Anyone making anything special for Valentine's Day?

REC: Tortona chocolate cookies - these look good

Tortona Chocolate Cookies

Total time: 35 minutes, plus chilling and cooling time for the dough

Servings: 2 dozen cookies

Note: Adapted from Chef Elena Guerrero-Berman of Massimo's Delectables. Be careful not to grind the nuts to a fine powder or flour; the nuts should have some texture (you will see small bits in the cookies when they are baked). A food processor will work best for grinding the nuts.

2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup ground almonds
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups pastry flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.

2. Gently fold the ground hazelnuts into the butter mixture until evenly combined, then fold in the ground almonds thoroughly.

3. Stir in the vanilla. Gently add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until thoroughly mixed. Slowly add the cocoa until combined. The dough will be very thick at this point, and you should easily be able to roll a small amount into a ball.

4. Shape the dough into a flat disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

5. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Roll the dough to one-half-inch thickness between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap (this keeps the dough from sticking to the rolling pin and alleviates the need for flouring). Cut hearts or other-shaped cookies approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies until puffed slightly and set on top, about 15 minutes. Rotate the cookies halfway through for even heating and coloring.

6. Remove the cookies, still on their sheets, to a rack to cool completely before serving (they're fragile just out of the oven and will crumble if moved while still warm).

Each cookie: 317 calories; 4 grams protein; 35 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 20 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 40 mg. cholesterol; 3 mg. sodium.

http://www.latimes.com/features/la-fo-sos11-2009feb11,0,5625496.story#axzz2sehBOPqn

 
Hot-chocolate-on-a-stick with Peep hearts

Using Deb's suggestion
http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=219848
for a recipe originally from King Arthur - Cocoa Blocks
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cocoa-blocks-recipe
bamboo skewered trough Vanilla Creme Peep Hearts.
http://www.peepsandcompany.com/product/9-ct-vanilla-creme-flavored-peeps-hearts
Can't wait to see if "it" works - tomorrow smileys/wink.gif Colleen

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cocoa-blocks-recipe

http://www.candywarehouse.com/assets/item/regular/heart-peeps-candy-vanilla-129144-im.jpg

 
Going to a George Straight concert - with sisters...

it's my birthday gift from hubby (he has no interest in going - LOL).

But, his bday is on Sunday and I'm having family over for a make your own taco night (ground beef, chicken and tilapia).

Saturday night we are going out to a great restaurant - taking friends - to celebrate his bday - so I guess that's also our Valentines:) (my b-day is actually in March)

 
Having 3 guys from Miami, churrasco steak w/ chimichuri sauce. Hoping we can grill w/ the snow!

This is a fun and special dish for us! Rec below is from their website.
INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds beef skirt steak, cut long
3 heads garlic (about 30 to 40 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 and 1/2 cups sour orange juice (If you can't get sour orange juice in your area, use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime)
1 cup onion, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1 cup olive oil
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To make the marinade:

Mash garlic, salt, and peppercorns into a paste, using a mortar and pestle. Stir in sour orange juice, onion, and oregano. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or longer. Whisk the garlic-orange juice mixture with the olive oil until well blended.
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Preparing the meat is very easy. Place the meat in a large bowl or pan. Add enough mojo marinade to cover the meat. Place a cover over the bowl or pan and place in the refrigerator a minimum of five hours, but preferably overnight.
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Grill the marinated steaks outdoors on a gas or charcoal grill -- make sure your coals are hot and white! You can cook them however you like your steak -- from rare to well done. However, we recommend that you cook it RARE!
The rarer the meat, the more tender and flavorful!
Serve the meat with the chimichurri sauce -- it tastes great!
----
Chimichurri sauce
INGREDIENTS:

1 large bunch cilantro leaves
8 cloves garlic
1/4 cup vinegar
1 lime (Juice only)
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup onion
Dash or two red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Optional additions:

1/2 cup sweet red peppers chopped
1/2 cup minced tomato
1/2 cup fresh oregano,chopped

We like to make it the easy way. Put everything except the olive oil in a blender and using the "chop" setting, pulse on and off until you have a thick mixture. Do not over process! This is the kind of dish you need to taste and adjust so that you get just the right flavor! So taste it! (The best way to taste it is with a piece of bread.) Whisk in the olive oil. (If you use the blender to incorporate the oil, the oil and liquids will emulsify, giving your chimichurri a white, paste-like texture.)
Add salt, pepper, more vinegar and lime juice as needed. The flavor should be very intense with garlic and cilantro. Don't be stingy with the salt either!

Several restaurants add to the dish by adding some (or all) of the optional additions. However, we like it just fine without the additions. See what you like -- experiment!

http://icuban.com/food/churrasco_cubano.html

 
I ordered beer brined and bbq ribs and chicken from my local underground pork purveyor

it's just me this year but I am looking forward to some good Caroline BBQ and will make BBQ chicken pizza this weekend with the leftovers! This makes me rather happy smileys/smile.gif

My friends are calling Valentine's "Singles Awareness Day"

 
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