Valentine Day Recipes - Videos & Photo Story

Please sit down and have a glass of wine, and how about a tootsie massage? Kindly allow this Amorous Culinarian to hold your hand and guide you through a luscious menu of Valentine Day Recipes.

Well, you are in the right place for a romantic read. If the following recipes look enticing to you then click on any name and you will be directed to my food blog recipe pages filled with tempting, tender prose, and pulse quickening GIFs, photos and video.

Let's set the mood with the most decadently sexy of confections, a Chocolate Covered Cherry. Here, I'll feed it too you, Mon'Amie....

First up is a video of the Amorous Epicurean on the prowl for budget aphrodisiac ingredients to create a perfect romantic dinner date. Allow me adjust your seat cushion -- there, lean back and watch the show.

Shopping for a Romantic Recipe - VIDEO

You will want to start your romantic evening meal with an appetizer - a plump and pleasing Steamed Artichoke is the perfect dish to share with each other. Just swipe a steamed artichoke leaf into my creamy Ginger Mayo Dip and feed the tender petal end to your amour. Your appetite will surely build as you get to the delicately delicious artichoke heart. My Steamed Artichoke appetizer is just a tease.

Cooking & Eating an Artichoke - VIDEO

A lovely Pear and Spinach Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing looks good on the plate and will impress your true love with its lightness and fresh flavors.
And it's the perfect prelude to the main course.

I think Italian food is the most sexy of cuisines. Tender swirling ropes of pasta sliding through a rich creamy sauce will soften any hardened heart. Click on any recipe name below to see my luscious photos and read my tender prose.

There's nothing like a creamy warm egg yolk stoking the fires of desire, and the Flirty Chef's  Spaghetti alla Carbonara is the perfect mood-setter. With the first bite your date will swoon with pleasure. Sprinkling crumbled bacon over the pasta is gilding the lily, but sometimes you need to go all the way!

In my Spaghetti alla Carbonara Video below I took a couple of cheap shortcuts. I used bacon bits, but you could substitute real bacon or kick it up a notch with sauteed panchetta. Also, fresh shaved parmesan cheese will be more pleasing than the dried brand I used.

And finally, I added a blended raw egg -- for a more romantic presentation, just gently place the egg yolk on a mound of  steaming pasta.

Oh, is it time for another sweet confection? Of course I have more, apple of my eye...

Would you like another glass of wine before you watch my Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe video below? Oh, don't worry about driving - I'll call Uber for you.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara Recipe - VIDEO

There, wasn't that edifying? Staying on the creamy theme, I can also recommend my Fettuccine Alfredo.

It's pasta with butter and cream -- simple and direct. You could mix in some fresh steamed veggies like broccoli for color and crunch -- just see how easy it is to do by clicking here on my Veggies in Cream with Pasta.

For something lighter, lose the cream and serve my stripped down pasta recipe of John Cassavetes Red Pepper, Olive Oil and Garlic with Spaghetti. It's a spicy tongue-tingler any tough guy can knock out.

Of course a Latin lover would challenge any Italian Casanova for Lotherio's scepter. And my Mexican Chicken Tinga spicy stew will send chills down the spine and tingle any lady all the way to her toes.

Chicken Tinga - VIDEO

What? Another? You really do have a sweet tooth, well I do to, I think we are two peas in a pod.  Let's share this one...

Your love will fall under a lusty voodoo spell after sipping a couple of  my homemade rum and sugar cane Cuban Mojitos. And if you and your lover are nursing a hangover the next morning, I have a hangover cure: a bowl of Pozole. It's a rich red broth of hominy, chiles and pork.

Cuban Mojito - VIDEO

Black and white, yin and yang -- all inhibitions will drop with the sweet and sour flavors of my vegan Cuban Black Beans served over White Rice.

If you want to channel your inner domestic goddess, then tie on the apron, get out the pot holders, and bring in a hot casserole dish of my luscious Baked Pasta with Cauliflower & Cheese to the dining room table. Just check out the tempting short animated video below to see the yummy and gooey details.

Baked Pasta with Cauliflower & Cheese - VIDEO

I have a recipe that will get any Lady Godiva off her high horse. Let's get tough guy Stanley Kowalski, but with a mushy heart. My chef nephew's Shrimp and Grits will take your date on a one way streetcar to desire. All aboard to check out the video below of two lunkheads hanging out and cooking.

Shrimp & Grits - VIDEO

A close second to the most sensuous of nibbling is a tender fish fillet on rice, or Sushi. Raw seafood will quicken a lovers pulse, and if you chase the sushi down with a few warm cups of sake the temptation to stay the night may be overwhelming.

My Sushi recipes are quite easy to do when you follow my directions. I even have a recipe for those averse to raw fish, a California Roll (in the hay,) that's made with cooked fake krab, creamy avocado and sliced cucumber. Seafood Rolls and Sushi are handheld bites meant to be shared with your true love.

