Make a Valentine's Day Feast
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Balasamic Chicken, Spinach Feta Salad
Want to make a superb Valentine’s Day dinner complete with a delicious dessert? In this article you will find everything to do with strawberries. Dip them in chocolate and make a chicken dish with strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Create a luscious strawberry salad to go along with it with spinach and feta to name a few ingredients. Top your dinner off with chocolate mousse served up with strawberry sauce. Make this a Valentine’s Day feast for your partner to remember. Then make them take you out for dinner when the restaurants aren’t so busy!
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Most groceries are stocked with strawberries at this time of year mainly because of their popularity with Valentine’s Day. You will need fresh strawberries for this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 Quart strawberries with caps on. (try to get them with stems intact as well.)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 1 – ½ tablespoon butter (no substitutes)
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond, or rum flavoring
Directions:
- Wash and dry each strawberry making sure they are not bruised. Set aside.
- In a double boiler on top of hot but not boiling water place chocolate morsels, butter, corn syrup and flavoring. Stir to combine well.
- Once it is totally melted and combined take it off heat and let cool to 100 degrees.
- Dip each berry 2/3rds of the way up the berry.
- Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator (or on the back porch if it is cold outside) for at least 15 minutes to 5 hours. Don’t let them freeze.
- If you don’t have a double boiler find a glass bowl that fits on top of one of your pots or pans. You don’t want the bowl to touch the water.
Balsamic Chicken and Strawberries
This is a gourmet meal that isn’t too hard to make. Balsamic vinegar goes really well with chicken and with strawberries so it’s a win, win situation.
Ingredients:
- 3 – 8 ounce cartons strawberry yogurt (not low sugar)
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 large strawberries, reserve juice
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 – ½ teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Directions:
- In a medium bowl combine yogurt, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and salt.
- Place chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish and pour yogurt mixture over top.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour turning chicken once after a half hour has elapsed.
- In a large skillet heat olive oil.
- Scrape yogurt mixture off chicken breasts and place in skillet.
- Brown on both sides and reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until chicken is done (about 15 minutes)
- Remove from heat and let rest 3 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking pour yogurt mixture into a saucepan and bring to simmer.
- Place chicken breasts on plate and sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of yogurt mixture over each breast.
- Take strawberries, remove stems, and thinly slice but not through to the top of the strawberry to create a fan. Place on top of each chicken breast.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar on top.
Strawberry Spinach Feta Salad
This salad will give you your vegetables and your fruit requirement for the day in a tasty manner.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 (6 ounce) packages baby spinach (depends on how much you want to eat)
- 1 – ½ cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
Directions:
- In a salad bowl combine spinach, 1 – ½ cups fresh sliced strawberries, feta, cranberries, raisins, and pine nuts.
- In a food processor combine olive oil, strawberries, vinegar, salt, pepper, tarragon and sugar. Blend until smooth and drizzle over salad.
Chocolate Mouse with Strawberries
Now for the big end of the meal, maybe the best part. This mousse is very rich and delicious.
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
- 1 (14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk (do not use evaporated milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups (1 pint) Non Dairy cream whip or other whipping cream (it must be cold)
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed (reserve syrup)
- ½ to 2/3 cup reserved syrup
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Directions:
- In a heavy saucepan melt chocolate with sweetened condensed milk over low heat.
- Once melted and combined add vanilla.
- Pour into a large glass bowl and cool to room temp (this will take about 1 to 1-1/2 hours).
- Beat with mixer until smooth.
- Fold non dairy whip or cold homemade whipped cream into chocolate mixture and spoon into pretty dessert dishes in equal portions.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
To make strawberry sauce:
- Drain and reserve syrup from thawed strawberries.
- In a saucepan combine syrup, jam, and cornstarch.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thick and clear.
- Add strawberries and remove from heat.
- Pour a few tablespoons over mouse right before serving.
That will be a satisfying meal fit for royalty. Show your significant other how much you love them by creating this feast for Valentine’s Day dinner.
See how to make a Valentine's Day Breakfast or make some treats with the kids. Or check out more from the author at PrymeThyme On Line
Happy Valentine's Day
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