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Great Valentine’s Day Recipes To Serve Up All Day

The quickest way to your significant other’s heart is through their stomach. Nothing is more romantic than a home cooked meal on Valentine’s Day.   I’ve out together a handful of recipes that are sure to “wow” your significant other on the most romantic day of the year.

Breakfast Recipes:

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze.

Recipe by: Samantha Jones

Ingredients:

• 1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk, or as needed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Prepare the cream cheese glaze by beating the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Thin with 1 tablespoon milk or as needed to achieve a pourable consistency. Set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, white sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl until evenly blended; set aside. Beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl until smooth. Whisk in 1/4 cup milk with the buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring. Stir in the flour mixture until moistened. Drizzle in the melted butter, and stir until the butter has incorporated and small lumps of flour remain.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter. Drizzle with the cream cheese glaze to serve.

The French Toast Waffle

Recipe by: Vanessa Greaves

Ingredients: Makes 4 slices

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla pinch of salt
• 4 (½-inch thick) slices day-old bread (try brioche, cinnamon-swirl, French bread, or Hawaiian sweet bread)

Side note by Vanessa: If your bread has a dense, chewy crust, the waffle iron will make it even tougher. It’s best to just trim it off before dipping and cooking.

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron to medium. If you usually precoat yours with cooking spray, go ahead.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt together in a wide bowl until thoroughly combined. Dip bread slices one at a time in mixture to coat both sides completely. Lift bread with a slotted spatula and let excess mixture drain back into the bowl. Place slices on a rimmed baking sheet and let them rest for 2 minutes to let the mixture soak in.

3. Place bread in the preheated waffle iron. Close the lid, but don’t force it down. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. If your waffle iron takes only one slice at a time, repeat with the rest of the bread.

Top your French toast waffle with anything you’d normally put on your French toast or your waffle: butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, butter, fruit, and whipped cream.

Main Dishes:

Filet Mignon with Bacon Cream Sauce

By: Michael.B

Ingredients:

• 4 (4 ounce) filet mignon (beef tenderloin)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 shallots, diced
• 1/4 cup half-and-half cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
2. Brush the filets with olive oil, and cook on the preheated grill to desired doneness (about 4 minutes per side for medium rare). An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Set the steaks aside on a platter tented with aluminum foil to rest.
3. While the steaks are resting, prepare the sauce: cook and stir the chopped bacon in a small saucepan over medium heat until the bacon pieces are crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the butter and shallots, and cook and stir until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes more.
4. Stir in the half-and-half, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve over the steaks.

Chicken Parmigiana

By: Candy

Grab your favorite bottle of wine to serve up with this yummy meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 ounces dry bread crumbs
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.
2. Pour egg into a small shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken into egg, then into the bread crumbs. Place coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce into a 7×11 inch baking dish. Place chicken over sauce, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top and return to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Desserts:

Sweetheart Cupcakes

By: Celeste

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites
• 8 drops red food coloring
• 2 drops raspberry candy oil

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
2. Beat the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and egg whites together on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes, until smooth. Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with white batter; set aside.
3. Stir 4 drops of red food coloring into the remaining bowl of batter to make the batter pink, stir in the raspberry oil. Pour 1/3 of pink batter into a resealable plastic bag and set aside.
4. Mix more food coloring into the remaining bowl of pink batter until it is an orange/red color and pour the batter into a resealable plastic bag. Cut a corner off the bag, stick the open tip into the center of each cup of white batter and squeeze in about two tablespoons of red batter.
5. Cut the corner off the bag with the pink batter, stick the open tip into the center of the red batter and squeeze about 1 tablespoon pink batter into each cup.
6. Bake the layered cupcakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Chef John’s Chocolate Lava Cake

By: Chef John
Ingredients:

• butter as needed
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 1/2 ounces chopped dark chocolate
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Generously butter the inside of 4 (5 1/2 ounce) ramekins. Place them in a casserole dish.
2. Whisk together egg yolks, eggs, and sugar in a bowl until light, foamy, and lemon colored.
3. Melt chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes.
4. Stir melted chocolate mixture into egg and sugar mixture until combined.
5. Sift cocoa powder into the mixture; stir to combine.
6. Sift flour and salt into the mixture; stir to combine into a batter.
7. Stir vanilla extract into the batter.
8. Transfer batter to a resealable plastic bag. Snip one corner of the bag with scissors to create a tip.
9. Divide batter evenly between the prepared ramekins; tap gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
10. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
11. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
12. Arrange the ramekins in a casserole dish. Pour enough hot tap water into the casserole dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
13. Bake in the preheated over for 15-18 minutes. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
14. Loosen the edges from the ramekin with a knife. Invert each cake onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar.