Valentine Ideas

Eggs in Heart Baskets

 

Luscious stuffed Raspberry Cream Cheese Toast is a decadent treat that can be enjoyed as a late supper as well as breakfast.

Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without at least one chocolate dish and this Chocolate French Toast kicks breakfast up a notch. Served in a puddle of raspberry sauce, it lends a touch of red in honor of the holiday.

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Cupid, Chocolate, Etc

I claim there ain't

Another Saint

As great as Valentine.

~ Ogden Nash

In past Valentine’s Day columns, I’ve shared the history of the day, accompanied by recipes for special treats for the day. This year, I’m suggesting starting the day off in the right mood with special breakfast recipes, one of which is chocolate of course. I’m also including miscellaneous data to help create your own trivia game for family and/or friends if you wish. Enjoy!

Strawberry Smoothie

2 c. frozen sliced strawberries, unsweetened

1/2 c. cranberry raspberry juice

1/4 c. orange juice

1/2 c. vanilla yogurt

2 fresh strawberries for garnish (optional)

Place the strawberries in the bottom of a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, add juices, top with the yogurt and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with each with a strawberry.

Eggs in Heart Baskets

2 slices whole wheat bread

3 t. butter, softened

2 large eggs

Sea or kosher salt and pepper to taste

Use a cookie cutter to cut heart shapes from the center of each piece of bread, leaving perimeter intact, and set aside.

Heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees or a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place one teaspoon of the butter on the griddle and use remaining two teaspoons to butter one side of each piece of bread, including the cutout pieces. Place bread, butter side down on the griddle. Break one egg into a small dish and gently slide it into the hole of one of the bread slices. Repeat with remaining egg and bread slice.

Cook 1-2 minutes until egg is golden on the bottom. Flip gently and cook for a minute on the other side. Flip heart shaped pieces of toast and cook on the other side until toasted. Serve eggs baskets with heart toast while hot.

Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. raspberry jelly

2 T. chocolate chips

1 loaf French bread

6 large eggs

1 c. milk

1 cup half & half or light cream

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 t.. salt

Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Stir cream cheese, raspberry jelly and chocolate chips together in a medium-sized bowl. Cut bread into 1/2-inch slices and spread cream cheese mixture over half of the bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices to make sandwiches. Place sandwiches in prepared pan in a single layer. Cut sandwiches if necessary to fit pan.

Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over sandwiches, turning several times to coat well. Cover and chill at least 8 or up to 24 hours.

Cover French toast and bake 30 minutes in an over preheated to 350 F. Remove cover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with powdered sugar and syrup or your favorite toppings. If served in a pool of raspberry sauce, you really don’t need other toppings but again, this is simply a personal preference.

Chocolate French Toast

8 slices day-old challah or Italian bread

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 T. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 T. butter

Place bread in a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish, making sure pieces do not overlap, and set aside.

Whisk eggs, milk, cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla together in a medium bowl and pour over bread slices. Turn bread until it is coasted well. Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet to medium-high heat before adding butter to it.

Place bread slices on griddle and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until lightly browned and cooked through. Serve with sliced strawberries and powdered sugar or other fruit if desired. Serve French toast with sliced strawberries or raspberries and powdered sugar. Note: Avoid using fresh bread if possible. Slightly stale challah or Italian bread yields the best results.

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Valentine Q and A

Q. Next to Christmas, what is the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year?
A. Valentine’s Day

Q. What famous inventor applied for a patent on Valentine’s Day in 1876?
A. Alexander Graham Bell. The patent was for the telephone.

Q. Which state produces the most roses?
A. Oregon

Q. Cupid was said to be the son of which Roman dieties?
A. Venus and Jupiter

Q. What is Cupid said to use to inspire feelings of love?
A. Magical arrows

Q. What were humorous valentines of the 19th century referred to?
A. "Vinegar Valentines" or "Penny Dreadfuls"

Q. In what year did the infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre occur in Chicago?
A. 1929

Q. In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to do what to a Valentine’s Day card?
A. Sign it

Q. When was the “I Love You” computer virus detected in Hong Kong?
A.. May 1, 2000

Q. The first televised tour of the White House aired on February 14th of what year?
A. 1962

Q. Which 70’s rock icons were married on February 14th, 1974?
A. The Captain and Tennille

Q. Which famous English explorer was murdered on February 14th, 1779?
A. Captain James Cook

Q. St. Valentine was a Roman priest during the time of which Emperor?
A. Claudius

Q. How many saints by the name of St. Valentine, all martyred on February 14th are recognized by the Catholic Church?
A. Three

