Make Ahead Chocolate Souffles for a Night of Love

We used to go out on Valentine's Day. Big expensive dinners with menus studded with exotic aphrodisiac ingredients that we booked months ahead of time. One year at a fancy French restaurant in New York, the chef decided to do a his and hers menu, with no substitution allowed. I spent the evening coveting Steve's dinner of truffled venison and chocolate cake while I was served feminine portions of sole and passion fruit mousse. My anger grew all evening long and I finally threw a fit over dessert, demanding the "manly" chocolate. I would have marched into the kitchen to personally yell at the sexist chef if that's what it took to get me my chocolate fix.

Our Valentine's feasts now take place at home. No reservation stress, no menu frustration, and most importantly, no misguided chocolate denials. We typically start with a cheese souffle, share a prime aged steak, and finish up with chocolate souffles.

I love this particular souffle recipe because it can be made ahead of time. There's nothing romantic about leaving the table to whip up egg whites. If you make the batter right before cooking it, you'll get a half an inch more height right when the souffle comes out of the oven, but even if you make this a few hours ahead, you'll still get a beautiful, light as air chocolate dessert to finish your romantic meal.

Make Ahead Chocolate Soufflés (Adapted From Gourmet Dec 1998)
Makes 8 individual souffle ramekins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar plus additional for coating ramekins
8 ounces fine quality semi-sweet chocolate
4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter

4 large egg yolks
7 large egg whites

1. If you're planning on cooking the souffles immediately, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter 6 1-cup ramekins (4x2 inches) and coat with sugar, knocking out excess sugar.
3. Break the chocolate into coarse chunks. In a small saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add chocolate, stirring until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, let cool for 2 minutes, and stir in yolks.
4. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks. Gradually add ¼ cup of sugar, beating until just combined. Stir one fourth whites into chocolate mixture to lighten and fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
5. Divide soufflé mixture among ramekins and smooth tops with a knife. Run tip of knife around edges of soufflés to aid rising. Soufflés may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and kept chilled, loosely wrapped in plastic wrap.
6. Bake soufflés on a baking sheet in lower third of oven until puffed and surfaces are cracked, about 20 minutes.
7. Top soufflés with ice cream or crème vanille and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Oh Valentine

Oh Valentine,
Our love used to be flamboyant.
All candlelight dinners, sunset runs in Central Park, and romantic bed and breakfast weekends in Vermont.

But now our love is furtive, camouflaged amidst the mundane tasks of parenting.
A quick peck that lingers into a gentle kiss on the way out to work,
Warm legs that wrap around my icy feet without hesitation, 
A soft touch of thanks on your arm as you bring the trash to the garage,
Our eyes locking across the table in the middle of family dinner,
My hand resting on your ankle amidst the tangle of our children's bodies on the couch,
Our fingers intertwined as we walk out the door on a Saturday night.

Valentine, our love is no longer the same as it was 15 years ago when there were only two of us, but you still hold the power to make my heart race.

Happy Valentine's Day.

This week, the Silicon Valley Moms Group is celebrating Valentine's Day with a special steamy book club: Kristen Chase's the Mominatrix's Guide to Sex. I'll be reviewing the book in full at Chefdruck Reviews. This is my book club post, inspired by the book, which gave me much ... food for thought.

Guest Post: Tips to Make this Valentine's Day Perfect for Kids and Adults

Today's post is courtesy of Andrea Astrachan, consumer advisor for Stop & Shop Supermarkets. For those of you who couldn't get or didn't want to get a babysitter for tomorrow night, Andrea has come up with a plan to give a dream Valentine's Day for everyone in the family.

A Stay-At-Home Valentine’s Day

Andrea Astrachan, consumer advisor for Stop & Shop

There’s no better day to show your family how much you care than on Valentine’s Day. Since this year Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, you can have a family fun day and then have a romantic evening with your significant other – all while staying in the comfort of your home! There’s no need to pay for a babysitter while you eat at an expensive restaurant. I have tips below to show you how.

Fun with the Kids

Of course kids love Valentine’s Day for the candy, fun cards and little gifts. But you don’t need to shower them with sugar and stuffed toys. Instead, show them you care by spending quality time with them during the day on Saturday.

Encourage your children to invite a few friends over for a Valentine’s Day movie night sleepover. Let them know that during the day they will help you prepare for their party by decorating, cooking and baking. Together, you can use creativity to make the house a Valentine’s Day wonderland with pink, red, and white decorations. Help them with the crafts below and by decorating the house.

