaspoon salt

1 pound ground beef                      1/8  teaspoon pepper

¼ cup grated onion                        2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce

½ cup rice (cooked)

Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and wash. Combine beef, cooked rice, onions, salt and pepper and 1 can of tomato sauce. Mix until well blended. Put mixture into peppers and place in a large oven proof casserole dish or pan. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over each pepper. Cover tightly with cover or aluminum foil. Bake in a 350˚ oven for 1 hour, uncover and finish baking for about 15 minutes.

 

Rice Stuffed Red Peppers (Vegetarian option)

6 large, red peppers

¼ cup finely chopped onions

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups cooked rice or quinoa

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt and freshy ground pepper to taste

1/3 cup vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 350˚. Hollow out the peppers and remove the seeds. Place the peppers in a colander or sieve and lower into a large pan of boiling water. Leave them in the water for about 5 minutes. Drain.

Sauté the onions in the butter until tender. Combine the onions with the rice, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir in the stock and fill the pepper cases with the mixture.

Place the filled peppers in a buttered baking dish, add ¼ cup water and bake for about 15 minutes, or until peppers are barely tender and filling is piping hot. Serve with tomato sauce, if desired.

 

Roasted Whole Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

   recipe from NY Times Cooking website

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Salt and black pepper

2 (1½ -pound) heads cauliflower

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk or half-and-half

Small pinch of grated nutmeg

Small pinch of ground cayenne

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (3 ounces)

1 cup grated provolone or Asiago cheese (3 ounces)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese(4 ounces)

½ teaspoon cumin, caraway, or fennel seed

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. With a paring knife, remove the tough core from the bottom of each cauliflower. Working one at a time, lower the cauliflower into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to let cool. (Alternatively, cut the cauliflower into large florets, cook for 3 minutes, and spread out to cool.)

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and let mixture cook for a minute without browning.

Whisk in milk ½ cup at a time, simmering between additions, until all milk is used. Whisk well, then simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and a speck of cayenne. Keep warm.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and place blanched cauliflower side by side. Stir Cheddar into sauce and spoon sauce evenly over cauliflower. Sprinkle with grated provolone and feta. (Alternatively, if using florets, arrange in a single layer in the baking dish.) Sprinkle with cumin seeds, if using.

Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, until bubbling and browned. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve directly from the baking dish.

 

Panna Cotta (Italian cooked cream)

Make this the day before.

Prep Time – 20 minutes

Cook Time –   5 minutes

Chill Time  –  8 hours + 25 minutes

 

Ingredients for the Custard:

1 cup whole milk

2½ teaspoons gelatin powder, 1 packet

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Add the milk to a medium saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface and let stand for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar to the gelatin mixture. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 180 degrees. This should take about

3-5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool to 120 degrees.

Once cooled, slowly whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Pour the custard into four 4-ounce ramekins or glasses, filling to just below the rim.

Cover and refrigerate until completely set, about 8 hours. Pour raspberry sauce over the cooled panna cotta.

 

Raspberry Sauce

Makes 2½ cups of sauce

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen raspberries

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon almond extract.

Thaw berries, drain them, and reserve the syrup. Add enough water to the syrup to make 1½ cups. In a medium-size saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually add syrup and water mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth.

Cook over medium heat, stirring slowly and constantly with the rubber spatula. Stir gently; do not beat. When the mixture thickens and begins to turn somewhat transparent and has just barely come to the boil, let it simmer gently for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. (Overcooking or overbeating would thin the sauce.) Add almond extract and gently stir into the drained raspberries.

Refrigerate and serve cold.