Q. Where can one find the oldest known Valentine card?
A. The British Museum

Q. Which industry promoted Valentine’s Day as an occasion for giving jewelry?
A. The diamond industry

Q. In what year was the feast of St. Valentine first declared?
A. 496 A.D.

Q. Approximately how many Valentine’s Day greeting cards are sent each year worldwide?
A. One billion

Q. Who invented the first Valentine’s Day candy box in the late 1800s?
A. Richard Cadbury

Q. Which holiday has the highest percentage of male card buyers, compared to other holidays where women purchase more cards?
A. Valentine’s Day

Q. During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that which animals chose their mates on February 14th?
A. Birds

Q. During which war were the first valentines seen in the United States?
A. The Revolutionary War

Q. On average, who receives the most Valentine’s Day cards?
A. Teachers

Q. What do florists refer to as a “signature rose”?
A. A single red rose framed with baby’s breath

Q. Most roses sold on Valentine’s Day in the United States are imported from where?
A. South America

Q. Which west coast city is home to almost 600 varieties of roses and is known as “The City of Roses”?
A. Portland, Oregon

Q. Which author refers to roses more than 50 times in his writings?
A. Shakespeare

Getting the last word?

Seen in an AJC obit last month: "She is survived by three children who didn't deserve her and a husband who did."

Super Bowl 2010 Column (Recipes & Trivia)

Appetizer Tree

Refreshing Tzatziki helps offset the heat of spicy dishes.

Asiago Artichoke Dip

Super Bowl time for super game and super eats!

Super Bowl time is here again: a time to get together to eat, root for your favorite team, eat, drink, eat, party. Oh, and did I remember to say eat? With Super Bowl Sunday second only to Thanksiving as the largest food consumption day in the United States, I musn’t leave that part out.

Since food seems to be a main focus, it’s time once again to share recipes for something other than the ordinary fare of chips and dips, plain old hot wings etc. for those who can’t make it to Miami. First though, some tips to make the day a little easier.

Ø Do as much prep work as possible, i.e., chopping, slicing, dicing etc., ahead of time.

Ø Store chopped veggies in plastic bags so they will be ready when you need them.

Ø Crockpots are great for keeping foods like cheese dip, meatballs or sausage links warm. If you’re throwing a really big party, you might need to borrow extra pots from your friends.

Ø Have a quick and easy homemade or store-bought sauce and a small can of tomato sauce on hand. Combine the two for a quick sauce with for meatballs or sausages.

Ø Choose foods that require little, if any, silverware. Be prepared with plenty of toothpicks and napkins for finger foods.

Ø Have lots of coffee and sodas ready during the last hours of the party.

Ø Don't let your friends drive away if they are tipsy or worse.

Ø Mix cuisines rather than serving just one style. That way there will be something for every palate.

An attractive Appetizer Tree can serve double duty as a colorful table decoration as well as an edible treat and if you are talented enough, you can carve the fresh pineapple into a shape that suits your party. Modifying the food color scheme to include Colts and Saints team colors will help create a true Super Bowl XLIV theme.

You may use other fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and or/cooked meats in lieu of those suggested below if you wish. A few toasted pecan halves will also perk up the flavor nicely but since these are not easily skewered, wait until just before serving and scatter them around the base of the tree.

Appetizer Tree

1 fresh pineapple

Edam cheese, cut into 1/2-inch squares

Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch squares

Summer sausage or pepperoni, cut into 1/2-inch squares

Cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares

Assorted fruit, cut into 1/2-inch squares

Romaine leaves

Toothpicks

Choose a pineapple that will stand upright on its own. Slice off the green top, cut away the outer skin and carve into desired shape. Line serving platter with romaine leaves and place carved pineapple on top.

Beginning at the bottom, use toothpicks to attach cheese, sausage and ham in a decorative pattern. You may alternate colors or put similar colors in separate rings.

Serve with dipping sauce if desired.

This tree can be used at almost any kind of party just by changing ingredients and/or colors.


