Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner - Intermediate Menu

Here are the recipes for the intermediate menu and a time schedule.

*Again, if any of you sisters have questions, please feel free to call me (Madeline 435.862.7095) I am more than willing to help answer your questions - even on Valentine's Day!

**Please note that when it calls for salt, I am using Kosher Salt - because Kosher Salt is less salty than regular iodized/table salt please half the amount of salt used if using regular iodized/table salt. **

Menu 2 - Intermediate (Total Cost per serving $7.01 not including dessert):

• Mixed Apple Salad over Greens (recipe below)
• Roast Pork Loin with Apricots (recipe below)
• Cambert Mashed Potatoes (pipped) [recipe below]
• Carottes Vichy "Carrots with Butter and Parsley" (recipe below)
• DESSERT - Brownie with Chocolate Lid (recipe below)

- - Time Table - -

1-2 days before:

• Make Chocolate Lid and Brownies for dessert
• Make Candied Walnuts for salad

1 day before:

• Stuff and apply rub to pork

Morning of:

• Peel and cut potatoes, store in fridge covered in water
• Peel carrots, store in fridge covered
• Wash and prep berries for dessert

1 hour prior to eating:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Set table
• Prepare drink (if making your own sparkling juice)

55 minutes prior:

• Place pork in warmed oven and set timer for 10 minutes
• Get ingredients out for carrots and peel if not already done
• Bring large pot of salted water to boil for potatoes
• Set out cheese for potatoes to come to room temperature

45 minutes prior:

• Adjust temperature on oven and set timer for 25 minutes
• Begin carrots

30 minutes prior:

• Start salad prep
• Finish carrots (leave in pan until ready to plate)

20 minutes prior:

• Remove pork from oven and let rest
• Finish mashed potatoes

5 minutes prior:

• Carve pork
• Plate pork, carrots, potatoes, and salad - serve
• Light candles
• After dinner, pull brownie out of freezer (if making the larger size vs individual size) plate and Enjoy!

Mixed Apple Salad over Greens -(serves 4) - Cost per serving = $1.60

Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon olive oil

Dash of salt

Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple (about 3 medium size apples)

2 cups chopped Cameo or Braeburn apple (Gala will do as well)

1/4 cup (1 ounce) Goat cheese or Blue cheese or Feta Cheese, crumble or grate

1/2 cup candied walnuts

4 cups mixed salad greens

1. Prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

2. Prepare salad, combine apples, cheese, and nuts. Drizzle dressing over apple mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve over greens.

** To make candied walnuts:**

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Place sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 1 minute). Continue cooking 1 minute or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat; carefully stir in nuts to coat evenly. Spread nuts on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; separate nuts quickly. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside until cool; break into small pieces.

Roast Pork Loin with Apricots - Williams Sonoma -(serves 4) - Cost per serving = $2.75

1 boneless center-cut pork loin (about 2 lbs)

1/2 cup dried fruit (apricots, cranberries, cherries, prunes and/or figs)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 springs fresh rosemary

3 teaspoons stone ground mustard

1. One day or at least 6 hours before cooking, stuff and season the pork loin. Use a thin boning knife to make an incision from each end that runs the length of the loin through its center. The incision should be no wider than 1 inch. Stuff the dried fruit into the center, one at a time, until the incision is completely filled with dried fruit. Season the pork liberally with the salt and pepper to taste. Rub with rosemary and mustard.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 135 degrees for medium-rare, about 25 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes. This allows time for the juices to redistribute evenly throughout the roast.

Slice the pork, about 1/4 inch thick, in order to show off the center stuffing. Arrange on a large platter or on individual plates and serve. Pass the light cream sauce at the table, if desired.

*Light cream sauce:

1/2 cup dry white wine (or substitue chicken broth)

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

After removing the pork from the roasting pan, place the pan on 1 or 2 burners over medium-low heat. Add wine and deglaze the pan, stirring and loosening any caramelized bits stuck to the bottom with a wooden spatula. Simmer to reduce the liquid by half, 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and continue to simmer, stirring once or twice until reduced by half about 3 minutes. Add cream, stir once more, and serve warm in a cruet or small pitcher.

Camembert Mashed Potatoes - My Recipes/Cooking Light -(serves 4) - Cost per Serving = $1.60

8 oz. soft cheese (I usually use cream cheese but for a richer, and more expensive version you can use camembert cheese or brie cheese.)

11 cups cubed peeled yukon gold potato (4 1/2 pounds) {yukon gold potatoes are essential for a natural buttery flavor!}

1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh chives (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Place potato in a large Dutch oven; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander; return potato to pan. Add cheese, milk, salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper; mash with a potato masher until smooth. Garnish with chives and additional pepper, if desired.

*Allow cheese to stand at room temperature while potato cooks.

*These mashed potatoes are fun to play with - adding various kinds of cheese (hard or soft) and adding in herbs like thyme or rosemary for a little punch of flavor works great too!

Carottes Vichy Carrots with Butter and Parsley - Classic French Cooking -(serves 4) - Cost per Serving = $1.06

2 pounds carrots (with tops still attached), peeled

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 stick butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley)

1. Put carrots into a heavy pan with water, sugar, and a small piece of the butter - about the size of a hazelnut. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and cover tightly.

2. Turn the heat down and cook gently until all the liquid has been absorbed and the carrots are perfectly tender - 10-15 minutes. Remove the lid at the end of cooking and shake the pan over the head to evaporate any remaining liquid.

3. Chop the remaining butter into small pieces. When you are ready to serve the carrots, toss them with the butter and parsley - both should retain their freshness.

Valentines Day Dessert (serves 8)
Here is my version of the "Ultimate Valentines Day Cake"

1 brownie box mix
vanilla ice cream
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I use Bakers)
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 oz white chocolate
Strawberries (for garnish)
Raspberries (for garnish)

Chocolate Lid:

1. Prepare the pan by placing a sheet of tin foil on a baking sheet and then placing the spring form heart shaped pan on top. Fold sides of tin foil around the pan. Spray with cooking spray.
Melt both the semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do the same with the white chocolate.
2. Drop spoonfulls of chocolate one at a time into pan. Tilt pan until evenly covered in chocolate. Use a knife or toothpick to swirl giving it the marbled effect.
Place in the freezer 20 minutes or until set.
3. In the mean time, prepare brownie mix as suggested on the box.
4. Once the Chocolate Lid is set remove from pan and cover in the tin foil and place in the fridge.
5. Using the same heart shaped pan with the bottom of the spring form now attached, place a cup in the middle of the pan and then spray edges of cup and pan with cooking spray.
Pour brownie batter into heart shaped pan being careful to spread it evenly and not drip on the cup (if there are drippings on the cup they will burn so wipe them off with a paper towel). Bake as directed on the box.
Once brownie is cooled, remove the cup and fill the hole with Vanilla Ice Cream; place in the freezer.
6. When ready to serve, hull half of the strawberries and then cut the un-hulled strawberries in half. The rest of the strawberries slice. Arrange the berries so they are thicker on once side so as to make the lid tilt to one side. On the thicker side use the un-hulled strawberries pointing towards the outside. Place chocolate lid on top and then serve to your guests.

*If you don't leave the brownie in the freezer for too many days it will not get very hard and so cutting should not be a problem.
**Take the Chocolate Lid off to cut and just brake pieces off to serve.