What's for Valentine's Day?

The jury is still out...I'm undecided on what to prepare for Valentine's day.  I pondered over meals from the past celebrations to get a few ideas.  Last year I prepared veal cutlets, orzo and asparagus, really nothing special.  But, the over the top creation was my "Kiss of Provence" cocktail with lavender and lemon flavors!

Two years ago, I prepared fillet mignon topped with prawns and a butterscotch mini bundt cake for dessert.  This year I'm at a loss for inspiration, believe it or not.  I'm leaning towards a seafood homemade pasta dish with a simple dessert.  I know, some of you are thinking, "Wait a minute.  Aren't you supposed to go out to dinner on Valentine's Day?"  Well, we've done that in the past and usually it's not a pleasant experience.  The service is never attentive because most good restaurants overbook on this day.  Chances of your food being cold are great.  And, last but not least, the ambiance is usually not as romantic as you can create at home.

With that said, why not create some tasty finger food items and feed them to each other.  Maybe these marzipan tartlettes could be included.  Marzipan is pretty much a thick almond paste.

Marzipan Tartlettes

1 ready made pie crust, or you can make your own

8 oz of marzipan paste

1 egg, beaten


I used my round ravioli cutter to get the shape.  Roll out the dough.  Starting at one end, place a teaspoon of the marzipan on the dough and fold the end over so it's covered.  Use the ravioli cutter to cut and seal at the same time.  Move on to the next.  Make as many as you can from the dough.  Bundle the leftover dough back into a ball and roll out to make more.  I did this a few times to use up the dough and marzipan.  Place each tartlette onto a parchment covered sheet pan.  Brush with egg and bake.  350 degrees until nicely browned.  Cool completely.  These are better the next day.  Just pop them into your lover's mouth!  Happy Valentine's Day whatever you decide to do or make!

Mini Strawberry Jam Turnovers

Today's recipe is one that I wanted to try for Christmas baking, but never got around to it.  The other night I made another chicken pot pie and after neatly trimming the edges, I had leftover pie crust.  I don't like waste, so I formed the dough into a disk, wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated until I could find a use. 

The original recipe called for 2 pie crusts, (yielding 3 dozen) rolled out, using a 3 inch fluted cookie cutter for the "turnovers".  I only had remnants of pie crust so the yield was greatly reduced, but just enough for a snack.  I wanted to try them, anyway.  Maybe for an Easter treat!  The filling I used was a simple strawberry jam, but the possibilities are endless.  I'm thinking nutella, orange marmalade, etc.  The only problem was that they were so tasty, I wanted more!  The following is the "lite" version.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust, either store bought or made with your favorite recipe

about 1/3 cup strawberry jam, or your choice of filling

flour for dusting while rolling

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough until you achieve 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a 2-3 inch fluted round cutter, making as many as you can.  Reroll the scraps and repeat, making more.  Place each round onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Top each round with your filling (1/2 tsp), moisten outer edge with water and fold over, pressing to seal.  Bake until golden, about 20 minutes or so.  Cool and then dust with powdered sugar.  Voila!