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Valentine's Day Recipes

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May I admit something? I am the least romantic person I know on the planet. I was born on Valentine's Day and even with that incentive, have never been one for hearts, lace, or pink, though you gotta love those goofy Valentines we used to give each other in grade school. That said, as an excuse for cooking something special, Valentine's is one of the best. Here are some of the Valentine appropriate sweet delectables you'll find on Simply Recipes, followed by a few recommendations for romantic dinners, as well as some terrific ideas from fellow food bloggers. Are you cooking up something special for Valentine's Day? If so, tell us about it in the comments.

Enjoy the day!

Sweet recipes

Valentine Linzer Cookies - Heart-shaped Linzer cookies with berry jam filling
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries - Fresh strawberries dipped first in white chocolate then dark chocolate
Shortbread Cookies - Ultra-thin, heart-shaped shortbread cookies
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake - An almost flourless chocolate cake, rich and moist
Rose Petal Flan - Delicate flan flavored lightly with rose water
Red Velvet Cupcakes - "And she wore red velvet..."

Special dinners

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Chicken Bacon Roulades - Chicken breasts pounded thin, rolled up with bacon, shallots and Parmesan, and baked
Chicken Marsala - Breaded chicken breast cutlets cooked with pancetta and onions in Marsala wine
Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce - Whole chicken pieces, browned first then baked in the oven and served with a mushroom cream sauce
Osso Buco - Braised veal shank with gremolata
Glazed Salmon - Salmon fillets cooked with a honey cider glaze
Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork - Boneless pork roast rolled and filled with apple cranberry shallot stuffing

Sweet Valentine recipes from fellow food bloggers

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St. Valentine's Day Pavlova - a berry studded pavlova from Kitchen Delights
Chocolate Almond Cakes from Dessert First
Cranberry Apricot Truffles from Elana's Pantry
Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cupcakes from Cupcake Project
Salted Butter Caramel and Milk Chocolate Mousse from Pille of Nami-Nami
Buttermilk Cookies from The Kitchen Sink
Chocolate tiramisu from Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Valentine recipe collections

Fiery hot recipes and tips for Valentine's Day - collection from Seduction Meals
Valentine's Day Treats - a FoodieView roundup from Susan of Farmgirl Fare
Valentine posts at Slashfood
Valentine's Day Menu - from Everything Rachael Ray
Vegetables for Valentines -a roundup from Susan of FatFree Vegan Kitchen
The Best Aphrodisiac Foods for Valentine's Day - a list from Mansi at Fun and Food

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Posted by Elise on Feb 13, 2008 and indexed Valentine's Day

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Comments

Oh my gosh, those all look so good! Happy birthday!!!!

Posted by: katy on February 13, 2008 12:45 PM

Happy birthday, Elise!
I was born minutes after Valentine's Day, so it's nice to hear of a fellow Valentine's baby. (I've always been keen on Valentine's Day because my parents would tell me i was there valentine gift) like you, I, also, hate the ushy-gushy part of Valentine's Day, but I love celebrating a family love. The romantic part, however, is not really up my alley. I prefer a sensible normal kind of love. :-)

I made espresso chocolate dipped heart-shaped shortbread cookies to give as valentines to our friends this year; they are amazing! I got the recipe from

http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/2008/02/11/cookie-for-you-cookie-for-me-or-not/

who got it from Fine Cooking.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted by: Corynne Escalante on February 13, 2008 2:03 PM

Happy Happy Birthday to you tomorrow!

And look, you're the one giving us these presents all the time. Thank you! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Posted by: Peggasus on February 13, 2008 2:04 PM

Hey Elise! Wish you a Happy B'day girl! and thanks for linking to my article:) I'm all set with my Liquer-infused chocolate hearts for the V-day:)

Posted by: Mansi on February 13, 2008 2:33 PM

I am making marshmallow creme filled chocolate hearts-at my boyfriend's request. The romantic part is that he even went and bought the chocolate molds for me today, and kept calling to find out if I needed anything else from the baking supply store!

Posted by: Michelle on February 13, 2008 2:50 PM

Elise,

This looks great, all of it! I am making vanilla macarons with chocolate ganache in the center for work. Also making a spin off of banana cream pie, (my husbands fav) by making it into a white cake, banana cream in the center and chocolate ganache on top. Ill let you know how that turns out.

Kellie

Posted by: Kellie on February 13, 2008 2:52 PM

Happy Birthday to you Elise!!!

Valentine's Day is not only about love with a "special someone", it is for all kinds of love! My parents always made a big "family" day out of it.

