Need some inspiration for a romantic meal this Valentine’s Day (or any old day)?  Here are four, simple-to-make dishes along with wine pairings that are sure to show your loved one(s) how much you care.

• Savory Cheese Tartlets with Blackberries paired with  La Marca Di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco ($12)
• Cream of Asparagus and Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese Soup  paired with  2007 Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Pinot Noir ($65)
• Boeuf en Croûte (Beef Wellington)  paired with  2006 Stag’s Leap Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40)
• Simple Greek Yogurt and Berry Tart  paired with  2008 Heron Hill Late Harvest Vidal Blanc ($18)

BONUS – breakfast:  Strawberry and Nutella-Stuffed Crepes

Whichever dish you decide to prepare for your loved one(s) this Valentine’s Day, I hope your meal is paired with love.

Cheers,

Veronique

I take no credit for this BBQ beyond buying the cookbook and trying it.  It’s the legendary BBQ sauce by Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal, Canada.  Without exaggerating, I want to bathe in this stuff, it’s that good.  Sweet, spicy, full of depth and simple to make.  This BBQ sauce would be great over grilled chicken or ribs and combined with pulled pork for an amazing sandwich.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Coca Cola
• 1 cup ketchup
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 Tbsp. Sriracha
• 1 tsp. ground coffee
• ½ tsp. each salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine all the ingredients and cook for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.

Notes:  Sauce keeps for up to two weeks in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Photo by Chris Absheer

It is thought the name “Hummingbird Cake” was penned as a result of people ‘humming’ after tasting the scrumptious dessert.  This delicious recipe is provided by St Louis guest blogger, Chris Absheer, who is on a quest to provide decadent desserts that are simple enough for the home baker.

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 cups self- rising flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 large bananas, mashed
• 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 large eggs, beaten

Frosting Directions:

• 1 pound confectioner sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 6 Tbs. butter, softened
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. milk, more if needed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 9 pecan halves

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease and flour three 8” round cake pans.
3. In a large bowl combine all the cake ingredients.  Stir by hand until smooth.
4. Divide batter in the three pans.  Bake 26 to 28 minutes, or until cake surface springs back when touched.
5. Cool cake pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans and place on rack until cooled completely.

Frosting Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine confectioner sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk on medium speed until smooth.  If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time.
2. Frost the cake and decorate with pecans.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Among my circle of friends, I’m typically the one cooking and baking (and loving it).  This weekend, my two girlfriends from Florida, Eileen and Gloriann, came to visit me to help celebrate my 40^th birthday.  To their surprise and my amusement, I put them to work to make me a birthday pie.  The recipe below is inspired by a chocolate cream pie by Hershey and it’s delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 cups milk, divided
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled
• 2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Directions:

1. Combine chocolate and 2 cups milk in medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in medium bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining cup of milk and the egg yolks.  Stir the egg mixture into the sugar mixture.   Gradually add the egg and sugar mixture to the saucepan with the warm chocolate.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture boils, about 2 minutes.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust.  Press a sheet of shrink wrap directly onto the surface of the chocolate mixture to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool for 20 minutes then refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
5. Top the pie with whipped cream before serving.

8 to 10 servings.

I came home from a business trip Saturday night to find my guy having planned meals for every night this week.  How great is that!!?

For dinner last night, he prepared salmon on the grill with this really great glaze on it that was inspired by a recipe by Bobby Flay.  He reserved some of the glaze and drizzled it over steamed green beans for a tasty and simple side dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the brown sugar, maple syrup and butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger.  Let cool.
2. Preheat grill to medium heat.  Brush salmon skin with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place the salmon skin side down on the grill. Brush some of the glaze over the salmon fillets.  Grill for 10 to 12 minutes to medium doneness, with the lid of the grill closed.

Serves 2.

Notes:  You’ll have some glaze leftover.  Brush additional glaze over the grilled salmon and drizzle over steamed vegetables or boiled potatoes.

I was making prime rib for a small New Year’s Eve party I was hosting and couldn’t see not serving Yorkshire Puddings.  Some past recipes I’d tried failed and I was somewhat intimidated to try again, particularly for a holiday dinner party.  I found the following straight-forward recipe that proved both simple to prepare and delicious.

Adapted from a recipe by Regina Varolli.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk, divided
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ tsp. coarse kosher salt
• ¼ cup liquid beef rendering or vegetable oil

Directions (at least 6 hours prior to serving the puddings):

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with ½ cup of milk, set aside.
2. In another medium bowl, combine the flour and salt together.  Add the egg mixture and whisk vigorously until there are absolutely no lumps left in the batter.
3. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature until ready to use (at least 6 hours).

Directions (when ready to serve the Yorkshire puddings):

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place a 12-muffin tin into the hot oven and heat it until the pan is very hot, about 5 minutes.  Measure out one teaspoon of beef fat (or oil) into each muffin cup and place the pan back in the oven.  Leave the pan in the oven until the fat is literally smoking hot, about 5 minutes.
3. As the fat is heating, whisk the remaining ½ cup cold milk into the batter that’s been sitting out all day.  Whisk in some fresh, coarsely ground black pepper to taste. Put the batter into a vessel that makes it easy to pour.
4. When the fat is smoking, take the muffin tin out of the oven and, working as quickly as possible, pour the batter evenly into the 12 cups.  If the batter doesn’t sizzle as you pour it in the muffin cups, expect your Yorkshire puddings to not rise.
5. Immediately return the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes of baking.  The Yorkshire puddings are done when they are dark golden brown and dry to the touch.  The inside of the puddings will be moist.
6. Serve immediately.  Yorkshire puddings don’t wait, so bake them as you need to serve them.

