Valentine's Day Ideas

Valentine's Day is a well-celebrated occasion by couples in Singapore. Expensive candlelight dinner, huge bouquet of flowers... though honestly I don't know why is it so special?

I'm not into celebrating Valentine's Day because the flowers are expensive, the dinner is also expensive, and how is it romantic when the restaurants are fully crowded with people?

Well, I'm sure there are people out there who share the same sentiments as me! (: I'd love to prepare my own candlelight dinner for X and I but unfortunately I don't have the space and time this year.

A few things that I would love to make for Valentine's Day:

Baked Brown Button Mushrooms will definitely be the perfect appetiser - small, round, cute, cheesy, juicy and easy to prepare. Assemble the mushrooms before hand and just pop them in the oven just before the dinner starts. Make them ahead and they can be served at room temperature too. Portobello mushrooms are good substitute to these brown button mushrooms.

I have a hard time deciding what main course I would prepare. Most likely it'll be something that I can take straight out from the oven so that I don't have to hover around the hob cooking. So baked lemon chicken sounds like a pretty good idea - lemony, peppery and so utterly delicious. Serve with baked fries, mashed potatoes, baked potato or potato salad to have a complete Western main course.

For a more seafood-inclined person, baked salmon is definitely the way to go - serve it with some sautéed vegetables like asparagus, brinjal etc. Mmmmm I'm already salivating thinking about it!

I realise I haven't tried making a steak recipe yet... Hmmm it'll be on my challenge list! Hopefully I'll be able to make it soon. (:

For desserts, mango sorbet will be a great way to end the meal as it's light, refreshing, fruity and not too heavy on the palate.

Tiramisu will also be top of my list to end a perfect dinner. It is a classy dessert that everyone will love.

I think that desserts should be fuss-free and can make ahead so that it'll save a lot of trouble later on. This chocolate mousse is very easy to prepare and it tastes heavenly. It'll look even more classy if served with berries decorated all over the mousse. Make the mousse more "adult" by adding your favourite liqueur.

Jellys can also be made ahead of time - and jellys are refreshing and light. This fruity jelly can be made even more special by placing strawberry hearts in the cup before filling it with the jelly mixture - so simple but impresses easily.

All these recipes are not difficult to prepare yet they can impress. (: I'll be trying out several new Valentine's Day-themed recipes for this month. Hope to blog more about them soon! (: