Recipes

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St. Valentine

Legend states that Valentine, along with St. Marius, aided the Christian martyrs during the Claudian persecution. In addition to his other edicts against helping Christians, Claudius had also issued a decree forbidding marriage. In order to increase troops for his army, he forbade young men to marry, believing that single men made better soldiers than married men.

Valentine defied this decree and urged young lovers to come to him in secret so that he could join them in the sacrament of matrimony. Eventually he was discovered by the Emperor, who promptly had Valentine arrested and brought before him. Because he was so impressed with the young priest, Claudius attempted to convert him to Roman paganism rather than execute him. However, Valentine held steadfast and in turn attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity, at which point the Emperor condemned him to death.

While in prison, Valentine was tended by the jailer, Asterius, and his blind daughter. Asterius' daughter was very kind to Valentine and brought him food and messages. They developed a friendship and toward the end of his imprisonment Valentine was able to convert both father and daughter to Christianity. Legend has it that he also miraculously restored the sight of the jailer's daughter.

The night before his execution, the priest wrote a farewell message to the girl and signed it affectionately "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lives on even to today. He was executed on February 14th, 273 AD in Rome. The Martyrology says, "At Rome, on the Flaminian Way, the heavenly birthday of the blessed martyr Valentine, a priest. After performing many miraculous cures and giving much wise counsel he was beaten and beheaded under Claudius Caesar."

The church in which he is buried existed already in the fourth century and was the first sanctuary Roman pilgrims visited upon entering the Eternal City.

The valentine has become the universal symbol of friendship and affection shared each anniversary of the priest's execution -- St. Valentine's Day. Valentine has also become the patron of engaged couples.

Patron: Affianced couples; against fainting; bee keepers; betrothed couples; engaged couples; epilepsy; fainting; greeting card manufacturers; greetings; happy marriages; love; lovers; plague; travelers; young people.

Symbols: Birds; roses; bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet; bishop with a rooster nearby; bishop refusing to adore an idol; bishop being beheaded; priest bearing a sword; priest holding a sun; priest giving sight to a blind gir

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S

Feastday: February 14
Patron: of Love, Young People, Happy Marriages
Death: 269


St. Valentine


Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with "courtly love."

Although not much of St. Valentine's life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the same name is also not officially decided, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome.

In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of Roman Martyrolgy.

The legends attributed to the mysterious saint are as inconsistent as the actual identification of the man.

One common story about St. Valentine is that in one point of his life, as the former Bishop of Terni, Narnia and Amelia, he was on house arrest with Judge Asterius. While discussing religion and faith with the Judge, Valentine pledged the validity of Jesus. The judge immediately put Valentine and his faith to the test.

St. Valentine was presented with the judge's blind daughter and told to restore her sight. If he succeeded, the judge vowed to do anything for Valentine. Placing his hands onto her eyes, Valentine restored the child's vision.


Judge Asterius was humbled and obeyed Valentine's requests. Asterius broke all the idols around his house, fasted for three days and became baptized, along with his family and entire 44 member household. The now faithful judge then freed all of his Christian inmates.

St. Valentine was later arrested again for continuing to try to convert people to Christianity. He was sent to Rome under the emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II). According to the popular hagiographical identity, and what is believed to be the first representation of St. Valentine, the Nuremberg Chronicle, St. Valentine was a Roman priest martyred during Claudius' reign. The story tells that St. Valentine was imprisoned for marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Both acts were considered serious crimes. A relationship between the saint and emperor began to grow, until Valentine attempted to convince Claudius of Christianity. Claudius became raged and sentenced Valentine to death, commanding him to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.

St. Valentine refused to renounce his faith and Christianity and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269. However, other tales of St. Valentine's life claim he was executed either in the year 269, 270, 273 or 280. Other depictions of St. Valentine's arrests tell that he secretly married couples so husbands wouldn't have to go to war. Another variation of the legend of St. Valentine says he refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, was imprisoned and while imprisoned he healed the jailer's blind daughter. On the day of his execution, he left the girl a note signed, "Your Valentine."

Pope Julius I is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole in his memory, which for a long time gave name to the gate now called Porta del Popolo, formerly, Porta Valetini.

