There’s nothing quick and easy about the prep. Lots of cutting things into heart shapes, which is time consuming, but, hey, that’s what makes it special. I have heart-shaped cookie cutters somewhere, but I can’t find them since moving last Spring, so I cut everything free-hand.
The “Here’s My Heart Salad” features artichoke hearts, romaine hearts, hearts of palm, and heart-shaped red beets. You can use your favorite dressing -- I used a vegan Caesar, but a balsamic or raspberry vinaigrette would be nice to cast a rosy glow.
For the Wellingtons, I cut seitan and portobello caps cut into heart shapes and sautéed them and let them cool. I then stacked them and wrapped them in a piece of puff pastry that I shaped like a heart and baked them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.
At the last minute, I decided to pierce the pastry with an asparagus “arrow” (cute, huh? My husband thinks I go overboard.) The sauce is a red wine sauce.
The heart-shaped potatoes were cut out of a large russet and roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper. I placed a roasted red bell pepper heart on each slice of potato.
For dessert, I made a small plain cheesecake and then enrobed it with melted chocolate. The garnish on top is some heart-shaped cherry jam topped with a chocolate-cherry truffle, that I shaped into a heart, and “iced” with vegan cream cheese. More truffles and some dried cherries complete the effect.
Okay, so I told you about my special dinner – now I’d like to hear about your Vegan Valentines celebration.
Wow, that is one heart-filled dinner!! I love the asparagus arrow, too cute!! And I can't believe you shaped all those hearts by hand.. I can't draw a decent heart, let alone cut one with a knife. What a lucky husband you have!
ReplyDeleteI am taking the easy way out and going out to dinner, but do plan on making a molten chocolate cake in a heart shape when we get home!
Believe me, if there was a decent restaurant around here, I'd probably opt for going out to dinner too!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks AMAZING, Robin...very hearty! Hehe, I couldn't resist, sorry!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a relaxing dinner!
Thanks for your "heart"-felt comments, Kristine! Yes, once all the work was done, the dinner was very relaxing.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I was feeling good about my Vegan Valentine's Dinner! The only hearts in my dinner were the Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider ice cubes I made to put in our cider (didn't want to dilute the it).
ReplyDeleteThis was our first Vegan Valentine's day. We've been vegan for 7+ months now.
I was very happy to stumble across your blog. I've already subscribed and expect to be a regular here. Thanks for putting out so many quality recipes!
Jane of VeganBits.com
Your Valentine's dinner looks amazing, Jane. (I just went over to your site to check it out.) Love the roses! Thanks for subscribing to my blog. I've been wanting to do this for a logn time, but have been too busy writing cookbooks. This is literally the first chance I've had to do it. I hope to keep at it with lots of recipes and photos.
ReplyDelete