VALENTINE’S DAY BY THE PARIS HOUSE DESIGNS“ A SWEETHEARTS SUPPER FOR TWO”

~ The Paris House is a party planning and designing business, We teach classes on travel and entertaining from our 200 year old farmhouse, We hope you enjoy our online class on Valentine’s class. Visit us for more entertaining www.theparishouse.com ~

THE PARIS HOUSE VALENTINE’S MENU:

!Asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto spread with a garlic herbed Montrachet cheese!Sweethearts Salad!Parslied buttered potatoes!Steak au poivre!Chocolate coconut truffles!Sugar cookie hearts dipped in chocolate!The Cupid cocktail;!The Paris House signature Strawberry champagne cocktail

Asparagus Spears with Prosciutto and garlic herbed Montrachet cheese-Apprx. 4-5 ounces of good Montrachet Goat cheese2-3 cloves of garlic, less if you prefer a more subtle garlic flavor 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepperif using salt , be careful to add just a pinch as the Prosciutto is very salty 32 Asparagus spears, trimmed of the woody bottoms16 pieces of thinly sliced prosciutto

cook asparagus in a large pot of rapidly boiling water for approx.. 5minutes and remove and immediately plunge into a

prepared ice water bath to shock and stop the cooking, you want the asparagus to be firm! Drain and pat dry.Cut each slice of prosciutto in half crosswise and spread your Montrachet mixture on each piece and roll around the asparagus , you should have 32 spears, chill until your party.

I like to serve mine in a chic vase with a glass inserted, so it resembles a floral sculpture!!

PARSLIED BUTTERED POTATOES

Either, new, bliss or fingerling potatoes, and you can adjust the quantities, depending on how many people It is very basic, just scrub potatoes , place on a baking sheet, you can line with parchment to make for an easier clean up. Drizzle with a good olive oil, dot with unsalted butter. I use both fresh and dried parsley, and salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven and check to see then bake another 10 minutes, just keep checking and stirring them on the pan to evenly coat them. You can also use a pyrex glass baking dish for this, you just want them to stay moist and tender and not dry out. I also like to drizzle a delicious Olive oil over the top when they come out of the oven.

THE VALENTINE’S DAY LADY’S SWEETHEARTS SALAD!!!- ( I grew up getting Valentine’s day gifts that my parents told us were from the Valentine’s day Lady and Cupid so I thought it only fitting to honor her with this lovely salad)

You can use canned beets, easy and quick or fresh beets delicious and a little bit more time consuming. If using fresh beets wrap in foil and place in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour until fork tender. Either way, then you get your heart shaped cookie cutters out and cut out heart shapes for your salad. Make as many as you like.

A mélange of salad greensWonderful goat cheese crumbled or any cheese you like, I will be using a gorgonzola for mine.Candied walnuts, you can purchase these at Gary’s and specialty stores You can make this very quick and simple by purchasing a raspberry vinaigrette or pre paring your own:

Vinaigrette-2 Tablespoons raspberry, vinegar" teaspoon Dijon mustard" teaspoon saltfreshly ground pepper to taste6 Tablespoons good quality oil combine all ingredients

STEAK AU POIVRE-from Susan Branch’s Love Cookbook

This recipe is adapted from Susan Branch’s cookbook “Love” I usually double the ingredients in the sauce because I love it and want a lot of it on our steaks I also crumble in some gorgonzola cheese and occasionally add sautéed wild mushrooms as well. You can be creative and make it however you and your Sweetheart like! Serves two1 – 1 " Tbsp. cracked black pepper 2 Tbsp cognac2 Tenderloin steaks 2 Tbsp red wine2 Tbsp butter # C. beef broth1 Tbsp. shallots, finely minced 2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Press the cracked pepper into your fillets, heat the butter in a heavy bottom skilled and sear steaks over medium high heat on both sides. Turning once. Reduce heat to medium and cook until desired doneness. Remove and keep warm. Add shallots to pan, you may need to add a bit more butter, and sauté then deglaze your pan with your cognac and wine scraping up all the brown bits. Cook on med/high heat add your beef broth cook another couple of minutes and then add your heavy cream season with salt and pepper as needed and I also like to add a little fresh herbs, such as a bit of thyme, or fresh parsley. Pour sauce over steaks and serve.

These are some designs at the Paris House.

We bought the hearts at the dollar store in Vermont. They are bags for a dollar!

There are always several cocktail areas set up at The Paris House for all kinds of parties for both children and adults.

We love to entertain and have a lot of friends and family who stop by all the time.

To find delicious cocktails visit The Paris House ‘Cheers’ section

A QUICK IDEA FOR A DESSERT IF YOU ARE NOT A BAKER OR IF YOU ARE AND ARE JUST TOO BUSY

Pick up some heart shaped sugar cookies or have your children use the Pillsbury ready made dough and cut out heart shaped cookies. Then using a fondue pot dip half of the cookie in the chocolate to coat along with some fresh fruit! Yummy!Visit here to get the recipes for the butter cookies.

We used Susan Branch’s Butter Cookie Recipe to make these delicious cookies.

Visit our She’s Crafty section on The Paris House to find the directions on how to make a fun Cockscomb wreath and Heart Wreath made out of Pistachio’s. All crafts can also

be found on Martha Stewart.

I hope you enjoy these menu suggestions from The Paris House, If you have any questions please contact me at www.theparishouse.com my website has an ask Bunny forum and, email address etc.

Here are a few more of our table setting and Valentine’s Day decor: