Valentine’s Day is less than 24 hours away. If you’re foregoing dinner reservations for a cozy night in, what better way to celebrate your special someone than with a romantic home-cooked meal?
Stumped on what to make? Ina Garten’s got you covered. Over the last few days, the Food Network star has been sharing several Valentine’s Day recipes on Instagram. And good news, they are all “Beginner” level and serve about four to six people, so you can enjoy your dinner leftovers beyond Feb. 14.
So, grab a pen and paper, and start making your grocery list because the Barefoot Contessa’s 2023 Valentine’s Day menu is sure to impress.
“Nothing sets the mood like a delicious bubbly cocktail and a romantic playlist,” the hosting queen wrote on her Instagram.
To make this festive red beverage, simply pour some crème de cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur) into a champagne flute, then fill the rest of the glass with prosecco or champagne. Citing one of her popular catchphrases and book titles, Garten added, “How easy is that??”
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Panko-Crusted Rack of Lamb
For an easy and “absolutely delicious” main course, Garten recently shared her recipe for Panko-Crusted Rack of Lamb. The meat, which is sprinkled with salt and pepper, is first roasted for exactly 12 minutes. It’s then topped with a layer of dijon mustard and a crumb mixture consisting of goat cheese, panko, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil before being popped back into the oven for another 12 to 18 minutes.
To make this dish look “more elegant,” Garten recommends asking your butcher to “French” the lamb, which means removing the excess fat from the bones.
Puréed Potatoes & Roasted Broccolini
“When I’m planning a menu, I always think about the flavors, colors, and textures of the dishes together,” Garten dished on Instagram. To complement your rack of lamb, the multi-cookbook author suggests two sides dishes.
The first is creamy Puréed Potatoes with Lemon, which are made with just four ingredients: Yukon Gold potatoes, unsalted butter, milk, and grated lemon zest, along with salt and pepper. Since lemon becomes bitter as it sits, Garten notes that the potatoes are best served the day they’re made. However, if you’d like to cook them ahead of time, she recommends preparing the purée without the zest and setting them aside at room temperature. You can reheat the potatoes in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, add warm milk as needed, and finally whisk the lemon zest right before serving.
The second side dish on the Garten’s Valentine’s Day menu is Roasted Broccolini. Drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper, the roasted green vegetable epitomizes simplicity and only takes about 15 minutes to cook in the oven.
Chocolate Mousse
What meal would be complete without dessert? And for V-Day 2023, Garten is serving up decadence with an Easy Chocolate Mousse recipe. As a bonus, this dessert can be made ahead of time, which means, as the celebrity chef writes, “it’s ready whenever you are.”
To whip up the sweet treat, heat bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and espresso in a bowl over simmering water. Once melted and off the heat, add Kahlúa and vanilla, and 15 minutes later, egg yolks until all of the ingredients are combined. You will then whisk up four egg whites with a pinch of salt, using either an electric stand mixer or hand mixer until “soft peaks” are formed. Add half of the egg whites to the warm chocolate, then fold in the other half, along with a mixture of sugar and cream.
Refrigerate the mousse for at least two hours or overnight before topping it with whipped cream, and voila!
This content was originally published here.
