Roses and Raspberries
Published February 11, 2022
Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift? Look no further. Here are some of my loveable, decadent and totally delicious recipes to serve to your loved ones this Valentine's Day. Show that special someone how much you care with a meal completely made from scratch filled with love.
Raspberry Rosette Folded Napkins
Set a table you’ll fall in love with - lace etched glass, ceramics and soft romantic details. For extra sweetness, add pops of raspberry linen rosettes to compliment your lovely meal:
Fold a large square linen napkin in half from the corners to create a triangle. Lay the triangle on a flat surface. Fold the triangle (from the widest part to the smallest) into 1.5 inch folds, stopping about 4 inches at the bottom exposing a small triangle. Roll from one long end to the other so that you are creating a rosette. Once fully rolled, tuck the exposed end into the last fold on the side of the flower to secure. Separate the exposed triangle pulling outward and up at the bottom creating “leaves” which helps the napkin stand up straight when placed on a surface.
Vanilla Citrus Glazed Fruit Salad + Bellini
Add some sweetness to your day - a 2 for 1 recipe - topped with Champagne! Cuddle up with this citrus based drink that can brighten up even the coldest of winter nights.
For the Syrup:
3/4 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, approximately 1 fruit
½ cup sugar
¾ tsp vanilla
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat and stir. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low heat until reduced to ½ cup, stirring often. Let cool.
For the Salad:
2 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented
2 Cara Cara Oranges, peeled and segmented
1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 cups red grapes, halved
½ cup raspberries
Mint for Garnish
Add grapefruit, oranges, strawberries and grapes to a medium bowl. An hour before serving add syrup to the fruit and let chill. Once ready to serve, top with raspberries and mint garnish.
For the Bellini:
After letting the fruit soak in the syrup noted above, strain an ounce or two of syrup/fruit juice from the fruit bowl into the bottom of toasting flutes. Top with prosecco or champagne.
Bacon Bouquet
Bacon is like love...it makes everything better. So make your sweetheart's day with a bacon bouquet.
1 package thick cut bacon
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Maple syrup for drizzling
Preheat oven 400°F. Place a baking rack inside a foil lined sheet pan. Roll each piece of bacon, with the pink at the top. Secure with two toothpicks at the base forming an x to seal the rosette. Stand up on the baking rack and repeat with remaining bacon. Drizzle the bacon tops with maple syrup and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 25 minutes or until crisp and red. Arrange on small serving dish in the shape of a bouquet. These can be made ahead of time, packaged in an airtight container and stored in the fridge. To reheat place back on baking rack in sheet pan and cook until warmed through – 4-7 minutes.
Sweetheart French Toast Casserole
An indulgent Valentine's Day breakfast that will win any heart over. This lovely casserole is easy to make and even better to eat!
5 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 stick melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 loaf Brioche Bread, cut in 1” thick slices
Powdered Sugar, for dusting
Raspberries, for garnish
Preheat oven 375°F. In a small bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar and syrup. Pour into a large baking dish (13x9 or larger - ceramic recommended). Spread mixture in an even layer. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on top. Filling in any gaps with extra bread so that the entire syrup mixture is covered. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Ladle mixture evenly over bread. Cover and set in fridge overnight. Bake 25-30 minutes or until fully cooked in center and no mixture is running. Serve sugar side up, dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with raspberries. Top with maple syrup if desired.
Raspberry Bicolored Mini Croissants
Show off your baking skills with these tender, flaky and (oh!) so delicious, homemade bicolor croissants. As good as what you get from the bakery – maybe even better because they are made with love.
For the dough:
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 ¾ tsp active dried yeast
3 1/8 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
½ + 2 Tablespoons water, at room temperature
120 grams European butter, at room temperature
For the raspberry-colored layer:
180 grams of the dough
Burgundy Food Coloring
Red Food Coloring
For the butter layer:
180 grams European butter, sliced thin
Mix the lukewarm milk with the dried yeast and let sit for about 10 minutes until bubbly.
Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add in the yeast milk, water and butter and knead with dough hook about 6 minutes until a nice smooth dough is formed. Cut about 180 grams of dough (for colored layer). Wrap the rest of the dough loosely in fridge and let it sit for at least 4 hours. Color the small 180 grams of dough with equal parts of Burgundy and Red gel food coloring until desired raspberry color is achieved. Wrap loosely and set in fridge.
Draw a 7x7 inch square on a large piece of parchment paper. Flip over the paper and place the soft butter slices inside the square. Fold the paper over the butter along the sides to create a package that seals the butter completely. Roll and press butter with rolling pin until an even layer of butter is formed. Place in fridge along with dough.
Take out the large piece of dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Create a rectangle that is roughly double the size of the butter layer (about 14 x7 inches). Dust off any flour from the top of the dough and place butter in the middle. Bring each longer side into the center of the butter. Pinch all the edges to seal the butter into the dough. Gently press and roll out the dough butter package to a rectangle of roughly 20x8 inches. Remove any flour. Fold the sides of the rectangle towards the center to create a square. And the fold once more in the same direction to create a package that has four layers. Wrap loosely into plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Roll out the dough once more on a floured surface – this time placing the dough in front of you so that the longer side are facing away and you can see the four layers in front of you. Roll to create a rectangle about 20x10 inches. Remove flour from the surface and fold the longer sides towards the center, folding about 1/3 on one side towards the center and then folding 1/3 from the opposite side towards the center, creating 3 layers. Wrap this package loosely and place in fridge for 1 ½ hours.
Remove both doughs and roll out the raspberry-colored dough on a floured surface to the same size as the dough package created earlier with the other dough. Remove any flour and place the layer on the dough package pressing together. Roll out to a rectangle about 14x18 inches. Cut the rectangle into 14 x3.5 inch strips and then into diagonal triangles for large croissants (or 7x3.5 inch for miniature size). Flip the triangle over so that the color side is facing down. Roll up from the wider side and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper spaced well apart from one another. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise for 45-60 minutes.
While croissants are rising, preheat oven 350°F. Bake for 18 minutes or until puffed and slightly golden. Brush with apricot preserves for a glistening
Enjoy!
Renée Meuse Lovley