valentine’s day – Oven Love https://www.ovenloveblog.com from scratch, with love...and a little sass Tue, 21 Apr 2015 20:19:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.28 Roasted Red Pepper Dip and Valentine’s Day Veggies https://www.ovenloveblog.com/roasted-red-pepper-dip-and-valentines-day-veggies/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/roasted-red-pepper-dip-and-valentines-day-veggies/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:55:34 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/?p=2472 redpepperdip1

Veggies for Valentine’s Day! Let’s make it a thing.

It’s not exactly a box of chocolates, but it’s kid-friendly and pretty adorable. Who can say no to heart-shaped vegetables?

redpepperdip3

I made up this little tray for a kids’ Valentine’s Day party in under an hour this morning. That includes chopping, arranging the plate and making the dip. And I did it all with kids underfoot or in one of my arms. (Can I get a virtual high five?) Here’s how it went down:

  • Clean and prep all the veggies (I used cherry tomatoes, carrots and red peppers.)
  • To make the heart shaped carrots, peel them, cut a triangle in the top of the carrot and then trim the sides to make it look like a heart. Then chop the whole carrot into smaller hearts.
  • Put a few of each veggie into a muffin cup. (I used two since the pink one was not very sturdy, but you can get away with one. You could also use paper cups.)
  • Make the dip (recipe below).
  • Put the dip into a bowl and top with a tomato heart. (Cut two tomatoes on and angle and stick them together.)
  • Arrange on your plate and store in the fridge until you’re ready to go.

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I made my dip with cream cheese, but if you’re dairy-free, you can substitute with a can of white beans. If you don’t eat beans or dairy, well.. I can’t think of a good substitution off the top of my head, so let me know in the comments if you have any ideas.

Whether you go the veggie route or the stuff-your-face-with-chocolate route for Valentine’s Day, I wish you a happy one. I know, I know.. not everyone is on-board with this holiday.  But me, I love an excuse to cut my food into shapes, so celebrate we will in this house. Enjoy the day with the ones you love!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Roasted Red Pepper Dip
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Dip
Serves: 8

Ingredients
  • 1 block full-fat cream cheese or 1 can cannellini/white beans, drained
  • ½ cup chopped roasted red peppers (drained if using jarred peppers)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked paprika)
  • cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. In a food processor or mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth (use the food processor if you’re using the beans). Add the peppers and spices and process until smooth.
  2. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

 

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/roasted-red-pepper-dip-and-valentines-day-veggies/feed/ 4 Valentine’s Day Eye Candy! https://www.ovenloveblog.com/valentines-day-eye-candy/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/valentines-day-eye-candy/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:43:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/valentines-day-eye-candy/  Happy Valentine’s Day, Oven Lovers!
If you are looking to make something sweet today, here are some of my favorite Valentine’s appropriate treats from the archives. There’s something for everyone- strawberry lovers, chocolate lovers, ice cream lovers, and breakfast-in-bed lovers alike. Enjoy!
 Rainbow Cake– change it up for Valentine’s Day with pink and red layers instead!
Wishing you a day full of sweetness!
]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/valentines-day-eye-candy/feed/ 1 Red Velvet Whoopie Pies https://www.ovenloveblog.com/red-velvet-whoopie-pies-2/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/red-velvet-whoopie-pies-2/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 03:06:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/red-velvet-whoopie-pies-2/
May is all supposed to be all about pies around here, my darlings.  I’m starting out with a bit of an unconventional pie post, though, just to keep things exciting for you.. with whoopie pies!
Have you heard about whoopie pies?  They kind of had a moment in the foodie world recently, and it seemed like everyone was making them.  This was crazy to me!  I grew up in Lancaster County, PA, the Amish capital and home of the best whoopie pies around.  As a kid, no one I met outside of CenPenn knew what they were.  Now they are super popular, and rightly so.  They are so good!
The typical flavors for whoopie pies that I remember from home are chocolate and cream, pumpkin with cream cheese, red velvet, and chocolate peanut butter.  We’d get them at bake sales or any of the good markets- Central Market in Lancaster City, Saturday’s Market or Root’s.  Man.. I’m getting nostalgic/hungry.
The cookies are the cakey type, so if you love cookies or cake or frosting, these are for you.  You really can’t go wrong with the red velvet and cream cheese combo, either.  There is a little effort involved if you want them to look good visually, but if you don’t care what they look like, the recipe is fairly straight-forward.
I must admit to you that I have some real Amish whoopie pie recipes, but I’m saving them up for later.  I liked what I saw on Annie’s Eats, and I think they turned out similar to my hometown type, but they aren’t quite perfect.  Guess I’ll just have to do some more experimentation/taste-testing..
What do you think about whoopie pies?  Are you on board or already over it?
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
 

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http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/02/08/red-velvet-whoopie-pies/
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 oz. red food coloring
  • 1 batch cream cheese frosting, recipe follows

