"Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner for Two"

I’ve planned a romantic dinner for the two of us, my husband, and I.  It’s all about what makes US happy, so I’ve planned some of my favorite things and some of his favorite things.  He likes movies and snacks, and I have some of each.  He likes meat and potatoes, and I’ve got most of that together.  We both like restful music in the background, so we can talk and relax, so I’ve got some of that.  The party will begin at sundown.

We’ll have the table all set and sit down to a shrimp cocktail and a sparkling beverage.  Then we’ll have the main part of the dinner and save the dessert for the movies.  We’ll see one of mine and one of his.  My list includes "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle" and "While You Were Sleeping" and "An Affair to Remember" as well as others.  His probably runs to something like “Independence Day”, “Crossfire Trail” or “One Special Night” - - -

I like to use my mother's wedding china and my crystal for this meal. The tablecloth and napkins came from my husband's mother.  I love vintage linens for the table and use them every day.

Timing the meal

I picked easy items to make.  I don’t want to spend the whole day in the kitchen, do you?  First thing in the morning, I make the trifle and put it away in the fridge.  It needs to settle.  After that, I make the  squash and meat loaf, refrigerate them and pop each one into the oven at the last minute. The shrimp cocktail, I make just before dinner and it is served first, about half way through the time when the meat loaf is baking.  We like to take our time.  Between the meal and the dessert, we exchange cards and gifts.

It’s a sweet time for both of us….and it won’t be perfect.  If I’m too concerned about the timing, it won’t be fun.  So, I plan to enjoy the accidents along the way.  After all, it’ll still be early and we could go to the Drive-In, right?

The Valentine Menu

Shrimp Cocktail

Sparkling Cider

Meat Loaf Extraordinaire

Butternut Squash a la Buerre

Green Beans Scampi

Strawberry Trifle

In the background, some of our favorite music - - -

John McDermott – Believe Me
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - White Sandy Beach
 James Taylor – How Sweet It Is
Theme from Somewhere in Time
Tracy Byrd – Keeper of the Stars

Movies for St. Valentine’s Day

I had to plan ahead for this one because not all were in our collection, but it was worth it.  For Christmas, I got him all the known Louis L’Amore movies that are available on DVD, so we might add one of those to my romance-type list.  Usually, we watch the action-packed movie first, then, have our dessert with the romance.

“An Affair to Remember” – Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr
“While You Were Sleeping” – Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman
“You’ve Got Mail” – Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
“The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” – Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison
“Random Harvest” – Greer Garson and Ronald Colman
And there’s always, Disney, you know:  Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Cars (Cars?!!!).

The Recipes

Shrimp Cocktail

12 Medium Shrimp, cooked and chilled
½ c. tomato catsup
1 T. Horseradish Sauce
1 t. Lemon Juice
Place the catsup, horseradish and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk together well.  Check the taste.  Some like more horseradish than others.  Divide into two sherbet bowls.  Hook the shrimp over the side and chill until ready to serve with a fork and a napkin.


Meat Loaf Extraordinaire

1 pound ground beef or chuck
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
3 pieces of bread, crusts removed and cubed small
¾ c. tomato catsup
1 to 3 t. sage, according to taste (you should be able to smell it when the meat is mixed up)
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper

Place meat and bread in a large bowl and set aside.  Saute onion and celery in a little butter with the sage until tender and fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in catsup.  Add the veggies to the meat and bread.  Add salt and pepper and mix well with clean hands.
Spoon into a loaf pan and bake about 50 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Butternut Squash a la Beurre (Butter)

Pierce the squash in three places deeply and microwave in 5 minute intervals on high until the skin gives when you poke it.  Slice open and remove seeds.  Spoon out flesh and place in a small casserole dish.  Top with butter and brown sugar and bake at 350 degrees F until butter and sugar are melted together.

Green Beans Scampi

Place 1 or 2 cans of French-cut green beans in a saucepan.  Add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed.  Heat to boiling and simmer 5 minutes.  Serve with a dot of butter and salt and pepper.

Strawberry Trifle

1 bag frozen strawberries
1 loaf Angel Food Cake
1 pkg Jello instant Vanilla pudding
1 Pint Heavy Cream, sweetened and flavored with vanilla, whipped

Thaw strawberries and cut all but five of them in quarters.  Cut the cake in 2” cubes.  Make the pudding according to instructions.  Whip and season the cream.

In a trifle bowl or a clear glass bowl, place a layer of cake cubes, topped with a slathering of pudding.  Next, place a layer of strawberries and a layer of cream.  Make more layers in the order given until almost all used up.  Top with whipped cream and dot with the five whole strawberries.