Since I was an only child (til I turned 12), that meant celebrating at breakfast with my mom - heart-ish shaped pancakes and a valentine's heart from See's Candy, going to school (Valentine Party at School) and coming home to a gourmet meal or going to a fancy restaurant for dinner with my parents. I loved it! When my brother was born, we continued the traditions. As you can tell, these are very fond memories for me :)

Posted by: Denise on February 13, 2008 3:07 PM

Very, very happy birthday Elise!! May there be maaaaaaaaaany more!! Oh, and everything looks delicious!

Posted by: Ari on February 13, 2008 3:14 PM

Have a sweet, sweet birthday - enjoy!

Posted by: Karen on February 13, 2008 3:25 PM

Happy Birthday Elise! Thanks for all the delicious recipes and good ideas that you give to us.

I meant to write and tell you that Heidi had a guacamole recipe posted on a Mardi Gras parade day. I had a bag of avocados that were "ready", not a single onion in the house and I was landlocked in the neighborhood because of the parade. But I did have a jar of your pickled red onions. Everyone was very impressed with the green and purple guac (Mardi Gras colors) and the little bit of sweetness was a perfect surprise.

Posted by: Lillianne on February 13, 2008 3:32 PM

Elise,
Wishing you the happiest of birthdays..may the coming years bring you good health, happiness, love, joy, peace in your home and heart and of course many a new recipe to try..
Love your blog..visit every day,
Best Wishes,
Judy

Posted by: Judy on February 13, 2008 3:45 PM

Happy Birthday (for tomorrow)!

Every recipe I make from you blog is amazing-receiving rave reviews. These suggestions look great. I'm not really a romantic either, but need very little excuse for a decadent meal! I'm looking forward to trying one of the chicken recipes tomorrow night!

Posted by: Sarah on February 13, 2008 3:50 PM

Happy Birthday! Valentine's Day must be a great day to celebrate a birthday!

We celebrate V-Day as a family (not too much romance, but a lot of fun and love) with a special dinner: The main course is sea scallops, which are seared and then cooked with a mushroom sauce that has butter, shallots, and sherry added. It is incredibly delicious, and just thinking of it is making my mouth water. The scallops will be served with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans w/ a honey-balsamic vinegar viniagrette. It's an annual tradition that we all look forward to. Yum. Ending with cannoli from a local bakery.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and Valentine's Day celebration, and thank you for the fantastic recipes.


Posted by: Sarah on February 13, 2008 4:11 PM

Happy birthday, Elise! The older I get, the less I "celebrate" Valentines Day -- but the more I realize how important it is to tell the people you love that you love them. I always acknowledge the day by sending cards and emails to let people know I am thinking of them. Oh -- and of course I indulge in a piece of chocolate, too!

Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on February 13, 2008 4:52 PM

Elise,

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day.

Thanks for your beautiful site.

Elana

Posted by: Elana on February 13, 2008 5:39 PM

I'll be making garlic picanha (Portugese for sirloin), grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes and caesar salad. For dessert, I'm planning on bananas foster.

If everything goes as planned, I'll be posting pics on my blog in a couple of days.

Posted by: chirky on February 13, 2008 8:12 PM

Happy birthday, Elise! I'm not such a huge fan of Valentine's Day as a Hallmark holiday either, but I sure love the excuse to have a special, yummy meal. We go out, and that's my treat--a night of from cooking for me and dishes for the Boy.

Posted by: Lady Amalthea on February 13, 2008 9:02 PM

"Roses are red...violets are green...my name is Jonathan...and I like to cook."

No? Nothing? I'll work on it.

My father's birthday (and my parent's wedding anniversary) was also 2/14.

He wasn't much for romance either. Go figure.

As long as you continue to romance us with gorgeous photography, witty prose and delicious recipes, all is forgiven.

And now, I must command you to go see the film "Atonement". Two times.

Happy birthday, Elise.

Posted by: jonathan on February 13, 2008 9:03 PM

I am definitely "over" V-day as a holiday - being in Italy makes that much easier - not as much commercialism surrounding it.

But I'm glad to have found another reason to enjoy Feb. 14th - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Posted by: Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy on February 13, 2008 10:34 PM

Happy Birthday darlin! (or in 40 minutes at least, ha ha).
XOXO

Posted by: Garrett on February 13, 2008 11:20 PM

All of them look absolutely delicious. Happy Birthday to you. The first time to your site. You have some lovely recipes here, which i am making a list to try out. Thanks for sharing them.

Posted by: Archana on February 14, 2008 12:07 AM

Palju õnne sünnipäevaks aka Happy birthday, Elise!! Valentine's Day is a new holiday here in Estonia, and it's celebrated as a friend's day - so I wish you also a happy blog-friend's-day :)
And thank you so much for the link-love - it's very much appreciated!!

