Happy Valentines Week! I hope you're planning a special menu for your Valentine this week. Maybe some of these recipes will give you some inspiration. (Also watch for my mid-February Food Network Cupcake of the Month.)
This week's National Food Holidays are:
February 12th: National Plum Pudding Day
February 13th: National Tortellini Day
February 14th: National Cream Filled Chocolate Day
February 15th: National Gum Drop Day
February 16th: National Almond Day
February 17th: National Indian Pudding Day
February 18th: National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day
February 12th: National Plum Pudding Day
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) plums, drained, pitted and chopped
- 1-3/4 cups chopped dates
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup dried currants
- HARD SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup dark rum or orange juice
Directions
- 1. Generously grease an 8-cup pudding mold, metal gelatin mold or ovenproof bowl.
- 2. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mix bread crumbs, flour, orange peel, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture. Fold in plums, dates, raisins, carrots and currants.
- 3. Transfer to prepared pudding mold. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil; tie foil with kitchen string to secure.
- 4. Place on a rack in a stockpot; add 3 in. of hot water to pot. Bring water to a gentle boil; steam cake, covered, 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; add additional water to pot as needed. Remove pudding from pot; let stand 5 minutes before unmolding.
- 5. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat hard sauce ingredients
until smooth and creamy. Unmold pudding onto a serving plate; serve warm
with sauce. Yield: 12 servings (1-1/2 cups sauce).
February 13th: National Tortellini Day
In the city
of Bologna, there is an organization called the Learned Order of the Tortellini.
The members are dedicated to the preservation of traditional tortellini. They
wear red and gold hats shaped like tortellini and gold tortellini necklaces at
their functions. So today, why not
become a member of the Learned Order of the Tortellini and make a traditional
tortellini.
Purchase
store-bought pasta sheets (or make your own) and cut the sheet into rounds
using a 3" round cutter, spacing the rounds as close together as possible.
Gather the scraps into a ball and put them with the remaining pieces of dough
to re-roll later.
Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round of pasta. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it along the edge of the round to moisten. Fold the dough over to form a half moon, then draw the two corners together to form a rounded bonnet-shape. Press tightly to seal. Toss with flour, set aside on well-floured baking sheet, and cover. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, re-rolling the scraps.
February 14th: National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
How appropriate that today's
recipe is for Cream-Filled Chocolates.
What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to make your Valentine
some cream-filled chocolates. Here's a
very simple recipe. Enjoy surprising
your Valentine.
Ingredients for Centers
- 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 lb softened margarine
- 2 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla (or any extract you like)
- a few drops of food coloring (optional)
Ingredients for Chocolate:
- 12 oz of semi-sweet bits
- 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
- Melt in microwave or in a double boiler to dip the centers in! Keep the chocolate warm while dipping centers.
Directions:
- Blend ingredients, then shape into 1" balls and chill for a few hours or overnight.
- Using a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate (recipe below) and cool on waxed paper or tin foil.
- Cover the toothpick hole with a little teensy bit more of the chocolate, using the toothpick
February 15th: National Gum Drop Day
Gumdrops are believed to be
an American invention. The first published
mention of gum drops came in 1859. And,
of course, anyone that's played the game "Candy Land" knows it features both a Gumdrop Pass and a Gumdrop Mountain.
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1-1/3 cups applesauce
- 2 packages (3 ounces each) red or green gelatin
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
- 1. In a large saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar, applesauce, red or green gelatin, unflavored gelatin and lemon juice; let stand for 1 minute. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Immediately pour into a cold 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm.
- 2. With a spatula, loosen gelatin from sides of pan. To remove, invert onto waxed paper. Using kitchen scissors or small sharp cookie cutters dipped on hot water, cut into 1-in. squares or shapes.
- 3. Place on waxed paper. Dry at room temperature for about 8 hours or until slightly sticky. Roll in remaining sugar. Store in an airtight container. Yield: About 1-3/4 pounds.
February 16th: National Almond Day
Today
is National Almond Day and one of my favorite ways to eat almonds is in an
almond joy bar. It reminds me of one of
my favorite scriptures, "Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout for JOY." (Psalm 95:1a)
Back in August, I gave my choir members an almond joy bar with this
Psalm as a welcome back to choir gift and a reminder of why we sing. I also made an Almond Joy Cake. Here's the simple recipe:
Make
a chocolate or devil's food cake in a 9"x13" pan. Use your favorite box mix or make it from
scratch with your favorite chocolate cake recipe.
After
the cake is baked, gently poke holes into the warm cake. Mix a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed
milk with a 10 ounce package of sweetened coconut. Spread the mixture over the cake. Some of the sweetened condensed milk will
seep into the fork holes.
Then
melt one stick of butter, one 12-ounce package of chocolate chips, and 1/4 of a
cup of milk together. This can be done
in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish.
Stir until smooth. Pour the
chocolate mixture over the coconut-topped cake.
Spread the chocolate mixture over the cake to cover completely. Sprinkle 2 ounces of sliced almonds on the
top of the cake.
To serve easier, put the cake in the refrigerator to set the chocolate. Cut into pieces and serve.
February 17th: National Indian Pudding Day
Father and I went down to camp
Along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up
Yankee Doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy
Along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys
As thick as hasty pudding.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up
Yankee Doodle dandy
Mind the music and the step
And with the girls be handy
Verse 2 of "Yankee Doodle
Dandy"
Indian
pudding is a baked pudding served hot or warm, made of cornmeal, milk, molasses
and spices. It’s a richer, sweetened form of hasty pudding, a porridge of
cornmeal cooked in milk or water. The
term "Indian" pudding does not refer to the supposition that the
pudding was invented by Native American Indians but the fact that the early
settlers, like the Plymouth colony immigrants, used what they called "Indian"
corn to make the pudding similar to the warm puddings that they enjoyed in
England. Instead of using flour, which
was not available to them, they used cornmeal instead. So here's a simple, traditional recipe for
Indian pudding:
Ingredients:
2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups of milk
5 tablespoons of yellow cornmeal
1/3 of a cup of molasses
1/3 of a cup of maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of cold milk
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 300°F.
2.
Grease a 1-½ quart soufflé mold or baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the
butter; set aside.
3.
Heat 3 cups of milk in a saucepan until it is close to boiling. Add the cornmeal and reduce heat to low. Stir until the mixture thickens (about 5
minutes).
4.
Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter,
the molasses, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, salt and egg. Pour into buttered
dish.
5.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
6.
Pour the cold milk over the pudding and return to the oven. Cook for 1
hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes until the top is brown and crisp.
Serve hot or warm with topping of choice -- either ice cream or whipped cream.
February 18th: National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day
Enjoy some seafood -- even if it isn't
summer. And while you're at it, have a
glass of wine with your dinner to also celebrate "Drink Wine" Day!
Ingredients For 4 Servings:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, minced
¼ cup chopped parsley or dill plus more
for garnish
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
8 ounces crab meat, picked over
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 tablespoon cayenne
4 8-ounce flounder or tilapia fillets
1 teaspoon paprika
4-8 toothpicks
Optional garnish: lemon slice or wedge,
parsley or dill sprigs
Directions:
1.
PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Lightly oil 9 x13-inch ovenproof dish.
2.
MELT butter in skillet. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft. Stir in
parsley or dill. Remove skillet from heat and stir in breadcrumbs, crab meat,
lemon juice and cayenne.
3.
DIVIDE crab meat mixture among fillets and roll up. Hold together with
toothpicks. Place fish seam side down in baking dish. Sprinkle paprika over
fish.
4.
BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with dill and lemon before serving.
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