Abigail's Valentine's Day Page

     Valentine's Day History Trivia

• Valentine's Day is believed to have had its beginnings in a Roman festival called the Lupercalia. The early Roman men often wore the names of the girls who were to be their partners during the Lupercalia pinned to their sleeves. And thus came the saying "wearing your heart on your sleeve".
  
  
• The story goes that when the Roman empire wars broke out married men did not want to leave their families, younger men did not want to leave their sweethearts. As a result of the low enrollment of men to fight the wars, Claudius the Cruel ordered that no more marriages or engagements should be celebrated. A priest, named Valentine, defied the order and married young couples in secrecy. When Claudius found out he had Valentine dragged off and imprisoned, where he died. What he did for young lovers was remembered and is still celebrated on St. Valentine's Day.
  
  
• The 17th century hopeful maiden ate a hard-boiled egg and pinned five bay leaves to her pillow before going to sleep on Valentine's eve. It was believed this would make her dream of her future husband.
  
  
• The Duke of Orleans is believed to have made the first valentine card. Imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415, he wrote love poems, or "valentines," to his wife in France.
  
  
• Elaborate cards trimmed with satin ribbons, mother-of-pearl ornaments, and spun glass were sold during the Civil War.
  
  
• The celebration, the tradition goes on or with flowers, with heart-shaped candies, with lacy valentines whose frills and furbelows hiding the initials of the sender, we honor the good priest who disobeyed Claudius the Cruel.

Valentine's Day Poetry

Sonnet CXVI
LET ME NOT TO THE MARRIAGE OF TRUE MINDS

a Sonnet by William Shakepeare (1564 - 1616)

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee ? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life !--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

SWEETHEARTS ALWAYS

by Daniel O'Connell

If sweethearts were sweethearts always,
Whether as maid or wife,
Not a drop would be half as pleasant
In the mingle of draught of life.

But the sweetheart has smiles and blushes
When the wife has frowns and sighs,
And the wife's have a wrathful glitter
For the glow of the sweetheart's eyes.

If lovers were lovers always,
The same to sweetheart and wife,
Who would change for a future of Eden
The joys of this checkered life?

But husbands grow grave and silent,
And care on the anxious brow
Oft replaces the sunshine that perished
With the words of the marriage vow.

Happy is he whose sweetheart
Is wife and sweetheart still:
Whose voice, as of old, can charm him;
Whose kiss, as of old, can thrill;

Who has plucked the rose to find ever
Its beauty and fragrance increase,
As the flush of passion is mellowed
In love's unmeasured peace;

Who sees in the step a lightness;
Who finds in the form a grace;
Who reads an unaltered brightness
In the witchery of the face,


Undimmed and unchanged.
Ah, happy Is he crowned with such a life!
Who drinks the wife pledging the sweetheart,
And toasts in the sweetheart the wife!

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Valentine's Day Candy Recipes

Valentine Day Hot Cinnamon Red Candy

3 1/2 c Sugar
1 c White Karo Syrup
1 c Boiling Water
Powdered Sugar (how ever much -it takes)
1 ts Red Food Coloring
1 ts Cinnamin Oil(not -extract)

Sprinkle a liberal layer of powdered sugar onto 2 cookie sheets, (cover well to keep candy from sticking) Cook sugar, Karo and water to 290 F. Add cinnamon oil and food color. Be VERY careful of the fumes.

MIX WELL and pour evenly(and slowly) over sugared pans. Spread candy carefully. WORK QUICKLY. Allow to cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top of candy. Crack into pieces and enjoy.

Triple-Chocolate Candy Kisses

Yield: 99 pieces

4 - 3-oz. chocolate bars; --2 semisweet, 1 milk, 1 white chocolate
1/2 c Crushed hard striped peppermint candies

Melt the 3 kinds of chocolate in 3 separate bowls. Stir half of the crushed candy into the semisweet chocolate. Reserve a bit for sprinkling; stir the remainder into the milk and white chocolates.

Drop teaspoons of the semisweet onto a parchment-lined tray. Top with 1 dollop each of the milk and white chocolates. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Let harden.

Valentine's Day English Toffee

1 c Sugar
3/4 c Corn syrup; light brown
3/4 c Cream; thin
1/8 ts Salt

Cook, stir until sugar is dissolved. Cook until firm ball in cold water or 244F. Add 1 1/2 T. butter and 1/2 t. vanilla. Pour in thin layer on greased slab. While warm, mark in squares. Wrap in paper when cold.

