CREME BRULEE FRENCH TOAST BREAKFAST

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 loaf baked bread
5 large eggs
1-1/2 cups Half-n-Half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and Maple Syrup over medium heat, stirring until smooth, then pour into a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cut six 1-inch-thick slices from the loaf of bread and trim off the crusts. You can use a fancy cookie cutter to cut the bread like a Valentine Heart if you want this to be a really special romantic breakfast.
Arrange your bread slices in a single layer in the glass baking dish.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, Half-n-Half, vanilla and orange extracts, and salt until mixed well, and pour evenly over the bread. Chill the bread mixture in the baking dish, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for at least eight hours or up to one day.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the chilled bread mixture return to room temperature. Bake the bread mixture uncovered, in the middle of the oven until puffed and the edges are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve your hot Creme Brulee French Toast immediately with a pitcher of warmed maple syrup and a couple large fresh whole ripe strawberries for garnishing each plate, along with a freshly made pot of Godiva Creme Brulee coffee, which you can buy at T. J. Maxx.

VALENTINE'S DAY FRUIT SALAD

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 can drained crushed pineapple
1 can cherry pie filling
2 cups sliced strawberries
12 oz. Cool Whip
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup sliced almonds

Mix everything together in a large bowl, then keep covered and chilled in the refrigerator until served. Serve with a large warm butter croissant and a glass of chilled Not-From-Concentrate Orange Juice. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.

CHICKEN PENNE PASTA WITH BASIL-TOMATO CREAM SAUCE

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves minced garlic
2 minced shallots
1 cup chicken broth
32 oz. can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper
16 oz. penne pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. dried basil
2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced
warm, crusty French bread

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently sauté shallots for 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
While the sauce simmers, cook penne pasta in salted boiling water for nine minutes or al denté. While penne pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.
Stir heavy cream into the sauce. When sauce comes to a boil, remove it from heat. Drain the penne pasta. Toss hot pasta with the sauce and basil. Place it on a platter. Top with the heated sliced chicken breasts. Serve pasta with warm, crusty French bread.

TWO HEARTS SALAD

1/2 head romaine lettuce, torn
1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves
14 oz. can Hearts of Palm, drained
1/4 lb. cooked and sliced turkey
1 can quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling over the salad as a dressing
salt and pepper to suit taste

Place torn romaine leaves on a platter and toss with parsley leaves. Wrap hearts of palm in sliced turkey, and cut into bite-sized pieces on the angle. Arrange turkey wrapped palm sections and quartered artichoke hearts over romaine greens. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top. Drizzle the salad with balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on two attractive small plates.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE PUDDING FOR TWO WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND CHERRIES

2/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp. sugar
pinch salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. hazelnut syrup
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat milk in a pan over moderate heat until it comes to a full boil.
In blender on high, combine egg, sugar, a pinch of salt, chocolate chips, and hazelnut syrup. Turn blender on low and pour in boiling milk in a slow stream. The hot milk will cook the egg and melt the chocolate chips. Blend one minute, until smooth.
Spoon chocolate into 2 ramekins and chill covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. After dinner, in your clean blender, beat the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla about one minute on high. Top the chilled chocolate puddings with whipped cream and serve. For garnish, add one stemmed maraschino cherry in center of whipped cream for each pudding.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

MARINADE FOR CHICKEN:

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 - 8 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin

Mix the ingredients well, then add the chicken strips. Place in a plastic bag. Close bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

KUNG PAO SAUCE:

6 Tbsp. soy sauce
10 Tbsp. rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
4 Tbsp. oil
4 Tbsp. dried red chili pepper flakes
2 tsp. gingerroot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, slice the white part into 1/2 -inch slices, chop the green parts for garnishes
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
4 Tbsp. chicken broth plus 2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed together

In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the Kung Pao sauce, then set aside.
Add oil to your wok, then when hot, stir-fry the chili flakes, ginger, garlic and white part of the green onions for 1 minute. Add the marinated chicken strips and stir-fry until chicken is done. Add the Kung Pao sauce and bring to a boil. Add the peanuts. Thicken with the chicken broth and cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until glossy. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with sliced green onions. Serves 2.

STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. crushed red chili flakes
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 small can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 small can baby corn, drained
1 head bok choy, sliced
4 oz. broccoli florets
1 sliced carrot
6 green onions, slice the white parts for use in the recipe and use the chopped green parts for garnishes
1/4 head shredded cabbage
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp. cold water
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 platter cooked rice

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the oil. When the oil is very hot, add the ginger, garlic, and chili flakes and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add all the onions and carrots and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and the broccoli florets. Continue stir-frying until they are bright green. Add the shredded cabbage, baby corn and water chestnuts with about 1/2 cup of the hot broth. Continue stir-frying until the vegetables are all tender-crisp, about 2 additional minutes. Add the remaining broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch mixture and stir-fry until the vegetables are glazed with the sauce, 1 more minute. Transfer the stir-fried vegetables to the top of a warm platter of prepared rice. Garnish with the sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED FORTUNE COOKIES

Buy a box of Fortune Cookies and empty them onto a pretty platter. Melt a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave on high for one minute, then stir until smooth. If not melted completely, microwave one more minute then stir again until smooth. Chocolate burns easily, so never microwave more than one minute at a time then stir. Serve immediately with the Fortune Cookies and dip them in the melted warm chocolate and eat.