The romantic nature of Valentine's Day may have derived during the Middle Ages, when it was believed that birds paired couples in mid-February. According to English 18th-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, Valentine's Day was most likely created to overpower the pagan holiday, Lupercalia.

Although the exact origin of the holiday is not widely agreed upon, it is widely recognized as a day for love, devotion and romance.

Whoever he was, Valentine did really exist, because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St. Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.


Relics of St. Valentine can be found all over the world. A flower-crowned skull of St. Valentine can be found in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. In 1836, other relics were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina and were identified as Valentine's. These were transported for a special Mass dedicated to those young and in love.

Fr. John Spratt received a gift from Pope Gregory XVI in 1836 contianing a "small vessel tinged" with St. Valentine's blood. This gift now stands placed in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Other alleged relics were found in Prague in the Church of St Peter and Paul at Vysehrad; in the parish church of St. Mary's Assumption in Chelmno Poland; at the reliquary of Roquemaure in France; in the Stephansdom in Vienna; in Balzan in Malta and also in Blessed John Duns Scotus' church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.








6 Surprising Facts About St. Valentine

Who was St. Valentine, and why do we celebrate him on February 14? In honor of Valentine’s Day, get the facts about this enigmatic character.
Elizabeth Hanes
1. The St. Valentine who inspired the holiday may have been two different men.
Officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, St. Valentine is known to be a real person who died around A.D. 270. However, his true identity was questioned as early as A.D. 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who referred to the martyr and his acts as “being known only to God.” One account from the 1400s describes Valentine as a temple priest who was beheaded near Rome by the emperor Claudius II for helping Christian couples wed. A different account claims Valentine was the Bishop of Terni, also martyred by Claudius II on the outskirts of Rome. Because of the similarities of these accounts, it’s thought they may refer to the same person. Enough confusion surrounds the true identity of St. Valentine that the Catholic Church discontinued liturgical veneration of him in 1969, though his name remains on its list of officially recognized saints.

2. In all, there are about a dozen St. Valentines, plus a pope.
The saint we celebrate on Valentine’s Day is known officially as St. Valentine of Rome in order to differentiate him from the dozen or so other Valentines on the list. Because “Valentinus”—from the Latin word for worthy, strong or powerful—was a popular moniker between the second and eighth centuries A.D., several martyrs over the centuries have carried this name. The official Roman Catholic roster of saints shows about a dozen who were named Valentine or some variation thereof. The most recently beatified Valentine is St. Valentine Berrio-Ochoa, a Spaniard of the Dominican order who traveled to Vietnam, where he served as bishop until his beheading in 1861. Pope John Paul II canonized Berrio-Ochoa in 1988. There was even a Pope Valentine, though little is known about him except that he served a mere 40 days around A.D. 827.


3. Valentine is the patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy, among many other things.
Saints are certainly expected to keep busy in the afterlife. Their holy duties include interceding in earthly affairs and entertaining petitions from living souls. In this respect, St. Valentine has wide-ranging spiritual responsibilities. People call on him to watch over the lives of lovers, of course, but also for interventions regarding beekeeping and epilepsy, as well as the plague, fainting and traveling. As you might expect, he’s also the patron saint of engaged couples and happy marriages.

4. You can find Valentine’s skull in Rome.
The flower-adorned skull of St. Valentine is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. In the early 1800s, the excavation of a catacomb near Rome yielded skeletal remains and other relics now associated with St. Valentine. As is customary, these bits and pieces of the late saint’s body have subsequently been distributed to reliquaries around the world. You’ll find other bits of St. Valentine’s skeleton on display in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, England and France.

5. Chaucer may have invented Valentine’s Day.
The medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer often took liberties with history, placing his poetic characters into fictitious historical contexts that he represented as real. No record exists of romantic celebrations on Valentine’s Day prior to a poem Chaucer wrote around 1375. In his work “Parliament of Foules,” he links a tradition of courtly love with the celebration of St. Valentine’s feast day–an association that didn’t exist until after his poem received widespread attention. The poem refers to February 14 as the day birds (and humans) come together to find a mate. When Chaucer wrote, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate,” he may have invented the holiday we know today.