If you like a sweet, savory chipolte sauce that packs some real heat, you should enjoy this easy to make, kicky Raspberry Chipolte Chile Sauce.

Raspberry Chipolte Chile Sauce

1 T. olive oil

1/2 c. finely diced onion

2 t. minced garlic

2 t. chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped

2 pts. fresh raspberries, rinsed

1/2 c. raspberry vinegar

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, cooking and stirring until they are soft and slightly caramelized, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chipotle chiles, cook, and stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Add raspberries, continuing to cook 2-3 minutes or until berries are soft. Add vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Add sugar and salt, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and let sauce simmer until thickened and reduced by half. This should take 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Use as is or for a clear glaze, strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

This can be used as a barbecue sauce, glaze or basting sauce for chicken, shrimp and other meats. Alternately, pour it over a block of cream cheese and serve as a dip with club crackers or use as a sauce for meatballs or cocktail sausages. It’s also adds great flavor to wraps.

Baked Brie with Amaretto

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. ground nutmeg

1 oz. smooth amaretto

1 Brie round

1/4 c. sliced almonds

Baguette slices, toast rounds, crackers, or sliced apples

Preheat oven to 350° F. Heat brown sugar and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat, add spices and amaretto, mix well and set aside.

Place Brie in an oven-safe casserole dish, top with sauce and sprinkle with almonds. If you don’t have almonds, you may substitute chopped walnuts but almonds go better with amaretto. Bake Brie for10 to 15 minutes or until soft or microwave on high at 30-second intervals until soft and warm. (Even though it takes just a little longer, I prefer oven baking to microwaving due to power variations on different models.)

Serve with baguette slices, toast rounds, crackers or sliced apples. Number of servings will depend on the size of the Brie round.

A Greek favorite, refreshing Tzatziki can be served to offset some of the heat from Tex-Mex fare found at most Super Bowl parties. It’s simple, easy and delicious.


Asiago Artichoke Dip is another delicious dip you may like to work into your menu. There are many variations of Asiago Dip and most are quite uncomplicated. Select the one you think you and your guests would enjoy most.

Asiago Artichoke Dip

2 oz. Alfredo cream sauce

2 oz. grated Asiago

4 oz. mozzarella Cheese

2 oz. cream cheese

6 oz. grated Parmesan Cheese

6 oz. chopped artichokes

Spinach

Heat Alfredo cream sauce in a heavy bottom skillet. Add cream cheese and let melt. Add Asiago. Mozzarella, Parmesan, artichokes and spinach and cook 2 – 3 minutes. Serve hot with grilled flat bread.

Tzatziki

Salt

2 T. chopped dill

3 garlic cloves, crushed, or more to taste

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium cucumber, peeled and coarsely grated Put grated cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse cucumber well to remove the excess salt. Using small quantities at the time, squeeze out excess liquid and put cucumber in a bowl. Add yogurt and stir. Add garlic, dill, olive oil and vinegar. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and chill until needed.NOTE: You can use mint instead of dill if you prefer.

For the ladies present who would like something different from ordinary beer, try this easy, interesting variation, Mexicali Beer Margaritas. (The guys will probably like it too!)

Mexicali Beer Margaritas

12 oz. limeade concentrate

1 1/2 cups gold tequila

3 12-oz. cans Mexican beer

1 whole lime, cut into 6 wedges

Pour limeade, tequila and beer into a pitcher and stir. Fill tall glasses with ice and pour mixture over the ice. Squeeze a lime wedge into each drink and serve.

If you prefer a less potent version, try just plain Beer Margaritas. The water makes them a little less lethal than their Mexicali counterparts.

Beer Margaritas

12 fluid ounces frozen limeade concentrate

12 fluid ounces tequila

12 fluid ounces water

12 fluid ounces beer

Ice

1 lime, cut into wedges

Pour limeade, tequila, water and beer into a large pitcher and stir until limeade has melted and mixture is well blended. Add lots of ice, pour into glasses and garnish with lime wedges to serve. Add extra water if needed.

For the more adventurous ones, try Shandy, a popular British drink. It’s light and has an interesting flavor as well. Their version calls for mixing equal parts of stout and lemonade and serving. Some mix it together or pour the stout in first, followed by lemonade on top. There are several versions of this drink but it originally began with stout and lemonade.Some Americanized versions call for equal parts beer and ginger ale or similar drinks. There’s less waste in this beverage as you mix it as you drink it instead of making large quantities that might not be completely consumed.

f Shandy doesn’t suit your taste, perhaps a Poor Man's Mimosa. This is another drink that can be easily made by the glass.

