Cheesy Hearts

So I am not really into Valentines Day, however...I do love a theme! So it's VDay week and I decided to make a special dinner in the spirit of the holiday. I tried something new.  I like cheese chips and have made them a few times, I figured this would be the perfect topper to my VDay salad.  Here's my effort...

Shredded good quality parmesan on unbleached parchment paper, scattered flat, baked at 300F for 10-15 minutes. I have also had success using grated parmesan. While that was cooking I prepared the heart template by cutting it out of parchment paper.

After they had browned only slightly I took them out of the oven. Using kitchen shears and placing the template on top of the cooked cheese I cut out the heart. You will want to move quickly at this step because the warmer/softer cheese is easier to shape-if you can take them out of the oven one at time then shape them each, that would be ideal.

*Note, you can use any hard cheese you prefer avoid oily cheeses like swiss though.

As I said, there was a theme, so we had a heart shaped pizza from a local pizza shoppe, the pizza was a little pricey and the crust was about three times the thickness I prefer, but it was heart shape and fresh.

I also picked up some heart shape spinach ravioli from Raffetto (best fresh pasta market in NYC).  I wanted to prepare the ravioIi as an appetizer so I decided to oven "fry" them in order to keep the calorie count in check. They turned out delicious and the prep was quite simple, here is my method:

• Boil & cool the pasta.
• Dip the pasta in the a mixture of lite italian dressing (1 cup) and an egg, dash of salt and pepper.
• Then dip the pasta into a mixture of italian seasoned bread crumbs
• Place on an oiled baking pan, and lightly coat the ravioli using spray olive oil 
• Preheated 350 degree oven, 15 mins until brown, keep a close eye on it
• Serve with warm marinara

We sipped on strawberry lemonade with frozen berries, yes the pink/red theme continued, dessert was prosecco with scoops of  blood orange sorbet. All in all everything was pretty good and we had a really fun night, which is all that really matters anyway.

Hmm....I think I have some sorbet left....so I'm out! Hope you have a great Vday.

Gnocchi for me

I'm a "picky" eater...I don't eat anything with a face, I'm sort of a vegetarian, but not strict. The truth is I just love veggies. On  a kick I tried to give up dairy and learned that good cheese is my weakness, I can get a little uppity over my cheeses.

This lovely dinner is the result of researching recipes, cutting out everything I didn't want, and  making it exactly the way I prefer. 

There are no rules in cooking-as long as it turns out delicious.

I was initially going to make my own gnocchi from scratch, then decided to use the fresh prepared from the market. I quick-steamed & blanched the brussels and prepared the gnocchi per the package. Next I blended everything together with gruyere, fontina, and a little parmesan.  Perfect.

 

If you try this use whatever cheese you prefer. Also, I'll roast the brussel sprouts next time for a bit more texture against the the soft gnocchi, perhaps even sprinkle a lil faux bacon. I served it with a spinach salad and sauteed kale...told you, I like my veggies!!!