6. You can celebrate Valentine’s Day several times a year.
Because of the abundance of St. Valentines on the Roman Catholic roster, you can choose to celebrate the saint multiple times each year. Besides February 14, you might decide to celebrate St. Valentine of Viterbo on November 3. Or maybe you want to get a jump on the traditional Valentine celebration by feting St. Valentine of Raetia on January 7. Women might  choose to honor the only female St. Valentine (Valentina), a virgin martyred in Palestine on July 25, A.D. 308. The Eastern Orthodox Church officially celebrates St. Valentine twice, once as an elder of the church on July 6 and once as a martyr on July 30.

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[cherry]

A St. Valentine's Day Dinner

The following meal suggestion for a St. Valentine's Day dinner was submitted by Eliana Murphy.  Thank you Eliana! 

I found this recipe for a heart-shaped meatloaf back in the mid-90's and thought it would make a charming St. Valentine's Day meal. Together with the salad and some steamed veggies, it could form a wonderful part of St. Valentine's feast! The pictures are from when I prepared it six years ago for some friends at my grad school apartment.

Strawberry Hearts Salad

In keeping with the heart theme, I would suggest making a strawberry spinach salad with fresh baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Other topping suggestions include gorgonzola, brie, almonds, carmelized pecans or red onion. My family normally just buys a berry dressing at the store, but if you feel like making your own, many cooking sites such as this one offer homemade dressing recipes for strawberry-spinach salad.

A Heart-Shaped St. Valentine's Meatloaf

This meatloaf has a nice Italian flavor to it and is an easy dinner for St. Valentines Day that the kids can help to make! Just make sure those little helpers wash their hands well before and after mixing the meatloaf...  The recipe is adapted from Mom's Magic Meatloaf from the Sunset Magazine Low Cholesterol Cookbook.



Ingredients:

• 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 tablespoon dry basil

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 4 egg whites

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce

• 2 pounds ground lean top round

• 3 pounds thin-skinned potatoes (each about 3 inches in diameter)

• Salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheese, basil, pepper, egg whites, garlic, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Add beef and mix lightly. In a rimmed shallow baking pan (about 10 inches in diameter), shape mixture into a 2-inch-thick heart. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven; carefully drain fat from pan, then top loaf with remaining tomato sauce. Bake for 15 more minutes.

While meatloaf is baking, place potatoes in a 3 to 4-quart pan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until potatoes are tender when pierced (about 20 minutes). Drain and peel. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer until smooth; slowly beat in milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer meat loaf to serving plate. With a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe potatoes around meat loaf. (Or simply spoon potatoes around loaf.) Makes 8 servings.

This meatloaf goes well with steamed vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, California blend, frozen artichoke hearts(!), etc.

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Moravian Love Cakes

also Called: Kolachi; Gingerbread; Moravian Spritz; Moravian Spice Cookies

The Moravians brought early to this country from Bohemia by way of Germany their special observances of Holy Saturday. The Unitas Fratrum, or followers of Huss, settled in Pennsylvania in 1740, and at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, among other places, their early customs are still faithfully observed.

In Bethlehem, in the late afternoon of Holy Saturday a band of trombone players mount to the steeple of the church, where traditional hymns are played. Afterward, following a "love feast," a choir, accompanied by the trombonists, goes from house to house singing, and this continues until early morning. After a breakfast of Moravian sugar cakes and coffee, the entire congregation returns to the church for a pre-sunrise meeting. Then in slow procession all go to the burial ground, where the graves of the departed have been decked with flowers; there, facing the east, the trombones greet the rising sun. There is a short service, and a very joyous one, for the Easter day has dawned.

The "Love Cakes" could also be baked for St. Valentine's Day.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups honey

• 2 Tablespoons sugar

• 4 ounces chopped almonds

• 1/2 pound chopped candied peel

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• pinch of cloves

• rind of 1 lemon

• 2 Tablespoons sherry or rum

• flour

Details

Prep Time: 2 hours

Difficulty:  ★★★☆

DIRECTIONS

Boil the honey and sugar for five minutes. Add the chopped almonds and boil for another five minutes; then add the chopped candied peel, the soda, the nutmeg freshly grated, cloves, cinnamon, lemon rind grated, and the sherry. Add enough sifted flour to make a dough that will roll out thinly, cut into oblongs, and bake in a 300° F. oven for about twenty minutes. Ice with sugar.