• Kaboose.com lists fun Valentine’s crafts such as Valentines’ Day Heart Box or a Valentine’s Day Piñata http://crafts.kaboose.com/valentines-day-crafts.html
• SisterlySavings.com has some easy ways to decorate the house
  

The kids can also help make snacks to munch on during the movies. Cereal Snack Mix is always a favorite and is easy to make with the family:

Cereal Snack Mix

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 Tbsp. garlic seasoning (salt less or low-salt)
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup toasted oats cereal
1 cup small unsalted pretzels
1 cup of chex type cereal
1 cup peanuts or raisins
Add all the above ingredients

Steps:

• Adult: In large skillet, melt margarine and blend in seasonings.
• Child: measure remaining ingredients and add to skillet with help of adult
• Adult: Remove from stove and mix well.

Romantic Evening

After the kids are all settled in with their friends, movies and snacks, it’s time for you to relax with your sweetie! You can have a romantic Valentine’s Day evening cooking in the kitchen, eating together and sharing a bottle of wine and sweet dessert. Light some candles and bring out the nice linen. No need for a babysitter, the kids are safe and are entertained.


Treat your honey - or have your honey treat you - to this Honey Mustard-Glazed Steak with Grilled Onions. And then top it off with a Cherry Heart Cheesecake.

Honey Mustard-Glazed Steak with Onions

Ingredients:
1/3 cup coarse-grain or regular Dijon-style mustard
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. each cider vinegar and water
1/4 tsp. hot red pepper sauce
1/8 tsp. coarse grind black pepper
1 lb. boneless top sirloin steak
4 Vidalia onions, cut into 1/2" thick slices

Steps:

• Combine glaze ingredients.
  
• Place steak and onion slices on grill (a grilling basket or tray works well for the onions) over medium coals, brush both sides liberally with glaze.
  
• Grill steaks and onions 15-20 minutes for medium rare (145° F) to medium (160° F) or to desired doneness, turning once and again brushing with glaze.

Cherry Heart Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Cheesecake:
1 9" prepared chocolate crumb pie shell
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened (reduced fat can be substituted)
3 heaping Tbsp. (out of 1/2 pint container) sour cream (reduced fat can be substituted)
2 eggs
Dash of salt
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

rest of 1/2 pint container sour cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Sprinkle of lemon juice

Cherry Sauce:
1 can 21 oz. cherry pie filing
3 Tbsp. cherry flavored liqueur or cream sherry
Add all the above ingredients

Steps:

• Beat all ingredients for cheesecake in large mixer bowl until smooth.
  
• Place in pie shell and bake at 375°F for 40 minutes.
  
• Remove from oven and pour over it mixed topping ingredients.
  
• Decorate the top with cherry hearts by spooning 2-3 Tbsp. of cherry sauce from pie filling into small dish, drop by teaspoonfuls in a circle on top of cheesecake. Carefully pull knife or spatula through cherry sauce forming hearts.
  
• Return to oven and bake at 425 °F for 5 minutes. Cool, Refrigerate overnight. In medium bowl, stir together remaining pie filling and liqueur. Serve over slices of cheesecake. Store refrigerated.

What's So Special about February 14?

I'm not a huge fan of Hallmark holidays like Valentine's Day. My kids get really into it, so I play along by preparing cute goodie bags for them, but deep inside, I feel uneasy over being assigned an arbitrary day to celebrate love.

I suppose my attitude (along with many other things!) stems from my childhood because my parents were completely against these types of holidays. They just didn't believe in them. My mother would have been shocked and annoyed to receive roses on Valentine's Day. There's probably also a certain amount of emotional scarring from high school days with no Valentine's that also contribute to my lack of enthusiasm for Valentine's Day.

My husband, on the other hand, is a big believer in Cupid Day. He is as romantic as he was on the day he proposed and treats me like a queen all day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love my flowers and my chocolates! But I do walk around all day feeling like a fraud, feeling somehow guilty over all the fuss.

I don't think we should need a special day to remember how much we love each other. Every day should be an occasion to celebrate our love. We show it in little ordinary gestures: through quick calls throughout the day just to hear each other's voice, through caresses on the arm while passing the baby who needs a diaper change, by making meatloaf, by offering up the last French fry, and by taking the time every night to kiss each other goodnight.

Parent Bloggers Network is having a blog blast this weekend to put us in the mood for Valentine's Day. They've partnered with LIFE (the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education) to get us talking about how we show love in our families. One post will be chosen at random to win a Tiffany's Heart Pendant necklace.