Valentine's Day Menu

Happy Valentine’s Day! In case you’re planning to spend a cozy night in cooking with your sweety (or with friends!), here is a menu idea:

To start: a Pomegranate Cocktail aperitif and Bacon & Basil Wrapped Dates

First Course: Red Valentine Chopped Salad

2nd Course: Red Roasted Carrots

Main Course: Beet, Onion & Eggplant Stack with Pesto (which is great alongside any meat entree´ if you want something a little more filling!). It’s also good with big round slices of fresh bufala mozzarella mixed into the stack.

For Dessert: Spiced Apricots dipped in dark chocolate with chili powder

Cheers!

Butternut Quesadillas

Corn tortilla quesadillas filled with mashed roasted butternut squash, Manchego cheese and fresh thyme! I recently made a big batch of these for a party and they were great. They’d be perfect for a Superbowl party because you can make them ahead and keep them warm in the oven- just slice before serving. 

For more photos and recipe details click over to my post today on Better Homes & Gardens’ blog, Delish Dish.

Whole Pepper tacos

I got these sweet peppers from my CSA box recently and roasted them up on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 400º with just a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. I love how the true flavors of a vegetable come through when that’s all you use! These (banana peppers?) are not as big as bell peppers so one fits perfectly inside each corn tortilla. I feel like I always have leftover quinoa in the fridge (that stuff multiplies!) so we used that instead of rice, along with cottage cheese, avocado slices and my favorite hot sauce, Sriracha. Salt to taste and enjoy (perhaps with this springy cocktail!)

This dish was featured in my recent Food52 post that shared 5 recipes using avocados, yum!

You might also like:

Corn and Cauliflower Tacos

Egglant “Tacos”

Sesame Tofu Noodle Bowls

This meal-in-a-bowl is so easy! Rice noodles take a second to cook, and then you can top them with a handful of chopped fresh herbs (like basil and cilantro) plus tofu cubes (brown them if you have time, or buy the pre-marinated baked type). I serve each bowl with an entire half of an avocado. For a dressing I mix 3T olive oil, 1t sesame oil, 2T soy sauce and 2T rice vinegar. Drizzle this over the bowl along with slivered almonds, and pour a little extra dressing into the cavity of each avocado.

For more dish ideas involving avocados, check out this post I did today for Food52, featuring 5 avocado inspired recipes! What’s your favorite way to eat an avocado?

You might also like:

Avocado Pesto Stuffed Peppers

Grapefruit Edamame Salad with Avocado

Chard Tortilla Espanola

Tortilla Espanola is one of my favorite simple meals. It’s like a crustless quiche of eggs and potatoes, all made in one pan. I like to add greens, like this rainbow chard I got at the farmers market. Click on over to my guest post on The Kitchn for the full recipe and more photos. Enjoy!