Recipe Source: Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1951

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Valentine Gingerbread

     
INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shortening

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 4 cups flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoons ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon mace

• 3/4 cup dark molasses

Details

Prep Time: 1 hour

Difficulty:  ★★☆☆

Cost: ★★☆☆

For Ages: 11+

Origin: 

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Also Called: Life Cakes; Lebzelten; Life Cake; Lebkucken; Life Cookies; Lebkuchen

This is an Austrian recipe for Life Cakes or Gingerbread. These Life Cakes are used as Christmas gifts as well as Valentines. They are usually rolled and cut in the shape of hearts. They then are decorated with colored icing scrolls and liturgical symbols. Many of these gingerbread Valentines were molded, and the old decorative molds are prized as antiques in England much as butter molds are collected in America. The Pump Room Museum at Bath has quite a collection of Valentine cutters for gingerbread. Our recipe is a very old one, but our trimmings are as modern as our mood permits. The heart, however, is both the foundation and the spirit.

This gingerbread is rolled and cut in the shape of hearts, and then decorated with colored icing scrolls and liturgical symbols.

DIRECTIONS

Cream shortening and sugar. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with molasses. Roll on floured board. Cut into large six-inch hearts. Bake on a cookie sheet in a moderate oven (300°) for 45 minutes.

Recipe Source: Cooking for Christ by Florence Berger, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 4625 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310, 1949, 1999

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In Leicestershire, England, lozenge-shaped buns, made with caraway seeds and currants, called Valentine Buns were formerly given to old people and children. These old-fashioned Valentine cookies, cut into heart shapes, sprinkled with red sugar, and decorated with red and white frosting, or even gilt, have also gone out of style. They should be revived.

And of course, cookies shaped like hearts are appropriate for the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-1/2 cups brown sugar

• 1-1/2 cups cream

• 1 cup molasses

• 1 Tablespoon ginger

• 1/2 grated lemon rind

• 8 cups flour

• 3 teaspoons soda

Details

Prep Time: 1 day and 2 hours

Difficulty:  ★★☆☆

Cost: ★★☆☆

For Ages: 11+

Origin: Englan

DIRECTIONS

Beat the sugar into the cream until it is thickened but not stiff; then add the molasses, ginger, and lemon rind and mix thoroughly. Sift the flour with the soda and add this to the first mixture. Knead until smooth and chill several hours, or better still, overnight. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick, cut into desired shapes (hearts of course!) and bake at 275° F. for fifteen minutes. Allow to cool before removing from sheet. Decorate!




Recipe Source: Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1951

[cherry]

Valentine was a priest in Rome who was martyred on this day in AD 270. There are several theories regarding his patronage of young lovers. According to one, he administered Holy Communion and last rites to Christian prisoners before being imprisoned himself. As a prisoner, he wrote a letter to the jailer’s daughter, signing it “your Valentine.” Another version has it that the saintly priest played matchmaker for the jailer’s daughter.

But the most likely reason is historical happenstance. Valentine’s martyrdom falls on the day before the Roman Lupercalia, when young people would choose courtship partners for a year or even propose marriage. It was only natural that once the old gods were dethroned, the Christian faith should baptize some of these harmless customs.

Strega liqueur from Italy is a good after-dinner drink. According to legend, couples who drink it together will remain united in love forever. There are also a couple of cocktails named after St. Valentine.

Here are two: The Valentine is great before dinner, and the Chocolate Valentine after.

Valentine

2 ounces banana liqueur

1 ounce vodka

3 ounces cranberry juice

Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake 40 times. Strain into a red wine glass.

Chocolate Valentine

¾ ounce vanilla vodka

¾ ounce dark crème de cacao

½ ounce cherry juice

1 splash cream

1 splash soda water

1 sprig of mint

Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake 40 times. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with mint.

 

• Classic Yellow Cake Box Mix (approx 16.5 oz)

• 2 Cans of Raspberry Pie Filling (approx 21 oz ea.)

