Valentine's Day Menu

Photo by: Für Verliebte ©Cogipix / Fotolia.com

So I know it's a little early for dinner, but I am just so excited to share tonight's menu that I simply cannot wait to share it with you.

It all started when I asked Kevin what he wanted for his Valentine's Day dinner. All prepared to be making a dinner consisting of steak, potatoes, shrimp cocktail, grilled veggies and some sort of dessert, I was surprised at his answer.

"Gnocchi, " he said, "with salad, garlic bread and wine ... and dessert".

After my last gnocchi venture (see Giada's Gnocchi blog post) I was kind of surprised that Kevin wanted me to make gnocchi again -- so soon. I guess that despite its odd appearance, my husband thought that it tasted good enough to encourage me to give it another try. I told him that the menu he'd chosen sounded like a good idea and that I would pick some appetizers to accompany it. The more I thought about all of the possibilities, the more excited I got.

Appetizer #1: Stuffed Mushrooms
I have a recipe from Hungry Girl for these delicious sounding stuffed mushrooms. I cut the recipe in half to only make 2 servings -- so as not to ruin dinner by the end of the appetizer course. Baby Portabella mushrooms stuffed with a mixture of fat free cream cheese, fat free ricotta, canned spinach, reduced fat mozzarella, garlic, onion and the sauteed stems from the mushrooms. 1 serving is 99 calories. (3 mushrooms)

Appetizer #2: Hot Dates
I modified a recipe from the cookbook "Kissing in the Kitchen". I sliced open some pitted, dried dates and stuffed them with about half of a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese (as opposed to the gorgonzola called for in the recipe) and wrapped in a slice of Tukey Bacon (in lieu of regular bacon). I don't have the calorie counts handy, but these will be significantly less damaging than the original recipe.

Soup Course: Strawberry Soup
Another modified recipe ... from our Princess Cruises "Courses" cookbook. I cut this recipe by fourths so as to only make just enough for about a 3/4 c serving per person. I used fat free Half and Half in lieu of heavy cream, fat free yogurt, pureed strawberries, nutmeg, 1/8c of white grape juice and a splash of Disaronno. We made this soup for a cooking showdown about a year and a half ago. It's delicious, light and will make a lovely transition from the appetizers to our next course.

Salad Course: Spinach, Chicken and Cranberry Salad
I'll admit ... I cheated on this one. I picked up a packaged lunch sized salad bowl. I'll add the ingredients, shake it, and serve it. For about 100 calories a serving, why not?

Main Course: Giada's Gnocchi, round 2.
These were delicious ... But this time, I will serve them up with a little pesto sauce instead of the Aglio i Olio and Marinara creation that I came up with the last time. I'll be serving this with a little garlic bread to accompany the pesto .... Bellisimo!

Dessert Couse: Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cupcakes (unfrosted)
A "regular" sized cupcake from this amazing Hungry Girl recipe is just over 100 calories a piece. But I made these as mini cupcakes .... at about 1/3 the size, they're roughly 35 calories a piece, and will be the perfect size for a small bite of something sweet to follow the savory courses preceding it.

Wine choices: Shiloh Road Chardonnay and Vigilance Cimarron
The appetizers, soups and salad will be better accompanied by a light, citrus flavored white wine. The savory flavors of the gnocchi will be better paired with a red wine blend. Chocolate also goes very well with read wines, but I'll likely move on to a nice cup of hot decaf coffee by then.

Okay ... so this sounds like a TON of work ... and in a way, it was. BUT -- Kevin and I did all of the preparation work yesterday. We pop the appetizers in the oven and then roll gnocchi ... boil the gnocchi and enjoy a five course dinner at our leisure. The whole idea was to be able to enjoy a restaurant-style fancy dinner without the price tag, the crowds, the mega calories and the fuss of dressing up and fighting traffic. If dinner takes 3 hours to eat, even better. No one will be trying to rushing us out of the restaurant ... we'll be in the comfort of our own home. Yes, we'll have a few dishes to wash, but it will be well worth it since we would not have spent hours cooking BEFORE we ate. So I get to have my cake and eat it too ... We prepared a 5-course meal (yes, totally spoiling my hubby) and we will get to ENJOY it together (as opposed to being stuck in the kitchen).

I hope that you all enjoy YOUR plans for Valentine's Day -- whether you're snuggled up with your spouse, sharing a date with your special someone or perhaps just having a night in while enjoying a gourmet meal all your very own. Enjoy it! Buon Appetito!