Chocolate Toffee Recipe

1/2 c Coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 c Butter
3/4 c Brown sugar, packed
1/2 c Semisweet chocolate pieces

Sprinkle pecans in bottom of buttered 8 inch square baking pan. Combine butter and brown sugar in 2 quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches hard crack stage (295F) on candy thermometer. Immediately pour hot mixture over pecans,spreading evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate evenly over all. When chocolate is ~et, break up into pieces.

Valentine's Day Cookie Recipes

The Big Valentine Cookie Recipe

Yield: 4 Servings

3/4 c Margarine or butter, -softened
3/4 c Honey
1/4 ts Almond extract
2 1/2 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Finely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 300F. In a large bowl, beat margarine, honey and almond extract with an electric mixer until mixture is light and fluffy. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in almonds.

On ungreased cookie sheets, shape 1/2-cup portions of dough into heart shapes, no more than 1/2-inch thick. Decorate as desired by following one of the tips below. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges turn brown. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan.

Decorating tips:

• create a design on top of the cookies using white or colored candy sprinkles. Or you could crimp the edges of heart, making a design using the tines of fork, or a knife, spatula or spoon.
  
• sprinkle baked cookies with powdered sugar.
  
• you may want to paint a design with a simple egg-yolk paint. separate an egg; put the egg yolk in a small bowl and mix with 1/2 teaspoon water and enough red food coloring to make the desired sired shade of red. Using a clean paint brush, paint a design on cookie using the colored yolk. Or place a small doily on cookie and, using a clean, stiff brush, work the egg paint through the cutouts and create a lacy effect. Remember that this is all done before the cookies are baked.

Hidden Hugs Cookies Valentine Cookie

Yield: 48 Cookies

1 pk Hershey's Hugs chocolates (8 oz)
1 c Butter or margarine, -softened (2 sticks)
1/2 c Powdered sugar
1 ts Vanilla extract
2 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1/4 ts Salt
**3/4 c Toasted almonds, finely -ground
Additional powdered sugar

Heat oven to 400'F. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces. In large mixer bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar amd vanilla until well blended. Stir together flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Add nuts; blend well.

Mold scant tablespoon dough around each chocolate piece, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Before serving, roll again in powdered sugar, if desired.

NOTE: To toast almonds, heat oven to 350'F. Spread almonds in thin layer in shallow baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown; cool.

Delicate Valentine Lace Nut Cookies

Yield: 48

2 pk PLANTERS Nut Topping (2 oz)
1/2 c Firmly packed light brown -sugar
1/3 c Margarine
3 tb All-purpose flour
1 tb Milk
1 ts Vanilla extract

Line baking sheets with foil; grease foil. In medium saucepan, combine nut topping, brown sugar, margarine, flour and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until margarine is melted and mixture is blended. Stir in vanilla; keep warm over low heat.

Drop mixture by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 1/2" apart. Bake at 375'F. for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on sheets on wire racks. Carefully peel cooled cookies off foil. Store in airtight containers.

Valentine Sweetheart Sandwich Cookies

Yield: 36

1/4 lb Unsalted butter
1 1/4 c Sugar
2 lg Eggs
1 ts Vanilla extract
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa
2 c Flour
1/2 ts Salt
1 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Baking soda

FILLING:

4 tb Unsalted butter
1/8 Peppermint extract
Red Food Coloring
4 c Confectioner's sugar
Whipping cream

To make the cookies, cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl until light. Beat in eggs and vanilla; set aside. Sift the cocoa, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Stir the dry ingredients thoroughly into the butter mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F and butter 2 cookie sheets. Using a teaspoon measure, roll level teaspoons of the dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Bake for 10 to 15 mins, until cookies are puffed and surfaces slightly dry and cracked. Cool on racks.

To make the filling, cream the butter until light. Beat in the peppermint and powdered sugar, adding whipping cream and continuing to beat until the consistency is like creamy frosting, add 2 or 3 droplets of red food coloring to tint pink.

When the cookies are complete cool, spread about 1/2 tbs of filling on the bottom of one cookie, then top with the bottom side of another cookie.

Valentine's Day Easy Crafts

Valentine Day Candy Craft Candle

1 York Peppermint Pattie
1 Roll Lifesavers
Hershey Kiss
Bow
Other candies
Ribbon for decorating
Cellophane tape

For the base, take the Peppermint Pattie and wrap it in foil or fold the corners under and tape. Glue a bow to the top of the Peppermint patty. Cut out the LEFT loop of the bow. Take the outer wrapping off the Lifesavers roll. Don't remove the foil wrap. Tape a Hershey Kiss to the end of the Lifesaver roll. This will create a candle.

