Valentine's Day Recipes Ideas
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When I polled you in January about what you wanted to see Valentine content-wise, most of you wanted gift guides and food, and then maybe some outfit ideas. I decided to pass on the outfit ideas, because really, just be yourself! You don’t have to wear red or pink, etc. If you want some outfit inspo in general, try my fashion section on the blog! I actually already delivered on the v-day gift guide! Plus I mentioned non-tangible things and broke down ideas for each of the 5 love languages! TODAY IS THE DAY FOR FOOD.
Me: Madewell Cashmere Sweatshirt | Madewell Jeans | Emu Slippers
Nick: Bonobos Shirt | RevTown Pants | Taft Boots
Fun story, Nick and I went on our first official date on January 24, 2014. While I love that we started dating at the beginning of the year, so we could experience our first year chronologically, it did make for some interesting events… ie Valentine’s Day! There is so much pressure around V-Day and we had only gone on maybe 2 dates prior to it. That being said, we knew we wanted to hang out, but didn’t want dine-out pressure. Or maybe that was just me? I mean I literally opted for a glass of water and the cheapest salad whenever Nick first took me out. Hah!
No, we both didn’t want pressure, I promise. Wasn’t just me! I did put the pressure on him to ask me to hang out, so there’s that ;) And by put the pressure on, I mean I basically just made him work for it and didn’t just assume we were hanging out. Hah! Anyway, we opted to cook in together instead of go out and have done that every Valentine’s Day since. This will be our 7th Valentine’s Day together, which honestly sounds super weird to say! That being said, I wanted to share some fun recipes that you could make with your loved ones!
Nick and I typically make ravioli. It’s a super easy pasta to make and you don’t have to have a pasta maker. Well, one year we were going to make lamb, but Nick forgot to defrost it in time, so that didn’t happen. Not sure what we even ate that year… Wasn’t my favorite one to say the the least. Our first v-day, we actually made his mom’s parmesan chicken. It was really sweet. All in all, it isn’t really about what you’re making, but who you are making it with. I like cooking, because it gives you something to do together and work towards a common goal.
Before I get into recipes, I actually want to share some foods that are said to be an aphrodisiac. Ya know, just in case you want to feature them in your meal ;) Basically you want to look for foods that are high in these: (to name a few!)
Antioxidants (found in vitamin C and E - increases blood flow)
B vitamins (gives energy)
Capsaicin (releases endorphins and ups adrenaline)
Citrulline (de-stresser)
Magnesium (increases blood flow, decreases anxiety)
Omega-3s (boosts mood)
Potassium (lowers blood pressure)
Here are some great food ideas that are high in the vitamins and mineral properties listed above. Can I just say hello dark chocolate strawberries?! Pro tip: DON’T REFRIGERATE THEM after you dip. Let them dry room temperature and they won’t sweat! Reminder: these are just a few ideas!! There are obviously more out there. I love the idea of “food is medicine” and using it to our benefit. Eating well / healthy CAN taste good, you know.
Avocados
Bee Pollen
Chili Peppers
Dark Chocolate
Fruit (apples, bananas, cherries, pomegranate, strawberries, watermelon)
Garlic
Ginseng Tea
Maca Root
Oysters
Red Wine
Salmon
Seeds
Spinach
Nick and I celebrated our own Valentine’s Day this weekend and made lamb shanks and goat cheese ravioli. We got a rack of lamb from Costco for $26. We later found some at Whole Foods for about $25 too, but they were basically the same price. We prepared them sous vide with butter, salt, pepper, and oregano. The great thing about a sous vide is they actually have recipes you can make within their app! After it was done, we seared them in a cast iron skillet.
