Valentine's Day -Who gets your heart?

Yes, I am a big softie when it comes to Valentine's Day - I like to make everything heart shaped and if possible red!

Mr R's sandwiches will be heart shaped along with the fillings where possible as well as having his dinner served in a shape as close to a heart as possible!

Mr  R and I will also have steak on Valentine's Day as is our tradition as well as a very nice bottle of red wine.  To accompany the steak will be a salad and heart shaped pasta with butter, Parmesan and parsley.

Don't tell Mr R but I have got him some Maille mustard to go with the steak as his Valentine's present.  We love the seasonal choice of mustard poured from a hand pump in the Piccadilly boutique. This season it is a black truffle and cep mushroom mustard. So delicate with an incredible flavour.

I used to make my children a large, pink heart shaped sponge cake to take to school on Valentine's Day each year however they are now grown up with children of their own.  This year my daughter and her boys will be at my house so I decided to make them their own little cakes as well as have a few other heart surprises for them.

Heck sausages have a special edition heart shaped sausage for the special day! It is their usual sausage but specially shaped for the occasion.  The sausages are made in small batches for better flavour and contain 97% pork which doesn't leave much room for other ingredients!

Mr R will enjoy his heart sausages along with heart toast.

Oh yes the sausages come with a Valentine's message inside too.

Rococo Chocolates have a beautiful range of special chocolates for the heart lovers out there.  Rococo's chocolates are outstanding and perfect for any occasion however the special occasions are really, really lovely.

Rococo have sent me two of their limited edition range this year. Their chocolate can be bought in their shops or on-line.

If you really want to treat your special one Nespresso have the cutest little coffee pod coffee maker - the Inissia which is totally portable.

The machine comes in a range of colours but the red is particularly appropriate for Valentine's Day!

I love taking ours with us when we go away for a weekend.  We are able to have a proper cup of coffee wherever we go!

These are just a couple of highlights in our house this Valentine's Day.  Did you get an extra special gift or did you surprise your Valentine?  Please leave a comment below.

I was sent some of the items mentioned above but not all of them.  As usual all opinions and photographs are my own.

Valentine's Day Heart Round Up

Here is a list of a few things to surprise your Valentine with this year on 14 February:-

Start your romantic morning with something pink and bubbly, this Lanson gift set will start any young (or indeed any age) maiden's pulse fizzing. Lanson have been making their champagne the traditional way since 1760. This gift set contains a 200ml bottle of Lanson Rose Label Brut Rose' Champagne and a branded Lanson Champagne Flute - My drink of choice on many levels!!  Cheers!

Nespresso have brought out a perfect coffee for your Valentine's breakfast - Rosabaya de Colombia - blend of individually roasted Colombian Arabicas with an intensity 6 - just past the mid point so making it a great session coffee best suited served as an Espresso.

Also from Nespresso are their two new limited edition Grand Crus.
1. ULTIMA wa Lake Kivu - from a small community in Lake Kivu, Rwanda a pure origin coffee that is refreshing and Intensity 6 suitable for both an Espresso and a Lungo.

2. TANIM de Chiapas - grown on high volcanic land in Chiapas, Mexico a silky smooth texture and bready aromas with nutty notes. This is an intensity 7 working equally well as a Ristretto or an Espresso.

Newby, The Finest Tea Collection suggest treating your loved one to a cup of their Gourmet Collection - Majestic Himalaya, a black tea from Nepal

or their Exclusive Taster Pack - fine, fresh loose-leaf tea cocooned in silken pyramids, sealed individually for freshness.

Nature have provided the next item - pistachios. I was sent some packets of American Pistachios, grown in California.  These little nuggets of sweet crunch that pack quite a nutritious punch!  They are a great source of protein, high in potassium, rich in Vitamin B1 and B6 and a great source of manganese.

The pistachios are superb to nibble as soon as you take them out of their protective shells but also add flavour and goodness to cakes, desserts, herb crusts for chops and much more.  They are also known for their energy giving properties = Valentine's Day energy (need I say more!)

Keeping it pink and healthy Ocean Spray Sparkling Cranberry is a sure way to keep hydrated and take in the goodness of cranberries. I would have preferred it without sweetener though as I do try to avoid them.

My final suggestion to treat your loved one this year is Haagen Dazs 'Strawberry Cheesecake' ice cream.  Haagen Dazs is my ice cream of choice ever since I first discovered them in the States. Imagine the little dance I did when we could buy this product here in the UK!

If you are staying in this Valentine's Day and perhaps cooking for your sweetie then Haagen Dazs Strawberry Shortcake ice cream (a blend of soft cheese, crunchy biscuit and strawberry sauce) would be the perfect end to the meal and to your Valentine's Day. How will  you top this next year!!

I was sent samples of the products listed here but was not paid to write about them and all opinions and photos are my own.

Treat Your Valentine with Aldi

Aldi have a little booklet of special buys each week. The current issue has some suggestions for putting together a romantic and tasty meal to treat your Valentine.  The magazine has several starter and main course combinations to pick such as Breaded Garlic Mushrooms, Scottish Cooked Mussels and Specially Selected Fillet Steak or Risotto and Mixed Leaf Salad.

I was asked by Aldi to treat my Valentine (Mr R) and although I liked their suggestions I preferred to pick and mix and to come up with my own special Valentine inspired meal.

The main ingredients I bought were Breaded Camembert, Turkey Steaks and Gnocchi.

The breaded camembert can be cooked in the oven or shallow fried.  To go with them I a 'slaw' with celeriac and carrot thinly peeled with a Julienne peeler to which I added Hellman's Mayo with Lemon, Creme Fraiche and some chopped beetroot (left over from the heart cut outs - see below)

The Gnocchi I cooked in salted boiling water and drained them.  In the pan I melted a small knob of butter, some pesto and a ball of mozzarella chopped up.  I put this all in a baking dish with the gnocchi, sprinkled freshly grated parmegianno reggiano cheese and popped it into the oven on low to keep warm.

The rest of the main course was Turkey Steaks in a creamy peppercorn sauce. I started with the usual finely chopped onion and celery and sauteed in a know of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. When translucent I added the turkey steaks and pan fried them. I placed them in an ovenproof dish whilst I made the sauce.  A splash of white wine, 200gm Philadelphia cream cheese and cracked black pepper. Pour over the turkey steaks and keep warm in the oven.

So here is the final result.  Starter - Aldi 

Mr R loved his special meal!

The main course:-

 

I was sent a voucher to purchase the main ingredients of my meal from Aldi. I was not paid to write this post and all opionions and recipes are my own.