Poor Man's Mimosa Recipe

4 oz beer

4 oz Orange Juice

Pour beer into a highball glass, add orange juice, to taste and serve immediately.

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You can test your personal knowledge or use some of these bits of trivia to create a half time game for your football party guests.For fun: perfectly useless but interesting Super Bowl trivia

Ø As of 2009, Super Bowl ads cost about $100,000 per second. That's $3,000,000 for a 30 second commercial up from $2.5 million in 206. The first famous Super Bowl commercial was a 1974 ad for Noxzema featuring Super Bowl legend Joe Namath.
Ø Joe Montana holds the record for most consecutive completions (13) in a Super Bowl.
Ø The player with the most rushing yards in a Super Bowl is Timmy Smith of the Washington Redskins.
Ø Cowboy QB Roger Staubach has the most career fumbles in Super Bowl history.
Ø California leads with five MVPs, followed by Ohio and Florida with four.
Ø Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka and Tony Dungy have appeared in the Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Ø The first Super Bowl in which the winning points were scored on the final play of the game was Super Bowl XXXVIII by the New England Patriots.
Ø During halftime show of the Super Bowl in 2004, Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top, exposing her right breast with a star-shaped ring around the nipple. Timberlake and Jackson have maintained that the incident was accidental, adding a new phrase "wardrobe malfunction" to American lexicon.
Ø Jerry Rice has scored the most touchdowns (7) in three Super Bowls.
Ø Mike Lodish has played the most Super Bowls (6), four with Buffalo and two with Denver.
Ø No network footage exists of Super Bowl I. It was taped over, supposedly for a soap opera.
Ø No NFL team has ever played the Super Bowl on its own home field.Ø No Super Bowl game has ever gone into overtime play.
Ø No Super Bowl has ever ended in a shutout. Super Bowl VII with Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian's failed field goal attempt is perhaps the most dramatic example of a near shutout. The lowest amount of points scored in a Super Bowl is 3, put up by those same Dolphins in the previous year's Super Bowl, Super Bowl VI.
Ø The first Super Bowl MVP was Green Bay Packers’ Bart Starr.
Ø First time ever 3-time Super Bowl MVP was Joe Montana.
Ø The first wide receiver to be named MVP was Lynn Swann of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ø One MVP, Dallas' Chuck Howley, came from a losing team in Super Bowl V.
Ø One MVP, Washington's Mark Rypien, was born in Canada.
Ø Six non-Division I players have been named MVP or co-MVP.
Ø The Pac-10 and SEC have a player named MVP the most times (6).
Ø The 33 MVPs have been born in 19 states.
Ø Twelve MVPs are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ø Six teams have lost the final game of the regular season and still won the Super Bowl.
Ø Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.
Ø Super Bowls are held in an American city that is chosen years in advance.
Ø The Dallas Cowboys have scored the most points (221); the Denver Broncos have allowed the most (206).
Ø The Dolphins are the only team that failed to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl game. Miami scored just three points in a 21-point loss to Dallas in Super Bowl VI in New Orleans.
Ø The first Super Bowl was played in 1967. The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, 35-to-10.
Ø The longest field goal in Super Bowl history was by Steve Christie. Christie hit a 54-yarder in the first quarter of Super Bowl XXVIII vs. Dallas. Jason Elam has the second-longest field goal of 51 yards.
Ø The Los Angeles Rams had the most losses (7) of any team to play in the Super Bowl.
Ø The NFL pays for up to 150 rings for the winning Super Bowl team at $5,000 apiece (plus adjustments for extra gold or diamonds) and 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing Super Bowl team, each to cost up to half the price of the Super Bowl ring
Ø The only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls under different head coaches is the San Francisco 49ers. They won Super Bowl XXIII under legendary coach Bill Walsh and the next year returned to victory under George Seifert.
Ø The team leading at the end of the third quarter has won the past 13.
Ø The team to score first has won 25 of 36 Super Bowls The team leading at the end of the third quarter has won 31 of 36 Super Bowls.
Ø The winner of the AFC Championship Game faces the winner of the NFC Championship Game, in the culmination of the NFL playoffs.
Ø The winning Super Bowl team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games. Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded at Super Bowl V in Miami. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is made by Tiffany, takes 72 man hours to produce, and it costs $12,500.
Ø In Super Bowl XLI (2007) Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears made history as the first African-Americans to coach in a Super Bowl.
Ø Tony Dungy is the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl.