For the ravioli, we like to use this recipe as our base. We have a ravioli wheel, but you can just as easily use a stamp, a small glass, or even a knife to cut the dough. After rolling and cutting, we used an egg wash and painted the sides of the ravioli, placed goat cheese, closed, and stamped with a fork. Note that it is kind of time consuming… The dough needs to be in the fridge for at least an hour, you have to cut and place, etc. Boiling is honestly the easy part! I think we ended up boiling for 15 minutes, but it honestly depends on your dough and hough thick it is along with your preference. Definitely know your audience. Maybe they don’t want to help make pasta, but appreciate the thought and are fine being with you and drinking a glass of red while you do all the work.Hah! For the sauce, we just melted butter and added fresh garlic, then tossed with the pasta. If you want a different ravioli recipe, I made these pumpkin goat cheese raviolis and they were great!
Typically I would add a green, like a salad; however, we spent all afternoon at the beach and got back after sunset, so we were kind of short on time. It was about 9 pm by the time everything was ready, so we forwent some greens. Honestly, brussels sprouts would have been great with the pasta, but so would a kale and spinach salad with my apple cider vinegar dressing!
Rack of Lamb + Goat Cheese Ravioli
Okay so you 100% do not have to have a theme or anything like that. In all honesty, it is truly the thought that counts; BUT, if you need a place to start, here are some cute ideas.
IDEAS
Breakfast for Dinner (we have this heart shaped waffle maker and love it)
Family Recipe Night (you both bring meaningful recipes, or maybe you just bring yours and teach it!)
Favorite Book (Do they have a favorite novel or series? Make a meal inspired by that! Think Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, The Hunger Games, etc Could work for a TV show or movie too!)
Heart Shaped Pizzas (fun and yummy - easy to make!)
Hodgepodge of their favorite foods even if they don’t go together (maybe from different restaurants or make each dish)
Galentine’s Brunch (Love doing this for my girlfriends!)
A spicy bee’s knees made with Zephyr Gin | Bowtie pasta we made with leftover ravioli dough
Okay so now to the good stuffff. Here are some meal ideas that you can make no matter who you are with! I tried to share ideas for everyone and most diet restrictions. I also shared a lot of options that I’ve actually made before. If you want to browse for yourself, I listed some of my favorite places to recipe hunt as well. Enjoy!!
APPETIZERS
Cheese Board
Water Crackers Toasted with Goat Cheese or Brie, topped with cloves, add jam after toasting
SALADS
Brussels Sprouts and Kale Caesar Salad at Whole Foods
Tropical Mango Salad at Trader Joe’s
SIDES
MAINS
Meat from local butcher (in Dallas we love Rudolph’s, in LA we love Belcampo)
Fish from local market (in Dallas we liked going to Amberjax, TJ’s Seafood, or Whole Foods)
Make Pizza (we like this easy yeastless dough and sub white for whole wheat flour)
DESSERTS
Chocolate Chip Cookies (minimal refrigeration! make ice cream sandwiches with them for a little more fun! You can even make them in heart shapes!)
Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
RECIPE SITES
Ambitious Kitchen
Defined Dish
Inspiralized
Minimalist Baker
Sally’s Baking Addiction
Skinny Taste
Not pictured, but we paired this meal with a bottle of Epoch Veracity, a GSM blend
I know for some people, cooking is overwhelming and not fun. For me, cooking is wonderful! It can be tiring, but ultimately I love planning a menu and coursing a meal. It’s one of the only sciences I’m good at;) I can pair flavors and wing a recipe, so sometimes it’s hard for me to even share a personal recipe! Okay so for actual Valentine’s Day we are cooking dinner with some of our best friends. We have a great bottle of Daou we bought when we were there last fall, so I’m definitely looking forward to that. They are pescatarians, so we are thinking of making a white fish - I’m currently vibing on fresh lemon flavors and herbs, but we’ll see what happens! For greens I’d love to do some form of a strawberry spinach salad or the Bibb lettuce salad I linked above. Not sure on another side or what to do for dessert, though I reallllly want to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake I shared earlier.
Do you have a favorite recipe? Anything I should make? Please share! Sometimes I get into recipe repeat mode until I burn it out. Hah! Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and know you are loved!! I’m behind on writing my Valentine’s, so got to go do those!! Have a great week!
P.S. Nick and I are spending actual Valentine’s Day with friends, but 2/15 is all us! Just booked us massages at The Now and I cannot wait!! Will report back with how it is.
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