• 16 oz Heavy or Whipping Cream

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Instructions

• Preheat oven according to package directions for the size pan that you are going to bake your cake with. Mix box cake mix with one can of Raspberry Pie filling thoroughly. This will take a little longer than usual to get all the bumps out. Bake according to directions. Meanwhile, whip your heavy cream or whipping cream with a high powered mixer until peaks are formed and it looks like whipped cream. Fold in 3/4 of the additional can of Raspberry Pie Filling until blended. Refrigerate. Once cake is done, cool completely. Then, you can layer your cake and raspberry filling in small individual bowls or small mason jars for pretty serving.

• Reserve the remaining 1/4 of the can of raspberry filling for drizzling on top of the dessert. I simply used a plastic baggie and cut a corner of it to drizzle over the whipped layer. Serving size will vary depending on how you prepare your dessert.

[cherry]

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Nigellissima

Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes

by Nigella Lawson

Hardcover, 273 page

Before the roses and the romance, Valentine's Day commemorated the Roman Saint Valentine — Valentinus, in Latin. And in her new cookbook, Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes, chef Nigella Lawson offers up simple recipes that celebrate the cuisine of the country Saint Valentine called home.

Lawson joins NPR's Renee Montagne to share some recipes for a romantic dinner for two, and describes the time she spent in Italy.

"Between school and university I went to live there and worked as a chambermaid. You don't make a lot of money chambermaiding, but you do need to eat," says Lawson. "And so you have to learn how to eat on a budget, and that teaches you about cooking."

For Mini Macaroni & Cheese All'Italiana, Lawson mixes pennette, or what she calls "pixie penne," with a "wonderfully gooey, stringy, fairly light cheese sauce" made with Gruyère, mascarpone and truffle butter.

"I wanted to add some of the more sophisticated Italian flavors to a fantastically old-fashioned comfort dish," she says. "And I do think often when people think romantic or special occasion dinners, they get too fancy, when what we all know is we all love comfort food. This is just an elegant version."

Lawson calls the thinly cut steak in her Tagliata "incredibly luxurious, but also quite budget conscious. Whereas normally you'd get two steaks for two people, this works just getting one steak for two people. Because you cut the steak in such thin diagonal slices, it goes that much further."

More Valentine's Day Food

factor out of any special occasion like this."

Since Valentine's Day is really all about the sweets, Lawson shares two recipes for delicious desserts. One-Step No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream is exactly what it sounds like. "I'm so keen on this recipe, simply because it's so easy to make," she says. "Whip everything together, and then you just freeze it. And then it stays so creamy. And even though sweetened condensed milk is indeed sweet, the sharpness and bitterness you get from the instant espresso powder balances it out, and it gives it a bit of pep. It's one of my absolute supper stalwarts."

The creamy ice cream tastes like gelato, and Lawson says it's easy to "gussy up" with amaretto and toasted flaked almonds.

The inspiration for Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake, Lawson says, is "Italian only in the sense that the chocolate hazelnut spread is Italian. And also because I know all my Italian friends are crazy for cheesecake, because for them it's exotic."

"It's so easy and so delicious," she says, "because the tang of the cream cheese counters the enormous sweetness of the chocolate hazelnut paste."

If you can't find pennette, use the small bulging crescents that are chifferi, or regular elbow macaroni, instead.

Courtesy Random House

Recipe: Mini Macaroni & Cheese All'Italiana

Macaroni and cheese is the quintessential comfort-food supper; this version, while even simpler to make than the nursery staple, is altogether more elevated. The cheese sauce is almost instant: no roux at its base, just grated cheese mixed with a little cornstarch whisked into wine-lightened chicken broth. For this method, I have the maestro Heston Blumenthal to thank. The broth base stops the sauce — with its three cheeses and truffle butter or oil — from becoming unmanageably rich; the portion size helps, too. My decision to bake the pasta in little ramekins was originally made to speed up cooking time, certainly not to be chichi. Indeed, I usually avoid the individual-portion approach, feeling it not suited to eating at home. Here it works: cute meets cozy and becomes chic. Of course, it's partly the pennette that make it — think enchanting little pixie penne — but if you can't find them, use the small bulging crescents that are chifferi, or indeed regular elbow macaroni, instead.

