Valentine's Day Ideas

I am never a fan of Valentine's Day as everything is more expensive during that period - the flowers, the gifts, the food (don't even get me started on how exorbitant restaurant prices are on Valentine's Day "deals")... X and I don't go out or plan anything on Valentine's Day as I found it a waste of money, but I'll try to plan a more elaborated meal (that is still quick and easy to prepare, hehe) that weekend. It's more economical and definitely a lot more satisfying for me!

I've done a round-up on potential Valentine's Day recipes should you want to cook/bake for your loved one - nothing beats a home-cooked meal prepared with all your heart and soul!

Breakfast
(click on the image to go to the respective recipe)

Ditch the plan to go to cafés or brunch places - instead, prepare a delicious and hearty big breakfast - scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms, sausages and toast, served with a huge mug of hot chocolate (or milo!). Alternative, how about a simple egg and cheese toast?

Appetizers
(click on the image to go to the respective recipe)

I'm debating between the super easy baked prawns and the mini pinwheel bread with cheese and herbs. The butterflied prawns are roasted to perfection with garlic and herbs, while the pinwheel bread is filled with cheese and herbs as well, perfect for snacking away!

Mains
(click on the image to go to the respective recipe)

Clockwise from top-left:

Jamie Oliver's Beef and Guinness Stew
Salmon with White Wine Cream Sauce
Nigella Lawson's Mustard Pork Chops
Curtis Stone's Steak with Chimichurri

The stew is so easy to prepare - just sear the meat, dump everything together and let it simmer away! You can cook the salmon whichever you like it - baked, pan-fried or poached. Whichever way you use, it'll still go great with the sauce. The mustard pork chops made use of apple cider - leftover will all end up in your stomach, no waste! If you love herbs, steak with chimichurri is definitely the way to go. Serve with a hearty dollop of potato-carrot mash and your meal is almost perfect!

Desserts
(click on the image to go to the respective recipe)

Clockwise from top-left:

Double Chocolate Cream Puffs
Baileys Tiramisu
Egg White Chocolate Brownies
Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

How can your meal be perfect without desserts? All these desserts have one thing in common - they can be made ahead - this way, you can prepare your dessert in advance and only whipping it out after your meal. The only exception is probably the brownies, where you'd want to warm them up before serving with a huge dollop of ice cream.

And that's all for the roundup! What have you planned for your Valentine's Day? Would love to read what you guys are planning! Hopefully I'll be able to prepare a proper blog post by end of this week! 🙂

Happy early Valentine's Day to you all!
And also a belated Happy Chinese New Year!