Easy dishes for Valentine's Day

So now I have chosen easy but effective dishes you can make for your wife for Valentine’s Day. I hasten to add the lady of the house can use these recipes as well.

Smoked Salmon Parcels

These can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. When serving, place the salmon on a bed of mixed salad leaves that have been torn up. When cutting the lemon into wedges cut off the ends as well as this prevents the lemon from squirting when pressed.

Some drained asparagus tips from a can

4oz cream cheese

4oz smoked salmon slices

Cucumber slices

1 lemon cut into wedges

Some torn mixed lettuce leaves

1. Take a strip of smoked salmon approximately three inches by two inches, and spread some cheese on it. Place the asparagus on top and roll into a cylinder, leaving the seam at the back out of sight!

2. On a small plate place a small pile of lettuce, then a salmon parcel l and decorate with the slices of cucumber and lemon wedges.

3. Serve with slices of brown bread and butter or toast.

Norwegian Eggs

This is another nice way of using smoked salmon with hardboiled eggs.

When you have boiled the eggs cool them down in running cold water and shake the pan well so as to cause the eggs to crack.

In doing so the water makes them easier to peel. You can cut down on the number of each or even half them lengthwise, and place the yoke side on the lettuce. The decoration is black lumpfish roe that looks very dramatic but you could use black olives instead.

4 hard boiled eggs, halved

200g packet pasta twists

1 teaspoon oil

4oz smoked salmon cut into strips

Few lettuce leaves

Cocktail sauce:

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ teaspoon tomato purée

Good pinch of paprika

A little salt

Decoration:

Some lumpfish roe

Sliced cucumber

1. Cook the pasta and drain well. Using your fingers make sure each piece is separated and not stuck together. Pour in the oil and stir.

2. Make the cocktail sauce by combining the mayonnaise with the tomato purée, paprika and salt, and stir a third into the pasta.

3. Place some shredded lettuce on each (small) serving plate. Pile the pasta mixture on top, followed by the eggs.

Cover them with the remaining sauce and make a criss-cross design on top with strips of smoked salmon.

4. Decorate with slices of cucumber and the lumpfish roe.

Chicken in a Peach Sauce

This is an attractive chicken dish that isn’t too heavy and will appeal to the ladies. You can serve it with rice or mash creamed potatoes. You will need some vegetables and to make life easier I suggest you look in the supermarket where you can buy them ready prepared and you can cook them in their packet in a microwave.

4 small portions of chicken, preferably thighs

A little oil

½ pint dry white wine

½ pint chicken stock

1 teaspoon white vinegar or white wine

6 shallots, chopped

½ teaspoon dried tarragon

1 tin of halved peaches

Seasoning

Some sprigs parsley as a garnish

1. Skin the chicken.

2. Place the wine, stock, vinegar, shallots, tarragon and seasoning into a flat dish. Place the chicken portions on top and brush with oil. Cover with foil, and bake in an oven at Gas Mark 6 (200ºC, 400ºF) for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

3. Remove the chicken from the oven, place it on a serving dish, and keep it warm. Drain off the juices from the pan into a food processor. Take four of the halved peach and keep for decoration and add the rest to processor to liquidise until smooth. Reheat this sauce and check that it has a piquant taste; if not, add a little more vinegar.

4. Pour the sauce over the chicken, and garnish with the peach halves and parsley.

Drunken Pheasant

I know a lot of you farmers can put your hand on the odd pheasant or two, so it will save you buying some chicken portions. In both cases it’s better to skin them as otherwise they become all floppy when cooked.

1 fresh pheasant or 4 small chicken portions

2 tablespoons seasoned flour

2ozs (50g) butter

2 tablespoons oil

1 large sliced onion

A cooking apples, prepared and sliced

½ pint (300ml) chicken stock

¼ pint (125ml) cider

2 tablespoons double cream seasoning

Garnish

1 dessert apples prepared and sliced

2ozs (50g) butter

1. Cut the pheasant in half lengthwise, skin it and dip in the flour. In a heavy casserole dish melt the butter and oil.

When hot cook the portions all over till light brown. Remove and place on a plate.

In the remaining butter/oil cook the onions. Shake in any remaining flour and cook for a few minutes before stir in the stock and cider with the pheasant.

2. Cover and cook for 45 minutes in a moderate oven 190ºC / 375ºF / Gas Mark 5. When the pheasant is cooked, stir in the cream and check the seasoning.

Decorate with the slices of dessert apples that you have sautéed in the butter.

Lime Cheesecake

This quite a large dessert for two but it’s always nice to have some for another day. Now don’t be afraid of gelatine. Just dissolve it in some water and use but if it starts to set then reheat it in a microwave.

6oz digestive biscuits

1oz caster sugar

1 pinch of grated nutmeg

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

3oz butter

The grated rind and juice of 3 limes

1 sachet gelatine

8oz cream cheese or Quark

5fl oz double cream

3oz caster sugar

1. Crush the digestive biscuits into crumbs (either in the liquidiser, or on a plastic bag with a rolling pin), and mix them with the sugar and spices. Melt the butter and stir well into the crumbs.

Scatter the mixture onto the bottom of an 8 inch greased flan dish.

2. Soak the gelatine in about eight tablespoons of hot water, warming it enough (in a microwave) to dissolve it.

3. Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks, sugar, grated rind, cream cheese and cream together. Gradually beat in the lime juice.

4. Add the warm gelatine, and fold in the stiffly-beaten egg whites. Pour the mixture into the flan dish, and refrigerate until set. Decorate with cream stars and lime twists before serving.

(Serves 6 – 8 portions)

Chocolate Mousse

I always associate Valentine’s Day with chocolate. You can make this mousse a few days in advance, even without the amaretto biscuits but it’s a shame to leave them out as you can easily buy a packet from a shop.

You can melt the chocolate in a large bowl sat on a saucepan of boiling water. Don’t let the water get into the chocolate. Otherwise melt it in a microwave a minute at a time and check it as it will soon burn if you are too hasty.

I can’t cut this recipe down so you will have the joy of having them for a couple of days later!

6oz plain chocolate

2 – 3 drops vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

2 egg whites

4 fl oz double cream

6 amaretto biscuits

6 tablespoons brandy

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces, and melt it. Afterwards add the vanilla extract and egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. (It is important that the chocolate is hot when you add the yolks, so that they get slightly cooked).

2. Whip the cream, and fold two thirds into the chocolate mixture. Whisk the whites until stiff, then stir into the mousse.

3. Place one amaretto biscuit into each ramekin or chocolate pot, and pour 1 tablespoon of brandy over each. Place the chocolate mousse on top, and allow to set for several hours or overnight.

4. Pipe a star on the top using the reserved cream or if this is difficult place a dollop on top and decorate with some chocolate buttons.

Kir Royale

Finally a drink to serve before this wonderful meal – if you don’t want the sparkle then use a dry white wine and just call it Kir!

Dry sparkling wine, such as Cava Crème de Cassis (Blackcurrant liqueur) or a Blackcurrant cordial.

1. Put approximately 1 tablespoon of Crème de Cassis into a Champagne flute or large wine glass and gently pour in the sparkling wine. Take care as it fizzes up when you do this.