Valentine's Day Appetizers: Crab Wonton Recipe

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. If, like me, you were celebrating, Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year! in Vietnamese)! Now Valentine's Day is up in a few days, so even though my husband Lulu is a vegetarian, I thought I'd share a recipe that seafood-loving couples can enjoy together as part of a romantic meal.

I made the wonton wrappers from scratch and filled them with a mixture of freshly cracked Dungeness crab, carrots, leeks, parsley, mascarpone cheese and olive oil. I paired the crab appetizers with an apple jelly dipping sauce that was out of this world. It truly tied the dish together.

Give this a try and let me know if your Valentine appreciated it! In my opinion, Valentine's Day should be celebrated every day and it doesn't have to be about someone with whom you're in a relationship. It should be about celebrating those you love and who mean the world to you!

Pinapple Coconut Muffin Recipe

The main reason I baked these muffins is that I had leftover crushed pineapple from our recent Vietnamese beef fondue party. The more romantic reason I tell my husband Lulu is that I'm always thinking about him and I want to please him all the time. Given his sweet tooth, Lulu always enjoys a hot cup of fruity white tea and a few sweet treats, so I think he'll fall for it .

The muffins are flavored with pineapple, coconut and lemon chocolate chips.

Sweet Potato Risotto Recipe

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, I thought I'd share with you an easy gourmet potato dish. This recipe didn't make it to my "Haute Potato" cookbook, but it is one of my favorites, nonetheless.

Sweet potatoes are roasted then added to pre-cooked Arborio rice. The finishing touch fot his risotto is a dollop of truffle butter. I recently discovered Thierry Farges' Aux Délices des Bois brand of truffle butter at the Fancy Food Show, and it's amazingly flavorful. You should definitely give this a try! 

Blueberry Chocolate Mousse Recipe

When done properly, there are few things in life more sensual than chocolate. If your true love happens to love chocolate, you might want to consider it as part of a special romantic dinner this Valentine's Day.

This blueberry chocolate mousse would be perfect for someone who is not very confident in the kitchen. It's made of dark chocolate mousse flavored with fresh blueberries, encased in a cup made of blueberry-yogurt pretzels and topped with chocolate-covered blueberries and yogurt or ice cream.

You won't have to spend all day in the kitchen to prepare this dessert, but it will look like you did. Your sweetie will appreciate the gesture!

Blackberry Muffin Recipe

When we first got married I had a lot free time, but ever since Aria came into our lives, I'm not able to be as attentive to Lulu and have decreased the number of romantic gestures I make. So this weekend I brought him breakfast in bed. 

I made little blackberry muffins and baked them in heart-shaped molds. Lulu greatly appreciated them but he made one remark I found amusing. He thought the blackberries made it look like the hearts were "bleeding". He teased me and said "Is there a hidden message here?"