TEMPURA BATTER
Have your veggies ready to batter and let each person fork and cook their own in a crockpot with vegetable oil in it on high heated to 375 degrees. Eat them as they are cooked.

1-1/2 cups ice water
2 cups flour
1 egg yolk

Mix batter quickly. Have another bowl of seasoned flour. You can season it any way you like it. Dip small assorted clean vegetables in the dry flour then in the Tempura batter. Drop each one very carefully into very hot oil (375 degrees) and fry until golden. Drain on white paper towels. Serve warm with dipping sauce. This recipe will do 2 lbs. assorted small veggies. This is a great recipe to use like a fondue and eat them as you cook them.

TEMPURA DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. vinegar
Mix together and use as a dipping sauce for Tempura battered vegetables. Pour some of the dipping sauce into individual ramikens for each guest.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES
Melt a package of any flavor chocolate chips in the microwave stirring after one minute intervals until smooth. You can add a little bit of heavy cream to make it thinner, but you want it pretty thick to coat each cookie you will dip in it.

Arrange your favorite assorted cookies on a tray and put the warm melted chocolate in the center. Dip your cookies in the melted chocolate and eat them. You may also have small bowls of candy sprinkles, chocolate jimmies, crushed nuts, shredded coconut, sweetened cocoa powder, and powdered sugar to dip the cookies in once you have dipped them in melted chocolate if you like.

PAD THAI

Sauce 1:
3 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. tamarind paste
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
To make Sauce 1, combine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce slightly then set aside to cool. Reserve.

Sauce 2:
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. minced green chiles
1 tsp. dried cilantro
To make Sauce 2, combine ingredients in a small glass bowl and stir until well blended. Reserve.

4 oz. rice noodles, linguini size
1 qt. cold water
Oil for deep-frying
2 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp. peanuts, roasted and chopped
1 Tbsp. butter
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon milk
1 oz. oil
1/2 tsp. dried lemongrass
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. minced green chiles
1 tsp. dried minced onions
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro for garnish
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 chopped green onion
1 lime, cut in wedges

Several hours ahead of time soak the rice noodles in cold water until they are softened. Strain and reserve until needed.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Deep-fry the cubed tofu until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool. Add the peanuts and fry for 30 seconds. Remove peanuts to drain on paper towels. Chop when cool.
In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. butter. Cook the scrambled egg and milk mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a plate and allow to cool. Chop coarsely and set aside until needed.
In a wok, over high heat, add the oil. Stir-fry the lemongrass, lime zest, green chiles, onions, ginger, and cilantro, for 1 minute. Add the drained and softened rice noodles, half of the bean sprouts, fried tofu, scrambled eggs, Sauce 1 and Sauce 2. Continue to stir-fry until noodles have flattened and blended with the sauce.
Transfer Pad Thai to serving plate. Top with the remaining bean sprouts, cilantro, green onions and chopped peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Makes 2 small servings or l large serving.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRY TUXEDOS

Buy some of the ripest largest strawberries you can find at the supermarket or produce market. Clean and wash them then dry them on paper towels, leaving on the stems as you will use the stems to hold them while dipping them. Melt a pkg. white chocolate chips and a pkg. chocolate chips in two separate bowls in the microwave on high for one minute at a time then stirring until smooth. Chocolate burns easily so never heat more than one minute at a time then stirring until smooth. Dip your strawberries one at a time in the melted vanilla to cover them up to the stem area. Lay them on waxed paper to harden. Then dip each strawberry on each side to form a tuxedo-like look with the darker melted chocolate. You can add tiny dots for buttons down the center with the melted Candy Melts if you like. Let them harden on the waxed paper. You can even add a bowtie with some colored Candy Melts that are melted in the same way and put into a plastic bag and snip off one tiny end to decorate the strawberries.

Some other suggestions for these strawberries would be to roll the freshly dipped strawberries in candy sprinkles, marshmallow creme, shredded coconut or crushed nuts. Or you could just serve a pot of melted chocolate chips and dip the strawberries in it and eat them as you go.

Always remember, food should have eye appeal on the plates and taste good. If you truly love each other, the romance part will come naturally, when you are both happy and relaxed. Play soft, romantic music in the background, and light some scented candles on your table. Use your best china and silverware. Serve at least two drinks, one with your meal and one with dessert. Do as much of the preparations as you can before the meal, so you can stay relaxed and enjoy the meal, too. To be truly romantic you have to be in a relaxed frame of mind, and not eat so much so that you feel overly full or bloated. When a meal looks good, smells good, and tastes good, you will be able to enjoy a romantic evening.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!