Next Monday is Valentine’s Day and a special one for the people in your life. Going out to eat is one option, but is the second busiest day for restaurants, Mother’s Day being the first.
According to BBC Good Food, the ten most popular dishes for Valentine’s Day include:
1. Steak with peppercorn sauce: T-bone steaks are popular because of the tenderloin of one side of the bone and a New York strip on the other side.
Porterhouse is cut from the same section as the T-bone steak, and according to USDA rules, must be at least 1.25 inches but can be as thick as 3 inches, which makes it difficult to cook to your desired temperature.
Ribeyes are juicy with beefy flavors and are essentially prime rib roasts cut into steaks. Their distinct fat makes it a juicy steak.
Filet mignon is the tenderloin and is boneless and cut from underneath the cow’s rib. It is an expensive cut of meat and is typically 2-3 inches thick.
New York Strip is also called top sirloin or top loin and comes from the short loin, just behind the ribs toward the rear end. They are not as tender as the other cuts, but have a bold beef flavor.
A rare steak should have an internal temperature of 120-130 degrees and red in the center.
Medium steaks should have an internal temperature of 135-145 degrees.
Medium-well steaks should have an internal temperature of 145-155 degrees and a well-done steak’s internal temperature should be 155-165 degrees.
2. Dauphinoise potatoes: Dauphinoise potatoes are also known as pommes dauphinoise in French and are baked scalloped potatoes. They originated in the French region of Dauphine, which is between the Alps and the Rhone River in southeastern France.
3. Spaghetti carbonara: Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish from Rome and when you arrive at the Rome airport, there are huge signs and you know, in fact, you are at the birthplace of carbonara. The root word is “carbonaro” which translates to ‘charcoal burner’ so some believe the first dish was made for Italian charcoal workers.
Although spaghetti is most commonly used in the dish, fettuccine, rigatoni and linguine are also commonly used.
4. Cupcakes: The first cupcake recipe was invented in 1776, a light cake that was baked in small cups and was called number cakes. In 1919, Hostess introduced its first snack cake and the first frosted cupcake was in the 1920’s.
5. Quick and easy cocktails: Besides a bottle of wine or beer, there are easy drinks one can make with hard liquor like a Tom Collins, pina colada, mojito, martini or cosmopolitan.
6. Beef Wellington: Beef Wellington was created in celebration of the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.
It is a beef tenderloin, with a layer of mustard, mushroom duxelles and prosciutto wrapped in a soft, buttery pastry that is cooked to a golden brown.
7. Vegetarian Valentine dishes: A vegetarian dish that would make me very happy would be a mushroom risotto.
Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
5 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup Hamakua alii mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley to garnish
In a large pot, combine the butter, garlic, shallots, mushrooms and Arborio rice and heat over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring well to avoid scorching the garlic and shallots.
Reduce the heat to low. Let the mixture simmer on low for about 2 minutes, stirring just once or twice.
With the lid off, add the vegetable broth and cream, and let simmer on low until liquid is absorbed; about 25 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the cheese, stirring well to encourage it to melt.
Once the cheese is melted, season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Garnish with a bit of fresh parsley. Serve with a bit of extra grated cheese on top.
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8. Strawberry cheesecake: The first cheesecake may have come from the Greek island of Samos and was considered a good source of energy for athletes competing in the Olympics. There is evidence that cheesecake was served at the first Olympic games in 776 B.C.
9. Sea bass: For us in Hawaii, a tasty white fish would probably be mahi mahi, monchong or opah prepared in your honey’s favorite way.
10. Valentine cookies: Your Valentine’s favorite sugar cookie recipe with pink and red sprinkles or instead of chocolate chips, replacing them with Valentine colored M&Ms in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe would surely be a hit for your sweetie.
Foodie bites
Hawaii Community College’s Culinary Arts Program’s Cafeteria is open with extended hours from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. for the short order menu.
Call 934-2559 for orders and state your name, phone number, pick up time.
Last week they were open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so you may want to call to double-check dates.
White Guava Cafe usually closes at 2 p.m. on Mondays but for this year’s Valentine’s Day, they will be open for dinner and will serve until 8 p.m.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
