Happy Valentine's Day!

I am going to Red Rooster tonight!  Best Valentine's gift ever!

Click here to see The Local Food Wheel I got last year.

Valentine Coffee Cup Wrappers

Aren't these cute and perfect for Monday's cup of Joe?  Click here for the downloadable pdf of the Je T'aime coffee cup wrappers from Eat Drink Chic.  Have a lovely and loving V-Day weekend :)

DIY Valentine's Day Fruit Stickers

All photos from Twig & Thistle.

I thought this was a clever way to say, "I like you," not to mention a healthier alternative to chocolate ;)  Click here for the free pdf from Twig & Thistle.  Seriously, so cute!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Photo taken from I Am Baker Blog.

OMG.  My jaw is on the floor.  Click here for the heart cake tutorial.  So pretty!

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

I know that a lot of people hate Valentine's Day with a passion, but I love it!  It is the one day when Cynical Me actually likes to tell people that I like them.  So since it is officially February today, I thought I would create a list of delicious goodies you could give someone special or share with a friend while you are watching Somethings Got To Give.

Lets start with chocolate:

L.A. Burdick has these adorable chocolate mice.  They are just too cute to pass up.  The chocolate hearts and cigars are fun too.

An expensive, but fancy gift of Champagne with Rose Truffles from Vosges would be perfect for the traditional romantic.  Vosges also carries Champagne with Exotic Truffles too.

You can also by the Exotic Candy Bar Library and divide the bars of chocolate among friends.  I love the Woolloomooloo bar :)  Vosges really has an extensive selection of gifts, so be sure to check out their website.

Candy:

I cannot say enough good things about Bequet Caramels (click here to read my review).  These caramels are to-die-for.  Instead of the traditional chocolate, try the Chipotle Caramels to spice things up, or the Celtic Sea Salt Caramels.  SO GOOD.  Click here to visit the Bequet Confections.

Divan's Turkish Delight.  Okay, so I have never had this candy, but it is so pretty.  I regret not trying any at Borough Market last year.  You can find this brand at Harrods.  Click here to order.

The All Bacon & Chocolate Gift Box from Vosges would an amazing gift for the bacon lover.

There is also this Sir Francis Peanut Brittle that looks like fun.

Cookies:

Momofuku Compost Cookies ship in packs of 6.  Their Cornflake Cookie is pretty good too.  Click here to order.

If you want to get cutesy, try a French macaron.  If only Laduree had a shop in the States, but alas they don't.  Instead try Macaron Cafe.  They deliver nationwide.

Tea:

Kusmi Sweet Love Tea is one of their most popular teas.  Who can resist their hot pink tins?  The tea is sweet and spicy, and is delicious with some milk and sugar.

Harney & Sons has a Valentine's Tea Blend of chocolate tea with rose buds for the season.

And if you want something to sweeten the tea, try this Four Cheese Honey Flight or the Ames Farm Honey Sampler from Terrain.

Momofuku Milk Bar

If you are in the mood for dessert, and want something off the beaten path, try Momofuku's Milk Bar.  There are actually two locations, one in the East Village and the other in Midtown.  I have only been to the East Village spot.  It is dimly lit with a chalkboard menu behind the dessert-filled counter, along with tall tables with bar stools that fill the space.  I have stopped in there a couple of times for their compost cookies, but the last time I was there I tried their Old Fashioned Donut Soft Serve.  OMG!  It tasted seriously exactly like an old fashioned doughnut, except cold and soft.  I also love the way they serve it - a small cup overflowing with ice cream and a cute wooden spoon to make you feel like you are in first grade again.  Besides their soft serve and cookies, people rave about the Crack Pie, which my friend described to me as pecan pie, without the pecans, just the sugary filling.  Sounds gross to me, but I am not the norm.

If you don't live in NYC, don't fret.  Milk Bar actually ships their cookies, pies, and cereal milk (yes, it is milk that tastes like corn flakes - whoa) now.  February 9th is the last day they are accepting orders for Valentine's Day.  It's coming up people!  Click here to check out their menu.  Click here to see their shipping menu.  And click here if you want to make your own compost cookies.

Ahhh Sugar Sugar

For Valentine's Day I made sugar cookies to go along with the Valentines I made for my coworkers. I love sugar cookies for a lot of reasons: they are thin and crispy, can be made in many different adorable shapes, and can be decorated in a variety of ways. I found this Crisp Sugar Doily Cookies recipe in Martha Stewart Living December 2008, and made them during the holidays and thought they turned out well. This sugar cookie recipe calls for the cutout dough to be placed in the freezer before being placed in the oven, but this time I skipped this step and I felt like the cookies were just as good. I think those instructions were only added if you were dealing with a delicate cutout (Martha's cookies are beautiful - but seriously, who has that kind of time?). For my batch, I made heart shaped cookies and decorated some with colored sanding sugar and others with royal icing (icing recipe to follow below).
Ingredients (makes about 55-60 2x3 inch heart-shaped cookies):
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
-1 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To begin, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.Blend butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mix until just combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Divide dough in half so it is easier to work with. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out dough to slightly thicker than an 1/8 of an inch. Cut out your shapes, leaving little space between each cut. Place cutouts on baking sheet 1 inch apart. If you want sprinkles, add before baking the cookies. Bake for about 8 minutes until slightly golden brown on the edges. Let cool completely on cookie rack before icing.

To make royal icing, you can use meringue powder (which is the simplest way) or egg whites (which you should only do if you are not serving pregnant women). I used egg whites because I didn't have meringue powder. I based my recipe on Alton Brown's Royal Icing.
Ingredients:
-2 cups powdered sugar
-3 tablespoons of egg white (about 2 eggs)
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (you could add other flavorings such as mint, etc.)
-water (depending on how thick or thin you want your icing)

Combine the egg whites and vanilla and mix until frothy. Gradually add powdered sugar and water. When the icing is the thickness you desire, add the food coloring. I used a food coloring paste to create pink. Red food coloring gives the icing a bit of a bitter flavor so I added a squeeze or two of lemon juice to mellow the taste.I made my icing thick and then placed half of it in a piping bag. My plan was to pipe the edges of the cookies to create a border and then thin out the remaining icing by adding more water and flood the cookies. I had a bit of an accident with the thinner icing (it poured out the wrong end of the pastry bag and went everywhere - I recommend having a friend help you fill the bag). That said, I only filled a handful of cookies, but the rest just had the edges iced.
I ended up packaging the cookies in glassine bags (my favorite). Sugar cookies are so simple and delicious - sprinkled, frosted, or just plain. Any way you make them, they are a perfect homemade gift to spread the love.

Veggie Love

Just a quick post about an awesome card I found on my favorite card website Red Stamp. Red Stamp is based out of Minneapolis, and if you haven't checked them out - you should. I found this food related Valentine's Day card by Seltzer and knew it would be perfect for my bff. Enjoy!