You can also make this in a parfait or other tall glass for individual servings.

Have a look at our "Heart Etui (needle case)" pattern at Prairie Cottage Corner.  (See the fourth previous blog post about the etui.)  If you buy it on Valentine's Day, I'll email it to you, specially, so you can give it to someone you care about on the day.  Try to make your purchase before 5 pm PST, will you?  I'm going to be busy after that.  LOL.  Prairie Stitcher

Happy New Year!!!!

I tried variations of two recipes for New Years Eve and they were very good:  “Oysters Rockefeller” and “Chili Rellenos”.  I had to make variations with the Oysters  because, out here on the prairie, they sell wonderful Willapa Bay oysters, but no shells….and Oysters Rockefeller requires shells.  What to do?
I made the recipe in a muffin tin, a six cup tin for over-sized muffins.  The muffin cups served as my oyster shells.  Here’s my variation on the original recipe:

Kathie’s Oysters Rockefeller – A great starter for any meal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a six-tin oversized muffin tin (even if it has a non-stick surface).

3 or 4 flour tortillas
6 pieces of bacon, fried but not too crisp, cut in 1” pieces
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
1 ¼ c. heavy cream
2 T. butter
¼ c. minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. all purpose flour
2 c. Italian Blend shredded cheese
I jar Willapa Bay oysters (about 4-6 large oysters)
6-12 fresh lemon wedges

Using a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut six circles from the flour tortillas to fit the bottom of the muffin tin cups.  Poke them all over with a sharp fork, place on a cookie sheet and bake them until they are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  Remove and place one in the bottom of each cup.

Fry the bacon and drain well on paper towels.  Set aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter just until fragrant.  Stir in flour and cook about 1 ½ minutes.  Add cream and heat through until thickened.  Add spinach and heat through.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Rinse and drain the oysters and cut them in chunks to fit the tins and so there is enough for each serving.

Place a tablespoon of cheese on top of the tortilla round in each cup.  Put a few pieces of bacon atop the cheese, followed by the oysters.  Cover the oysters with the spinach sauce, topped with more bacon.  Last, put enough cheese on the top to cover all and to kind of “seal” the cup.

Bake about ½ hour until bubbly and slightly browned.  Remove and let set about 5 minutes before serving.   Using a silicone spatula, free the oysters from the sides of the cups.  Then, remove them to a chafing dish or platter for serving.  They look nice on a piece of red or butter lettuce.  Serve with lemon wedges on the side.   You can make these ahead and refrigerate until party time.

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My friends know I love Chili Rellenos, sort of.  I mean, I love to eat good ones, and good ones are few and far between.  Most recipes and restaurants insist on deep frying grotesque whole pablanos in corn meal and serve them in a pool of grease.  Yuck.  What an ignoble end for a great food idea.  I mean, what is more logical than to melt lovely cheese inside a flavorful vegetable and serve it with a lovely sauce?

So, I took to making rellenos with canned whole green chilies, stuffed with Jack Cheese and wrapped in crepes with chili gravy over the top.  It’s a wonderful meal, but very time-consuming.  On New Year’s Eve day, I didn’t have time for crepes and such, so decided to improvise.  Also, I had some medium cooked shrimp I didn’t quite know what to do with.  Following is the result:

Kathie’s Muffin Tin Chili Rellenos with Shrimp 

and Chipotle Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, even if it has a non-stick surface.

3 or 4 flour tortillas
2 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese
12 medium cooked shrimp, tails removed
4 small cans whole green chilies (Ortega or some other brand), or, 12 green chilies, roasted, peeled, and seeded
½ c. medium salsa

Using a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut six circles from the flour tortillas to fit the bottom of the muffin tin cups.  Poke them all over with a sharp fork, place on a cookie sheet and bake them until they are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  Remove and place one in the bottom of each cup.

Halve the chilies lengthwise.

Place 1 tablespoon of cheese on the tortilla, then, a chili half, more cheese, a shrimp, then, a chili half.  Place a dollop of salsa on top of the chili and seal the cup with cheese.

Bake about ½ hour until bubbly and slightly browned.  Remove and let set about 5 minutes before serving.   Using a silicone spatula, free the rellenos from the sides of the cups.  Then, remove them to a chafing dish or platter for serving.  They look nice on a piece of red or butter lettuce.  Serve with sour cream on the side.   You can make these ahead and refrigerate until party time.
Chipotle Sour Cream

½ c. sour cream
1/8 to 1/2  t. ground chipotle or jalapeno peppers or cayenne pepper

Start with the smaller amount and mix and taste to your own tolerance of heat.  This is meant to be spicy so guests with an aversion to the heat should be offered plain sour cream.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.