Girls morning out

Little Bit isn't even 3-1/2 yet but she’s growing and maturing in leaps and bounds right before our eyes, leaving her baby ways behind way too quickly. Well, for me anyway! The weather was nice for a change today so we decided to get out for a bit. We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday, went to Home Depot, and stopped for an item at Wal-Mart before going home. That doesn't seem particularly exciting when you see it written down but she behaved beautifully, far better than much older children you see nowadays. I guess that's something of an echo of what TS just wrote but I'm so happy she is teaching her children to behave and treat others well.

I do wish I had Bit's metabolism though. (Maybe I did when I was three but no more!) She doesn’t care much for breakfast but makes up for it at lunch and is still as slim as a rail. Today she ate some steamed broccoli, grilled chicken, most of the French fries that came with my chicken sandwich, the bacon off my chicken sandwich, three extra slices of bacon, and a big scoop of ice cream before declaring she was “all done.” She looked at me and grinned really big and said, "Bacon and French fries and 'i keam' are my favorite foods." I can only dream!

Some Days are Diamonds, Some Days are Stones

Maybe some days are just 1/2 and 1/2, I suppose. That would be today. Pretty good day at work, enjoyed the kids at the preschool, then headed straight to Roo's school to have kids read to me and take their AR (Accelerated Reader) tests for the first time. The migraine starting on me only worsened when I got there and saw Roo coming in from recess, her cheeks flushed. I assumed she had just been running hard until she told me a kindergartener from another class had choked her. Roo's teacher was just about to go to the other classroom and let that teacher know.

This is not the first time she's had a child do something physical to her at school: so far, it's been a bite to the arm, a hit hard enough on the back to knock her to the ground, and now choking. Fortunately, the incident today was not quite as bad as I initially thought...the other kid did not choke her with his hands; rather, he grabbed her shirt from behind and pulled it up and it cinched tightly around her neck. Roo says she thinks the boy was trying to get her attention. This was the same story when she got knocked to the ground by another girl. I know kids can be rather uncivilized, but c'mon...they're 5 & 6 years old...do their parents not teach them the proper way to get someone's attention?? One of the other kids in her class has already been to the guidance counselor for his aggressiveness, including choking & hitting.

I am almost past the point of anger on this issue and feel rather despairing. Is this the world my girls are going to grow up in? Are these the kids that will be leading our country one day? I can't always shield them from the bad things that can and do happen, and I certainly can't count on my fellow parents to do the right thing and teach their children right from wrong. I know, from firsthand experience, that kids who behave this way have always been around, but now it seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

Back in Business

Whew, the modem has been exchanged and we seem to be back in business. I'm not popping the champagne cork yet, however, since my laptop still seemed reluctant to start up this morning...not a good sign. Hopefully, just a temporary snafu....I have been somewhat surprised at just how much I depend on the Internet for daily tasks, essentially how everything in our society depends on it. I feel so sorry for those who fall on the other side of the "digital divide," namely some of the senior citizens I see at the library who need help & guidance from the librarians just to make contact with organizations.


On another topic, Little Bit and I just finished having lunch at Roo's school...always an ibuprofen-worthy experience. I know the kids are excited to be able to eat lunch and talk a little, but the cafeteria is sooooo loud sometimes. Even Roo is covering her ears. It was good to see Big Sis during the day, however....we miss her sometimes and she gets really excited about us being there.

Hope Life is resting up for another "fun-filled" morning with her granddaughter...God bless her...

Another synapse misfiring?

Probably not PC to some but I'm still laughing over something my son said to me Sunday evening. His thought process is as convoluted as mine, and a discussion of someone I knew marrying a blind person many, many years ago led to his commenting, “I wonder if there are blind cross dressers. I mean, what would be the point?”

And he wondered why I cracked up! I told him that I could honestly say that was one thought that had never crossed my mind but I was sure I would not be able to get rid of it now. Is there any wonder why he and Roo get along so well? All three of us have the same pinball thought process, lol.