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.
  2. Using something round, trace evenly spaced circles onto pieces of parchment paper sized to fit two cookie sheets. Place the parchment on the cookie sheets so that the side you have drawn on is facing down; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated. Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients. Do not overbeat. Blend in the food coloring.
  4. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper using the tracings as a guide. Bake 7-9 minutes or until the tops are set, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack. Repeat with any remaining batter. Allow cookies to cool completely before proceeding.
  5. Transfer the pre-made frosting (you can make while cookies are baking/cooling) to a clean pastry bag fitted with a plain, round tip. Pair the cookies up by shape and size. Flip one cookie of each pair over so that the flat side is facing up.
  6. Pipe frosting onto the flat-sided cookie of each pair, leaving the edges clear. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides are facing each other and press gently to help the filling reach the edges. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 1

Ingredients
  • 8oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 5 tbs softened butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar (or more, if needed)

Instructions
  1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth (no lumps!). Add sugar until you reach the desired consistency and sweetness.

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/red-velvet-whoopie-pies-2/feed/ 10 Strawberry Ice Cream https://www.ovenloveblog.com/strawberry-ice-cream/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/strawberry-ice-cream/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:59:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/strawberry-ice-cream/
 Remember Monday?  When I couldn’t deliver my Valentine’s Day gift to you?
So lame.  You deserve better.
You deserve strawberry ice cream.
Can we still be valentines?
Good.  Moving on.
You know what’s even better than making this ice cream for your sweetheart on VDay?  Making it for them a week later.  Then, not only do they know you love them, but they know you still love them, a week later!  Excellent logic.
If you’ve ever made ice cream at home, this will be simple for you.  If you haven’t, come to my house and I’ll teach you.  You’ll need an ice cream maker and some gumption.
It’s a basic vanilla base, with strawberry puree added in just before processing.  The hardest part is making sure you don’t curdle the eggs- correct tempering takes care of that.  Tempering means slowly adding a hot liquid to a cooler one, to bring them to the same ‘temper’-ature.  Get it?
This would be such a sweet treat to enjoy on a beautiful day like today.
Sweet, strawberry goodness.
Tell your sweetheart you love them again.  It never gets old.
(Then come to my house and eat strawberry ice cream.)

 

Strawberry Ice Cream
 

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adapted from Tyler Florence- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/vanilla-bean-ice-cream-base-recipe/index.html
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 6

Ingredients
  • 2½ cups heavy cream
  • 1¼ cups whole milk
  • pinch salt
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ vanilla bean
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup strawberry puree, cold*

Instructions
  1. Combine the cream, milk, salt, and ½ cup of the sugar in a large pot. Split the ½ vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife; add them to the pot and toss in the pods for added flavor. Place the cream mixture over medium heat, and bring up to a simmer; stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Ideally, the temperature should reach 175 degrees F (just below scalding) for a smooth-textured ice cream; this should take about 15 minutes. Shut off the heat, cover the pot, and allow the cream mixture to steep for 15 minutes to further infuse the vanilla flavor.
  2. In the meantime, combine the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and blend lightly with a wire whisk. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue to whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved and the eggs are thick and pale yellow; about 5 minutes.
  3. Using a large ladle or measuring cup, temper the eggs by gradually whisking in half of the hot cream mixture. Return this back to the rest of the cream in the saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until the custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of a spoon when you run your finger across it, about 10 to 12 minutes. Do not let it boil.
  4. Pour the custard through a fine strainer into a bowl and chill completely in an ice bath or in the fridge. Ideally, let the ice cream base “age” overnight in the refrigerator before churning in an ice cream maker, but just make sure the base is cold. Before processing, stir in the cold strawberry puree. Process in an ice cream maker and enjoy.
  5. *To make strawberry puree using frozen strawberries: Put frozen strawberries in a strainer over a bowl to thaw, letting the liquids drain. Process in a blender or food processor and strain again. Let chill before adding to the ice cream base. (You can do the same with fresh strawberries, there’s just no draining involved.)

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/strawberry-ice-cream/feed/ 1 Love and Chocolate https://www.ovenloveblog.com/love-and-chocolate-2/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/love-and-chocolate-2/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:58:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/love-and-chocolate-2/ Happy Valentine’s Day, beautiful people!  
Love is in the air.
I did make you some delicious strawberry ice cream, but I can’t download the pictures at my current location, so you’ll just have to wait in anticipation for your V-Day gift.  I do love you, though, so I’m going to share some of my favorite treats from around the web.
I love cinnamon and chocolate together. Add some fried dough and I’ll be yours forever.
(This one’s for you, Jess.)
Is this not the perfect twist on the classic Valentine’s Day treat?
Genius idea- and a good substitute while you’re waiting on your strawberry ice cream..
Quit it with the cuteness!
That heart-shaped pat of butter is killin’ me!
In case you wanted to die and go to heaven.
Happy Love Day!
Enjoy it with someone (or at least something) sweet.
*Note: None of these gorgeous photos were taken by me. All courtesy of the bloggers above!
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