California Roll -VIDEO

Hawaii is the destination for romancing the palate. Make your own romantic Hawaii-themed date night with my exotic Island classic: Lau Lau. It's a banana leaf-wrapped package of deliciousness.

Oh look honeybunch, I have one left. 

The aroma of slow roasting pork will fill the kitchen and dining room, stoking the appetite of desire. Slowly unwrap the package of tender Lau Lau for your beloved. You won't need a Lei of plumeria flowers to steal a kiss when you serve my savory dish. So click here to see the luscious photos and easy-to-follow recipe text. And aloha to love.

Hawaiian-style Lau Lau

Of course, you can't have a romantic dinner date without the sweets. And I have a simply delicious deconstructed dessert that I call Mini-Banana Puddings.

It's the perfect finger food to woo your loved one. All you need is to lay out some vanilla wafers and stack with a spoonful of pudding and banana slices, finally topped with Hersey Chocolate Kiss. You could also drizzle on any sweet topping like: chocolate syrup, caramel, and other favorite candy pieces or sprinkles.

Pssst...don't let your date see this next video. Slip in a Chocolate Covered Cherry in your date's hand and a heart may melt. I got the confections at my local 99c only Store. Go ahead and watch my cheap$kate video review and see how a five count box for 99.99 cents rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best.

Chocolate Covered Cherries - VIDEO

After a ravenous night you will need a replenishing morning meal. And the Don Juan Gourmand's palate-pleasing Fried Egg on Breadcrumbs with Asparagus will satiate any food lover.

It looks good on the plate, but be sure to make plenty, as your sweetheart will ask for seconds!

Another morning after meal is my French-style Omelet. It's a labor of love that you may want to practice making a couple of times to get right. Like lovemaking, the more you do it the better you get! And I have all the right moves a click away.

Here are a few more romantic entrees you can try (just click on any name): Chef Zakk's Tuscan Primavera - Cajun Style, Chicken Stroganoff, Julia Child's Crepes Suzette, Baked Chicken with Grapes, Shepherd's Pie, Portabella Crab Rockefeller, Coconut Crusted Fish & Mango Salsa, Pork Bourguignon, Vegas Eggs Benedict, French Cassoulet, Stuffed Poblano Chiles, and Roasted Mint Chicken.

Finally, it's 99 Shades of Cheap! Allow me to leave you with my most outrageous Valentine Day photo story called:

Click on any photo to see larger.

All items cost 99 cents.

Best Mushroom Cream Soup - Video Recipe

Fungus shouldn't taste this good. Cream and caramelized mushroom blend together perfectly. My rich and earthy Mushroom Cream Soup is meant to be shared on a cold wintry day.

I often find four ounce packages of brown crimini and portabella, along with regular white button mushrooms, at my local 99c only Stores, here in Los Angeles. Sorry to rub it in, but mushrooms are expensive, except in my Cheap$kate Chateau.

Click on any photo to see larger.

The rest of the ingredients are cheap enough. I saute onion along with the  mushrooms, and sweeten the soup with white wine and rich cream.

You can keep this recipe vegan by substituting cream with almond, cashue or soy milk. I'm not up on all the milk alternatives, so use what you like.

I add a couple cups of water to the soup, but you can use a favorite broth for an extra flavorful soup.

Can you keep it low calorie and leave out the rich cream? Heck yeah, it's just as tasty without cream.

But if you are feeling extravagant, and making this for a special occasion, like trying to impress, then go all the way...with extra cream!

Mushroom Cream Soup - VIDEO

Play it here, video runs 3 minute 10 seconds

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (about 4-6 servings)
3 packages of mushrooms - I got 4 to 5 ounce packages of each: crimini, white button and portabella mushroom. Okay to use one type of mushroom, or any you can find on sale.
1 onion chopped - I used a cheap yellow onion.
1 cup white wine - optional. If you leave it out then just use broth or water instead.
1 cup heavy cream - okay to keep soup light and use low fat milk or a milk substitute. Even okay to leave out cream altogether.
2 cups water - or a favorite broth.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil - to saute onion and mushrooms.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Please note that I cooked this soup recipe in a large pot. If you use a standard smaller pot then cooking time for mushrooms may take longer than 5 minutes, more like 10 minutes. Mainly, just cook veggies until soft.

Chop one whole onion. Saute in pot with tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Cook and stir onions until soft, about 5 minutes.

Clean mushrooms if needed. (Wipe off dirt with a soft brush or napkin.)

For crimini or white button mushroom roughly slice. Okay to use pre-sliced mushrooms.

For larger portabella mushrooms whipe off any dirt. Once the portabella mushrooms are cleaned, slice them up. Doesn't matter how small the pieces, as they will end up in a blender or food processor.

Once onions are softened stir in the mushrooms. Cook them another 5 minutes until mushroom pieces are soft. May take longer to soften if you use a small pot - the more pan surface area the quicker everything cooks through.