You can use other types of rolled candy such as Mentos, Rolos, Spree etc. Tape the bottom of the candle into the bow where the LEFT loop was removed. You can decorate the candle with ribbon or stickers. Tip: Use ribbon criss-crossed around the candy and to a red candle add a chocolate heart candy.

Valentine's Day Shaker Cards

Craft Board 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick lightweight foam with
cardstock-type cover on both sides
Card Stock
Clear, Heavy Plastic
Glue
Crayons or Markers
Misc. Craft Supplies eg. Stickers, Ribbon, Shiny Confetti

Begin by cutting the craft board with an exacto knife to about 3 x 6 inch, or whatever size you want. Then get some plain card stock and cut 2 pieces the same size as the board. With the knife, cut out a heart, about 2x 2, in the LEFT of one piece, laid it on top of the board and marked the heart, then cut it out of the board. Get a piece of clear plastic, like from a sheet protector, and cut a piece big enough to cover the cut-out with enough border for glue. Now it is ready for the kids.

You should have a piece of cardstock, plain; one piece of cardstock with acut-out; one piece of clear plastic; and one piece of board with a cut-out for each child. Let the kids decorate the 2 pieces of cardstock with crayons, markers, stickers, lace, ribbon - whatever you have. When they are done, glue the plastic to the wrong side of the cardstock with the cut-out, then glue the 2 cut-out pieces together, lining up the cut-outs. Put a small handfull of metallic confetti - this one had multi-colored hearts - or anything else you might think of in the "window". Glue the back piece on to seal it in, and trim the edges if needed.

Easy Valentine Picture Hearts

Materials:

Construction Paper
Scissors
Fabric Paint (in tubes or bottles)
Picture of child

Cut out a bigger heart and cut a heart out of the LEFT.Then write, I love you mom and dad or whatever you want. Use my tubes of fabric paints to decorate them. Then when they are dry, put the picture in the LEFT.

Valentine's Day Pop-Up Cards

Materials:

Two pieces of red construction paper of equal size
Glue
Pen or pencil
Decorations for front of card
(stickers, confetti, lace, buttons, sequins, etc.)
Markers, paints or crayons

1. Take the two pieces of paper and fold both in half widthwise. Set one aside.
2. Place one piece with the folded edge on your left.
3. Fold the top corner to make a large triangle.
4. Fold back the triangle.
5. Draw the top part of half a heart from the folded edge to the triangle fold.
6. Cut the top part of the valentine, stopping at the triangle fold mark.
7. Open the card and pull the valentine toward you.
8. Press the fold lines so that the valentine points forward and color the heart.
9. Apply glue to the outside of the card and to the paper you put aside. Do not apply glue in the area of the pop-up heart.
10. Decorate the front of your card.

Valentine Puppet Craft

Materials:

Red construction paper
Scissors
Glue
4 Large rubber bands
Markers

1. Cut two hearts of the same size from red construction paper. Make them bigger than your hand. Cut 4 1 inch hearts from the red paper for the puppet's hands and feet.
2. Cut each of the rubber bands so that they form elastic strings. Glue the rubber bands to the sides and bottom of one of the large hearts to form the arms and legs of the puppet.
3. Glue the tops of the two large hearts together with the ends of the rubber bands between them. Leave the bottom part open to slip your hand in.
4. Glue a small heart to the end of each elastic arm and leg. When the puppet has dried completely, draw a face with markers.

Valentine's Romantic Dinner Ideas

Mushroom Appetizers Recipe
Tomato & Herb Salad Recipe
Brandicot Chicken Recipe
OR
Beef Wellington Recipe
Rice Pilaf Recipe
Asparagus Maltaise Recipe
Decadent White Chocolate Cheesecake

Mushroom Appetizers Recipe

1 lb Very Fresh Mushrooms
4 oz Softened Cream Cheese
1/2 of a 4 1/2 oz Can Deviled Ham
1 tb Chopped Stuffed Olives
Onion Salt
Garlic Salt
Dry Mustard
Pepper
Pimento

Rinse mushrooms well. Remove the stems. Mix the cream cheese, deviled ham, chopped olives and the seasonings. Spoon or pipe the cheese mixture into the mushroom caps. Garnish with pimento. Place on platter, wrap and refrigerate until serving time. These may be made a day in advance.

Tomato & Herb Salad Recipe

6 sm Tomatoes; peeled
1 1/2 ts Oregano
1 tb sugar
4 tb Malt vinegar
1/2 ts Seasoned salt
1/4 ts Pepper
1 c Lettuce leaves; torn up

Chop 1 1/2 tomatoes fine; comine with oregano, sweetener, vinegar and salt. Slice remaining tomatoes, place on top of lettuce leaves; top with vinegar mix; refregerate until ready to serve.