Posted by: Pille on February 14, 2008 12:22 AM

Happy Birthday Elise. I hope you have a fabulous day.

Posted by: barbara on February 14, 2008 3:26 AM

Good Morning and Happy Birthday,
I enjoyed reading all of your recipies and am looking forward to trying MOST of them. I agree Valentines Day is the best holiday to cook for because it is all about love and I love to cook and especially bake for my family and special friends. Today is my birthday too!
Have a wonderful day and thanks for the recipies

Posted by: Denise on February 14, 2008 5:01 AM

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a very special day!

Posted by: Gretchen Noelle on February 14, 2008 5:38 AM

Happy birthday!
Of course the food looks perfect (given your track record, that is to be expected), but I had to speak up and wish you a cheerful special day.
enjoy it.
p.s. love the linzer cookies

Posted by: L*Joy on February 14, 2008 6:00 AM

Happy birthday! I was never much a fan of Valentine's Day myself, until I started thinking of it as more of a National Eat Chocolate Day :) I'll be making grilled chicken with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese, topped with a wine sauce. And of course, chocolate cheesecake for dessert!

Posted by: geeky on February 14, 2008 6:07 AM

Happy Birthday!

I'm making a chocolate raspberry pavlova from Nigella - http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=211

though I couldn't find raspberries so I'm using strawberries. Have made it before - super-easy, super-delicious. always a big hit!

Posted by: LDubs on February 14, 2008 6:30 AM

Happy birthday! Have a wonderful day.

Posted by: Sarah Jackson on February 14, 2008 7:14 AM

Happy birthday, Elise! Have a wonderful day!

I don't blame you for not liking the goopy stuff, you probably got quite enough of it. I was born on Flag Day and couldn't stand to look at red-white-and-blue for a while.

(I personally like the goopy stuff - and the snarky stuff - and have dealt with my "single" angst by making valentines for all my near and dear and/or cooking up a storm. I made truffles yesterday and the day before and will finish off a batch today.)

Posted by: Charlotte on February 14, 2008 7:59 AM

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Elise!

Posted by: Katie on February 14, 2008 8:25 AM

Happy birthday, Elise!

I am just making a simple dinner tonight, polenta and chicken with a wine sauce, for the husband and I to eat together after we put the kids to bed. No dessert, because we got doughnuts for the kids for breakfast (a major nutritional aberration!) and both of us indulged!

Posted by: Ana on February 14, 2008 9:04 AM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISE!!!!!!!!! :)

Posted by: Kristi on February 14, 2008 9:11 AM

Happy Birthday Elise and thank you for always providing me with great ideas and awesome recipes!

Posted by: Jessica on February 14, 2008 12:26 PM

Happy Birthday, Elise! What a special day for a birthday!

I had a special meal planned for tonight--my husband's favorite "Spicy Chicken over Angel Hair." But my husband surprised me, and we went out for lunch; we both are so stuffed that our Valentine's meal will have to wait until tomorrow night. Hopefully I can get some ideas from your links above as I'm having a Valentine's luncheon next week! Thank you and enjoy your day!

Posted by: Deb on February 14, 2008 12:29 PM

Happy birthday, Elise! I'm inspired by your site and have corn tortillas on the list of new things to make from scratch this weekend. I can't wait!

Posted by: Jamie AZ on February 14, 2008 12:47 PM

Happy birthday!

Posted by: Jessy on February 14, 2008 2:53 PM

Happy Birthday to you...happy birthday to you! The Valentine's Day round-up is superb--thanks! Dining alone, just me & my chocolate fondue :)

Posted by: JEP on February 14, 2008 3:45 PM

Happy Birthday!

I'm cooking Tuscan Potatoes for my sweetheart tonight: http://burkcooks.blogspot.com/2007/08/tuscan-potatoes.html

Posted by: Burk on February 14, 2008 6:23 PM

Happy Birthday, Dear Heart!

Posted by: Andrea on February 14, 2008 9:23 PM

Happy (belated) B-day, Elise!
I didn't check in yesterday to see what was cookin... it was a bad day. Any recipes for the broken hearted?

Oh Merd. The best recipe I know of for a broken heart is the company of good friends. ~Elise

Posted by: merd on February 15, 2008 5:38 PM

Happy (belated) Birthday! I love the pics. I made tuxedo strawberries, too! I started these last year and now think I am going to make them a tradition. I am loving the stuffed pork - one I will need to try.

Posted by: Chris on February 15, 2008 9:09 PM

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