Salt and pepper to taste any time during sauteing.

Mushrooms and onions will reduce in size considerably. Again if you use a small pot the mushroom may take 10 minutes to soften.

Pour in about a cup or white wine. 

Finally add 2 cups of water or a favorite broth. Mix liquid well. Bring soup up to a low simmer and cover the pot.

Simmer for about 15 minutes. You just want to finish cooking the mushrooms and onions until extra soft.

Now you are ready to finish up the Mushroom Cream Soup. Allow the soup to cool down so you can add it to a blender or food processor. Blending with hot liquid is asking for trouble. Let the soup cool down for at least 5 minutes.

Add soup to a blender and pulse/blend until smooth. It goes pretty quickly. I blended all my soup in about a minute. Okay to work in batches. I blended my soup in two batches.

Finally add blended soup to a pot. Stir in a cup of almond milk, whipping cream, or half and half. Okay to keep the soup light and add regular or low fat milk. You can use any favorite vegan milk substitute, since now all you are doing is a final soup warming up.

For an extra low calorie, and vegan, soup it's okay to leave out cream altogether.

Heat Mushroom Cream Soup until hot, about 15 minutes - that's it. I sometimes like to simmer the soup on low for half an hour or so, just to marry and deepen the flavors of onion and mushroom -- you know how it goes, soup and stew just get better over time. Add more liquid if necessary for any prolonged cooking.

Cherry Pancakes - Video Recipe

It's cherry season in California and now is the time to get them cheap. They come on sale at my local 99c Only Store and Latin market for, you guessed it, 99 cents per pound. So watch my video below to get a breakfast recipe I think you will enjoy: Cherry Pancakes.

Cherry Pancakes - Video

Play it here. video runs 1 minute 46 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Cherries are notoriously expensive, but for a month or so they come down in price, and I always get a few large bags during the summer season. At first appearance, they are around $2 per pound, but wait a week or two and the price quickly drops.

I like to add them to yogurt or as a mealtime dessert -- I'll also nibble from small bowls throughout the day. They are especially good in pancakes, like almost any seasonal fruit would be. And if cherries are too expensive or hard to get, you can substitute with your own local fruit stand favorites, or even can/jar cherries.

They are a little messy to work with though, so you want to rinse off any surfaces that the cherry juice pools on, and especially clothing or kitchen towels.

It's much easier to just pop one in your mouth and chew around the cherry pit. But for pancakes it's best to slice around the cherry pit and twist cherry halves apart, then dig out the cherry pit. Once you get going it only takes a few minutes to get a cup full for my Cherry Pancake recipe.

A chopstick or plastic straw can push out a cherry pit, too. You can go online to get a special device that pits them as well.

For the pancake batter I use a commercial brand. If you have a homemade recipe then use it. I can get a large box of dry pancake batter at my local 99c only Store. Regular grocery store sells it cheap enough, too.

Start your day right, with my fruity cheap$kate breakfast of Cherry Pancakes.

Ingredients (2 servings, using a pancake mix)

• 1 cup pancake mix - use any favorite.
• 3/4 cup water - okay to use milk for a richer pancake batter.
• 1 cup of pitted and sliced cherries - roughly sliced or chopped. Use any cherry amount that suits your taste. Okay to substitute with any fresh seasonal fruit like: blueberry, peach, apricot, strawberry, and even sliced banana or canned fruit.
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil - to grease skillet. I like coconut oil. Add more when needed, depending how many pancakes you make.
• Butter and favorite pancake syrup - add as much as you like. I sometimes substitute coconut oil for butter.
• Okay to use vegan pancake batter.

Directions
Prepare pancake batter according to package directions. My pancake mix calls for 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water.

Mix pancake ingredients in a bowl. When mixed it will be like thick country gravy.

Start to heat the pan over a medium/low heat.

Rinse off cherries. Removing the cherry pit is messy, with red juice that will stain clothing or a wood cutting board, so don't wait too long to rinse off any juice that gets onto surfaces or clothing.

I like to slice cherries this way: Cut though to the center of a cherry and rotate slice all the way around and twist cherry apart. One half of the cherry will have the cherry pit. Slice to remove the pit.

You can let the cherry pieces be on the large size.

Mix sliced cherries into pancake batter. Or arrange cherry slices on a hot grill and pour pancake batter over them.

Add oil to pancake pan and pour on the pancake batter. Brown each side of the pancake. Mine took about 2-3 minutes for each side. It really depends how hot your pan gets. The box directions above mentions cooking time to brown each side as 1.5 minutes each....hmmmm, they must be using a super hot pan!

If you want a dark brown pancake presentation, then just cook one side to get the right amount of brown, then cook the other side for a minute, to finish cooking through the raw batter. Serve browned side up, on the plate.

Serve hot with melted butter or coconut oil, and favorite pancake syrup.