Makes 12 standard muffin-sized puddings.

{photo by Andre Baranowski, via Saveur}

When Saveur showcased this dessert (from Brooklyn’s Marlow & Sons) on its cover, I thought I’d go mad.  Wow, what a beauty!  At a friend’s request, I made it for my New Year’s Eve dinner party and it was as delicious and it is gorgeous.

Originally published in Saveur magazine

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
• 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
• 2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
• 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. crème fraîche

Ganache Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Gray sea salt for garnish

Crust Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350˚.
2. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.
4. Transfer dough to a 9″ fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Caramel Directions:

1. In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°.
2. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

Ganache Directions:

1. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
2. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.
3. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours.
4. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

Serves 8.

I got this recipe from the fine folks at Driscoll’s^® and had to share it as it is perfect for holiday entertaining.

Filling Ingredients:

• 5 oz. rindless goat cheese, at room temperature
• 3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. honey, preferably full flavored, such as chestnut or thyme, warmed

Cream Cheese Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature, plus more for pans, if needed
• 3 oz. cream cheese, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature

 Directions:

1. Combine flour and salt in a food processor fitted with metal chopping blade and pulse to combine. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse about 10 times, until mixture begins to clump together. Gather up dough and shape into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and easy to handle (about 2 hours).
2. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Have ready two 12-cup miniature muffin pans (each cup measuring 1 7/8 inches across the top and 7/8 inches deep), preferably nonstick. If the pans are not nonstick, lightly butter them.
3. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces. Place one piece in each muffin cup.  Using fingers, press dough firmly and evenly up sides to make a pastry shell.  (A wooden tart tamper can help the job go quickly.) Freeze 5 minutes.
4. Mash goat cheese and cream cheese together in a medium bowl until smooth. Add egg, yolk, minced thyme, salt and pepper and whisk until combined. Spoon equal amounts of filling into chilled pastry shells.
5. Bake tartlets until crust is golden brown and filling is puffed (about 25 minutes). Let cool for 10 minutes in pans. Remove tartlets from pans and transfer to a wire cake rack to cool completely.
6. Just before serving, lightly brush tops of tartlets with about 1 tablespoon of honey. Arrange berries on top as desired. Drizzle with the remaining honey. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves and serve.

Servings: 24 tartlets, 8 to 12 servings

It is that time of year when braised meats and stews just sound wonderful.  This week, my local grocery store had beautiful cubed veal available, so I created this simple-to-prepare, make-ahead, one-pot stew that is great reheated on a week night but elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds boneless veal shoulder, cut into 2” pieces
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• ½ tsp. each oregano, salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound Cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a shallow dish sprinkle the flour over the veal cubes then coat the meat lightly.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until it is nearly smoking.  Season floured meat with salt and pepper, add to hot pot and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes.  If your pot isn’t wide enough to accommodate all the meat in one layer, brown in two batches.  Place cooked veal on a platter and reserve for later use.
4. In the same pot the meat was seared in, add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until softened and slightly golden, about 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.  If the onion-mushroom mixture becomes dry while cooking, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and lower the heat to medium.
5. Add the Dijon mustard, the oregano, the broth and the wine to the onion-mushroom mixture and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
6. Return the veal and its juices to the pot, add the cream, stir well to combine all the ingredients and place in the oven.  Cook for 3 hours.

Serves 4.

Notes:  The stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Serve over white rice or egg noodles.

Growing up, my Grandma made jelly roll cake all the time.  A favorite was the vanilla cake with raspberry jam tucked inside and confectioner’s sugar lightly dusted over.  Every Christmas, our family shares a Bûche de Noël, in recent years, it has been purchased because nobody has wanted to tackle making it from scratch.  This will be the first Christmas we spend without Grandma and I have decided to bite the bullet and make our family’s Yule log.  Here is a version I might use, unless I have a chocolate craving.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier
• Zest of an orange
• 3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup cake flour
• Browned Butter and Salted Caramel Frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat an 11×17 jelly roll pan with cooking spray.  Line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper and coat the paper with additional cooking spray.
2. Using a stand mixer, beat the eggs for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Add the sugar, Grand Marnier, zest, vanilla and salt and beat for another 2 minutes.
3. Add flour in quarter cup additions, incorporating with a rubber spatula very gently. Do not over mix!
4. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and bake for 10 minutes.  Wait 3 minutes and remove the cake from the pan and onto a large kitchen towel dusted with confectioner’s sugar.  Peel off the parchment paper.  Wait 2 minutes and roll the shorter side onto itself using the kitchen towel as a guide until a tight roll is created.  Chill rolled cake for 30 minutes then unroll the cake gently, removing the towel as you go.
5. Spread 1 cup of frosting on the cake in an even layer then roll back into a tight log.  Cut a 2-inch piece at one end of the cake at an angle and place atop the cake to create a branch stump.  Frost the outside of the cake, including the stump, run a fork over the surface of the cake to create mock bark then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve 10.