A Romantic Treat for Valentine's Day!

Tonight our family is doing chocolate fondue for our Valentine's Day celebration! 

This is an easy and super fun way to surprise that special someone in your life ♥

:: What you will need ::

A fondue pot, sterno, and meltable chocolate. 

Chocolate Pro by Wilton is the melting chocolate we usually buy, 

it is smooth and delicious!

You can add a little zing to your fondue by adding a teaspoon or two of liquor such as 

Frangelico, Kahlua, Irish Cream, Grand Marnier or Peppermint Schnapps.

:: Ingredients for Dipping ::

angel food cake, pound cake, strawberries, apples, marshmallows, pretzels 

These are our favs, but there are endless possibilities such as:

 Fruits: sliced bananas, pineapples, kiwis, cherries, raspberries, blackberries.

Other sweet things: graham crackers, brownie bites, tiny cookies, lady fingers, shortbread, biscotti.

We are pairing our celebration with this award-winning Moscato by Gallo, 

it's my step-daughter Emily's favorite, so I thought I would surprise her!

Cheers and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Bloomin' Pizza Bread

I made this for the Superbowl party I went to last night and it was huge hit! 

:: Ingredients ::

1 unsliced round loaf sourdough bread

12-16 ounces mozzarella or Provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1 (3.5 ounce) package pepperoni, halved

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasonings or parsley

2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

{pizza/marinara sauce for dipping}

:: Directions ::

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and width-wise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving.

Place bread on a foil-lined baking sheet. Combine butter, garlic powder, Italian seasonings and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle or brush with a pastry brush down into the slices with about half of the mixture where you have made the cuts in the previous step.

Then insert cheese slices and pepperoni between cuts as shown below.

 

Brush with remaining butter mixture, sprinkle a little more Parmesan cheese on top and wrap bread completely in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni is a little crispy.

Serve hot with a side of tomato sauce and watch it disappear!

Source:  Foodtastic;  inspired by the The Girl Who Ate Everything

Cheese & Salami Platter

This would be an awesome treat for Superbowl Sunday tomorrow!  

We often do this at our house for family get-togethers and open a special bottle of wine to accompany it. It is an opportunity to try new and different cheeses. I try and introduce a new cheese each time, as well as filling the tray with old favorites.

:: Ingredients ::

2 or 3 different kinds of cheeses

Salami

Several different types of crackers

Apples, grapes or even sliced strawberries

 Cut into bite size pieces as shown above.

 

Finding cheeses for your tray:

Most grocery stores have a display like the one above.

Choose one or two new ones and a couple old favs,
just in case the newbies are not well received.

My favorite salami is found at Zabar's