Makes 6 ramekins

Soft butter for ramekins

1 cup grated Gruyere

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 ounces fresh mozzarella (not buffalo), chopped

8 ounces pennette, or use chifferi or elbow macaroni

Salt for pasta water, to taste

1⁄4 cup dry white vermouth or wine

1 1⁄4 cups chicken broth

1⁄4 cup mascarpone

1 teaspoon truffle butter/paste or a few drops truffle oil

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, or heat the broiler. Butter the 6 ramekins, and put a pot of water on to heat for the pasta. While you're waiting for the water to come to a boil, toss the grated Gruyere with the cornstarch in a bowl, and chop the mozzarella and let it stand somewhere to lose any excess liquid.

Salt the water once it's boiling, and cook the pennette until on the firm side of al dente: Read package instructions and start checking 3 minutes before the pasta is meant to be ready.

Meanwhile, heat the vermouth (or wine) in a saucepan big enough to hold the pasta later, and let it come to a boil before adding the chicken broth. Let it come to a bubble again, then take it off the heat and whisk in the cornstarch-tossed Gruyere. The cheese will melt into a mass of gooey cheese strings.

Add the mascarpone to the pan and whisk again, then add the truffle butter/paste or oil — go slowly and taste — stirring it into the sauce.

Tip the cooked, drained pasta into the sauce and stir to coat. Then tumble in the chopped mozzarella, and stir again so that it is distributed throughout.

Ladle the cheesy pasta into the ramekins, trying to get an even amount of pasta and sauce in each. The sauce will seem very liquid but don't panic, as the pasta sucks it up in the oven. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top, dividing it equally between the 6 ramekins, and give a good grinding of white pepper to each one. Don't worry if black pepper is all you've got. It's more a matter of aesthetics (mine) than taste.

Bake for 10 minutes in the hot oven, or broil until golden on top, and let stand for 5 minutes, at least, before eating.

Instead of going to the butcher and asking for a huge hunk of steak cut specially, you can make one supermarket strip steak (it still should be good meat, or don't bother) stretch to feed two of you with no suggestion of scrimping.

/Courtesy Random House

Recipe: Tagliata

The French and the Americans may be proud of their steaks but, for me, the Italians win hands down. Nothing can compare to a tagliata (pronounced "tallyata") in its full glory: a vast, juicy, rare steak, big enough for a tableful of people, cut into thin slices (tagliare simply means to cut) and served most often over arugula and with some Parmesan shaved on top.

I've given recipes for just such a dish before, but it seemed to me that it might be possible to downsize a little, making this a more easily accomplished dish for a midweek meat feast. That's to say, instead of going to the butcher and asking for a huge hunk of steak cut specially, you can make one supermarket strip steak (it still should be good meat, or don't bother) stretch to feed two of you with no suggestion of scrimping; and the "marinade" is really a post-cooking dressing, so can happily be used as such. This is fabulously fiery, and the cherry tomatoes somehow serve as both condiment and accompaniment. Of course, you could add potatoes — steamed would be good to stab with a fork and use to soak up the piquant juices — but I am happy with nothing more than some bread alongside. My son (whose absolute favorite this is) thinks likewise.

Serves 2

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for oiling

1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano just under a teaspoon

Kosher salt or 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 New York strip steak (approximately 12 ounces)

8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Few sprigs fresh oregano, to serve (optional)

Heat a grill pan, or cast-iron or heavy nonstick frying pan.

In a small dish that can take the steak snugly later, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, salt and red wine vinegar.

Oil the steak lightly and put it in the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, then remove it to the dish of spicy marinade and sit the cooked steak for 2 minutes a side in the dish. Your steak will be rare, but that's the way it's meant to be — although if you want to cook it for longer, I won't stop you.

Remove the steeped steak to a board, ready for slicing, and while it sits there, arrange the cherry tomatoes, cut-side down, in the marinade dish. Cut the steak into thin slices on the diagonal and arrange on a serving dish or 2 dinner plates.

