I’ve always closely associated Valentine’s Day with books. Last week, I did a guest post for Real Life at Home explaining why. So if you’re stumped as to what to get your special reader this Valentine’s Day, you’ve come to the right place. I’m always keeping tabs on the latest literary gifts! Here are my Top 10 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Avid Readers, sure to please the bibliophile in your life:
When I first decided to make a Romeo and Juliet menu, I knew I wanted to include the fateful dagger and poison, but finding a way to do it was tricky. Then I took my cue from our Robber Stakes from last year’s Dracula menu and decided to make dagger kabobs. The preparation is super simple, and the “poison” dipping sauce adds a fun punch of color and flavor. It’s reminiscent of two classic Italian recipes (Caprese salad and Margherita pizza), but I swapped out the tomatoes for red peppers, which are more grill-friendly.
Hey there, everybody! I’ve got some exciting news: I just became a guest writer for Real Life at Home! My first post is a recipe for Heart Petit Fours with Raspberry Cordial Jam. It’s a mash-up of some previous Alison’s Wonderland recipes you might recognize (Hearts of Gold and Raspberry Cordial Ice Cream). And just in time for Valentine’s Day! You can view the post here or by clicking the images in this post.
Welcome to February, folks! In honor of Valentine’s Day I decided to make Romeo and Juliet our new Book of the Month (technically a play, but I figure it still counts). Bacon may not be the first thing that springs to mind at the mention of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy. Bacon ROSES, on the other hand, couldn’t be more appropriate.
The snow started just before I went to bed last night. Though we’ve been expecting a snowstorm, I figured it would do most of its damage during the night, and before drifting off I made a vague mental note to clear off my car in the morning. Eight hours later, the Mister and I woke up to find not only eight inches of snow but that the storm was MUCH STRONGER…and it still is.
Today we’re going to depart from the norm a little bit and make us some good ol’ Super Bowl food! Earlier this week, I got an email from the folks at Chobani asking me to take part in their #deliciousbowl recipe project, which made me feel like this:
Yay for bonus recipes! Since January has an extra week in it, we’re finishing up our Narnia menu with a fifth recipe: the White Witch’s hot chocolate, a companion drink to the Turkish delight she presents to Edmund in her sledge. Technically, we don’t know what the Witch gave Edmund to drink, only that it was “very sweet and foamy and creamy, and warmed him right down to his toes.” This homemade hot chocolate recipe developed by Martina at Eat Your Kimchi fits that description to a T.
UPDATE: You can find a new version of this recipe in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK.
You knew it was coming. How could a Narnia menu end with anything else? I can’t be the only person who immediately thinks of the White Witch when I hear the words “Turkish delight.”
Finding a suitable entree for our Narnia menu was surprisingly difficult. Sure, Lucy had three kinds of toast with Tumnus, but that’s not really an entree, is it? The Pevensies ate marmalade roll with the Beavers, but that’s almost a dessert (or at best a breakfast). I was starting to feel like I’d exhausted my options when I finally remembered the ham sandwiches the Pevensies eat after meeting Father Christmas. Sure, it’s simple fare, but this is Narnia—everything’s a bit more special here. Plus, Father Christmas can do magic, so I like to think they settled for more than cold meat on bread. These Fancy Ham Sandwiches are my own recipe—authentic Italian prosciutto with two kinds of bread, sweet cream cheese, and colorful pesto!