Valentine's Day Meal 2010

I made the most amazing meal for my son and parents for Valentine's Day this year. It was pretty easy and fairly quick to put together too. The meal consisted of 3 Giada De Laurentiis recipes, Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup, Chicken Milanese and Gnocchi in Thyme Butter Sauce. For dessert, I came across a recipe for Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting on the Martha Stewart website. I would like to share these recipes with you and I hope you decide to try them.

First I started making the Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup. The ingredients are as follows:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 fresh sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 garlic cloves, halved
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices ciabatta bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

As I always say, prep all of your ingredients ahead of time. That way they are ready when it's their time to be added to the recipe.

Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and beans and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the cream and the pepper Keep warm, covered, over very low heat. *If you have an immersion blender and prefer to use that instead of the blender, that would be fine.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill the bread until warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes a side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.

You can start the first part of the soup and work on the other dishes while each part is cooking. For example, you can prepare the bread for grilling and pound and bread the chicken or turkey for your milanese. The Gnocchi is going to be the last thing you cook, because it comes together so quickly.

Let's move on to the Chicken Milanese. I actually used Giada's Turkey Milanese recipe, but it tasted awesome made with chicken. Following are the ingredients and directions. You can also find these by clicking on the recipe.

• 1 1/2 pounds (about 8 cutlets) turkey or chicken breast, pounded 1/8-inch thick
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 5 cups (5 ounces) baby arugula
• 2 cups (10 ounces) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 (2-ounce) block parmesan
• Lemon wedges

Using a meat tenderizer or a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, pound the turkey or chicken until 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick.

Combine the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place the eggs in a second medium bowl. Place the bread crumbs in a third medium bowl. Season the turkey or chicken on both sides with salt and pepper Dredge the turkey or chicken in the flour and shake off any excess flour. Dip the turkey or chicken into the eggs and then into the bread crumbs to coat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey or chicken, in batches, until golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side, adding more oil, if needed. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

Arrange the arugula on a large serving platter and top with the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the turkey or chicken on top of the tomatoes. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan over the turkey or chicken. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

As you will see in the photo, I used shredded parmesan, however, the shaved parm will look much prettier. This is a very colorful dish and so tasty. I received multiple compliments from my family while they were eating this.

Next, we'll move onto the Gnocchi with Thyme Butter Sauce. As I mentioned, this will come together very quickly. After the water boils, you can finish this in 5 minutes. You will want to make this right before you're ready to eat. If you're feeling adventurous, you can make the gnocchi from scratch. The ingredients and directions can be found at the recipe link above. Since I didn't have the extra time that day, I bought it pre-made (shhhh!!!).

You want to make sure you have the following ingredients:

• Homemade or package of store-bought Gnocchi (you can find in the boxed pasta aisle)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the thyme leaves. Set aside.

Cook the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water until the gnocchi rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Continue cooking until the gnocchi are tender, about 4 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the hot thyme-butter in the skillet. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss again. Top with Pecorino.

Finally, I have a wonderful recipe for Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting that I found on the Martha Stewart website. What's really great about these cupcakes is that you make them with fresh or frozen strawberries! Here are the yummy ingredients that create these delightful cakes:

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Now to put it all together! Starting with the cupcakes...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

...and now the frosting:

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes. You can make these the day before if you like or earlier in the day of your dinner. Since these were for Valentine's Day, I topped off my cupcakes with heart shaped sprinkles. You can also top them with a piece of sliced strawberry if you like.

That should do it! I really hope you try this recipe or some part of it. You will not be disappointed.