Smoosh the tomatoes around in the marinade, then pour them, and the marinade, over the ribbons of meat. Add a few leaves of fresh oregano, if you can get them, and serve immediately.

Serve this handmade coffee ice cream with a chocolate sauce, or squidge it into little brioches, like sweet burger buns, as they do in the south of Italy.

Courtesy Random House

Recipe: One-Step No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream

I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this is but, as you will find out, simple though it is to make, its flavor is deep, complex and utterly compelling. So, here's how it goes: You don't make a custard and you don't need an ice-cream maker. You could (and I often do) serve it with a chocolate sauce (see previous page) but my absolute favorite way of eating this is by squidging it into little brioches, like sweet burger buns, as they do in the south of Italy. Luckily, I live near an Italian caffe that will sell them to me, but I am also searching dutifully for an online source. I use Illy espresso liqueur here, but any coffee liqueur would do, even if it weren't quite as strong. I have never tried using regular instant coffee granules in place of the instant espresso powder stipulated, though I dare say if you boosted quantities and dissolved the granules in a little boiling water first, you could make it work for you.

But this works so perfectly for me that I have no desire to meddle. And I whip up this ice cream so often, it makes comforting sense for me to keep the key ingredients in stock. Maybe I don't have to add this but as a security measure, let me remind you that 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. My instant espresso powder comes with a teaspoon measure inside, so, if it helps, use 6 of these to make sure you are adding the right amount.

Makes 1 pint

2⁄3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

2 tablespoons espresso liqueur

1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream

1-pint airtight container

Put the condensed milk in a bowl and stir in the espresso powder and liqueur. In a separate bowl whisk the cream until it reaches soft peaks. Fold the cream into the condensed milk mixture, then pour this gorgeous, caffe-latte–colored, airy mixture into an airtight container and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

Serve straight from the freezer.

Don't be tempted to let the cheesecake come to room temperature before serving. It slices and eats better with a bit of refrigerator chill on it.

Courtesy Random House

Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

I don't know if I should apologize for this or boast about it. Either way, I feel you will thank me for it. The thing is that it's embarrassingly easy and, although I first started making it last Christmas — a lot — reckoning that it was just the sort of count-no-calorie indulgence that the season demands, I have since decided that something this good, and this speedily simple to conjure into being, needs to be in our lives all year round.

Don't be tempted to let the cheesecake come to room temperature before serving. It slices and eats better with a bit of refrigerator chill on it. However, you must have both Nutella and cream cheese at room temperature before making it. To simplify your life a little, try to buy the hazelnuts already chopped and toasted.

Serves 8 to 12

10 ounces graham crackers (about 16 sheets or 2 1⁄2 cups crumbs)

5 tablespoons soft unsalted butter

1 13-ounce jar Nutella or equivalent chocolate hazelnut spread, at room temperature

3⁄4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

1⁄2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

9-inch springform cake pan

Break the crackers into the bowl of a food processor, then add the butter and 1 tablespoon of Nutella and blitz until the mixture starts to clump. Add 3 tablespoons of the toasted hazelnuts, and continue to pulse until you have a damp, sandy mixture.

Tip this into your springform pan and press it into the base, using either your hands or the back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you get on with the filling.

Beat together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth and soft, then patiently scrape the rest of the Nutella out of its jar and into the cream cheese mixture and continue beating until combined.

Take the springform pan out of the refrigerator. Carefully scrape and smooth the Nutella mixture over the cracker crumb base and scatter the remaining chopped hazelnuts on top to cover. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Serve straight from the refrigerator for best results, unspringing the cake from the pan, still on its base, just before you eat. To cut it, dip a sharp knife in cold water, wiping it and dipping again between each cut. And don't worry: It may look disappointingly flat when whole, but when sliced, its dark depths are revealed.

Recipes reprinted from Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson.

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[PamfromCT]

@cherry, Thank you for all this information about St. Valentine.

I really appreciate your research, all this valuable background information, and suggestions for celebrating the holiday.  It is much work for you, and I wanted to let you know it is appreciated.  

Pam

[cherry]

@PamfromCT  thank you...  Everyone ,the Nigella recipes can be slid with your cursor so you can read everything in full, if you are interested in copying her recipes