Plan Ahead for Valentine’s Day

Plan Ahead for Valentine’s DayThe Christmas decorations may have just been packed away, but it isn’t too early to think about Valentine’s Day. Creating a delicious Valentine’s dinner will make for memorable dinner. You will find that these dishes are delicious and that they will also give you lots of time to enjoy the company of someone special.  Add some candles, table décor in the colors of Italy, and a special gift at desert will make for a perfect Valentine dinner.

Planning ahead will allow you to try different Italian foods before deciding on the final menu. If you are going to be preparing the entire meal, it will give you time to test a few recipes. Once you have the menu planned, you will need to choose a gift to give. The gift can be on the plate when your partner sits down, it can be given between dinner and dessert, or it can be given after dinner. The gift giving can even be done early in the day and the dinner be a surprise in the evening.

Choose a favorite Italian main dish for dinner. The dish can be homemade, ready made, or take out from a local Italian Restaurant. The following can be included to complete an Italian Valentine’s Day dinner:

Crostini

Crostini are small pieces of toasted bread that can be topped in numerous ways.  Some of the most popular ways include chicken and liver pate, thin pieces of salami and lardo di colonnata, which is a type of cured pork fat.  If you don’t have a lot of time, you could also simply coat them with olive oil, garlic and sea salt.  Regardless of how you put your Crostini together it will go great with Prosecco, which is Italy’s form of champagne.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is another popular Italian snack served at holidays like Christmas and will make a great addition to a Valentine’s dinner.  It is made from slightly larger pieces of sliced, toasted bread than Crostini is made out of.  Usually Bruschetta is topped with a combination of fresh tomatoes, olive oil and basil.  However, there are actually many different types of Bruschetta that you can make.

Figs With Prosciutto

If you are looking for an unusual combination of sweet and salty, then figs with prosciutto will make a tasty, yet simple, treat.  To make this dish you will need some fresh figs, good prosciutto, which is also known as Parma ham, and either cream cheese or ricotta.  You will want to add a small bit of this cheese to your fig and then wrap it in a strip of prosciutto then secure it together with a toothpick.

Party Dip

Vegetables and dip is a very common party appetizer.  However, if you want something that is just a little different, then you should try making bagna caoda.  This is a warm dipping sauce that is made out of garlic and anchovies.  Another option is to make insalata caprese, which is a fresh Italian salad that contains mozzarella cheese, tomato slices and fresh basil with olive oil, salt and pepper on top.

Sweets

Of course, an Italian Valentine’s Day dinner wouldn’t be complete without some sweet treats.  While you will definitely want to serve panettone, which is a light cake, often served at Christmas time. You may also want to serve something that is even sweeter such as panforte di Siena.  Pecorino cheese drizzled in honey is another popular dessert, as is biscotti.  While you can make a lot of these desserts yourself, you can also get a lot of them from your local Italian restaurant or grocer if you would like to save yourself some time.

To have an Italian Valentine’s dinner in the Miami, Florida or Davie, Florida area, go to Mama Jennie’s Italian Restaurant and Catering. You can eat in or take out to have an intimate dinner at home.

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