Dish Out A Great Valentine’s Day

The holiday of love and adoration will soon be upon us and everyone wants to give their sweetheart a perfect Valentine’s Day but in high school we are a all little low on money.  This meal will make your boo fall in love with you without you having to spend an arm and a leg.

In order to drink alcohol you have to be 21 years of age or older so, this lemonade recipe is a cute alternative to a sparkling wine which is common with Valentine’s day meals:

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

What’s needed:

• 4 ounces of lemonade
• 3 medium sized strawberries
• 4 ounces of ginger ale
• Crushed ice

What to do:

1. Take the three medium sized strawberries and slice them into equal sized fine pieces.
2. Pour the lemonade into two cocktail glasses.
3. Add ginger ale and crushed ice into the lemonade glass.
4. Sprinkle the evenly chopped strawberry pieces into the mixture and mix well.
5. To garnish the cocktail, use a few pieces of strawberry and put them on top of the glass.

These spring rolls are delicious with a slight kick which is what every great Valentine’s day should have:

Creamy Chicken and Sriracha Spring Rolls

What’s needed:

• 3 cups of coleslaw
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 packages (8 ounces) softened cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha chili sauce
• 1 package (24) thawed spring roll wrappers
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Sweet chili sauce, optional

What to do:

1. Toss the coleslaw mix, onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil, let it stand while cooking the chicken in a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, add chicken, cook, and cover for 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken, let it cool and finely chop chicken then toss with the seasoned salt.
2. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and Sriracha sauce, stir in the chicken and coleslaw mixture.  With one corner of the spring roll wrapper facing you, place about two tablespoons of filling just below the center of the wrapper. (Put a damp paper towel over the other wrappers until you are ready to use them.)  Fold the bottom corner over the filling, moisten the remaining edges with water. Fold the side corners toward the center over filling roll up tightly, pressing the tip to seal and repeat.
3. In a pot or,
4. skillet of oil or a deep fryer, heat the oil to 375 degrees (or until bubbling).  Frying the spring rolls three at a time until they are golden brown (6-8 minutes), turning them  occasionally. When done frying, blot the oil off with paper towel and serve with sweet chili sauce if desired.

A common meal on Valentine’s day is pasta.  Pasta is seen as one of the most romantic meals to share with a lover after the iconic Lady and the Tramp film spaghetti scene, and what’s better than sharing the most romantic meal on the most romantic day:

Fettuccine Alfredo

What’s needed:

• 1 stick of diced unsalted butter
• 4 ounces of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound of fettuccine pasta

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, combine the butter and cheese.  In a medium pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente (slightly firm when bitten).  Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the bowl with the cheese and butter.
2. Add ½ cup of the hot water from the pot of pasta to the bowl, the, us tongs to repeatedly toss the pasta until the butter is melted and creamy, emulsified sauce starts to form.  If the pasta seems too dry add a little more water from the pot until you have reached the desired consistency for the sauce. Add salt and more cheese if necessary and serve.

There is no need for preparing a dessert because a Valentine’s day dinner it would not be complete without the standard roses and chocolates that you can purchase at your neighborhood grocery store.  

Happy Valentine’s Day