Brandicot Chicken Recipe

2 ts Cornstarch
1/4 c Soy sauce
1/4 c Apricot preserves
2 tb Sugar
2 tb White vinegar
1 Garlic clove, minced
1/4 ts Ground ginger
Salt and pepper
1 tb Orange juice
1 tb Brandy
3 To 4 lbs chicken pieces

Preheat oven to 375F. - Stir together cornstarch and soy sauce in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add apricot preserves, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Cook until thick and bubbly, about 2 minutes. - Remove from heat. Add orange juice and brandy. - Place chicken in large baking dish. Pour sauce over top. - Bake for 30 minutes. Turn, baste, and bake 30 additional minutes.

Beef Wellington Recipe

1 3/4 lb Beef fillet, tied and larded - at room temp
1/2 lb Mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tb Unsalted butter
1/4 lb Pate de foie gras, at room temp
1/2 lb Puff pastry
1 lg Egg white, beaten
1 lg Egg yolk beaten with 1 ts Water
1/4 c Madeira
1 ts Arrowroot, dissolved in 1 tb Cold water
1/4 c Beef broth
1 tb Black truffles, finely chopped
Watercress for garnish

In a roasting pan, roast the beef in the middle of a preheated 400F oven for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 120F. Let the fillet cool completely and discard the larding fat and strings. Skim the fat from the pan juices and reserve the juices.

In a heavy skillet, cook the mushrooms in butter over mod-low heat, stirring, until all liquid they give off is evaporated and the mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper and let cool completely.

Spread the fillet evenly with foie gras, covering the top and sides, and spread the mushrooms evenly over the foie gras.

On a floured surface, roll one lb. of puff pastry into a rectangle about 20x12 inches, or large enough to enclose the roast completely. Invert the fillet in the middle of the pastry and fold up the long sides to enclose it, brushing the edges of the dough with some egg white to seal them. Fold the ends of the dough over the fillet and seal with the egg white. Transfer the fillet, seam side down, to a jelly-roll pan and brush the dough with egg wash.

Roll out additional dough and cut out shapes with which to decorate the dough. After applying, brush with egg wash. Chill for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Bake the fillet in the middle of a preheated 400F oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake an additional 5-10 minutes more or until a meat thermometer registers 130F for medium rare meat and the pastry is cooked through. Let stand for 15 minutes.

In a saucepan, boil the reserved pan juices and the Madeira until the mixture is reduced by one fourth. Add the arrowroot mixture, broth, truffles, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the sauce over moderate heat, stirring, for 5 minutes or until thickened, being careful not to let it boil. Loosen the fillet from the pan, transfering it to a heated platter. Garnish with watercress. Serve the fillet cut into 3/4-inch thick slices, with the sauce.

Rice Pilaf Recipe

Yield: 2 cups
1/2 c Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
2 Green Onions, Sliced
3 ts Butter Or Margarine
1 1/3 c Water
6 tb Long Grain Regular Rice
1/4 Med Bell Pepper (any color), julienne strips
1/4 ts Salt
1/4 ts Dried Sage, Crushed
4 ts Snipped Parsley

In a 1-quart casserole micro-cook mushrooms, onion, and butter or margarine, uncovered, on 100% power for 2 to4 minutes or till vegetables are tender. Stir in water, rice, bell pepper, salt and sage. Micro-cook, covered, on 100% power for 3 to 4 minutes or till boiling. Micro-cook, covered, on 50% power for 15 to 17 minutes or till rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring once. Sir in parsley. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Asparagus Maltaise Recipe

Yield: 4 Servings
2 lb Asparagus
3 Egg yolks
2 tb Lemon juice
1/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Butter or margarine
1 ts Grated orange peel
3 tb Orange juice

Snap tough ends from asparagus and discard. Place asparagus in 1 inch water in large skillet, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

Blend egg yolks, lemon juice and salt in saucepan or top of double boiler. Add half of butter and stir constantly over low heat or boiling water until butter melts. Add remaining butter and continue stirring until it melts and sauce thickens. Stir in orange peel and juice. Drain asparagus and serve topped with sauce.

Decadent White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

Yield: 8 Servings

12 oz White chocolate
2 c Graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 lb Cream cheese, softened
1 c Sugar
2 1/2 ts Vanilla
1 tb Apricot brandy
2 c Sour cream

Melt white chocolate over low heat in a double boiler. Set aside to cool slightly. Preheat oven to 350F. Distribute graham cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Press crumbs down lightly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and apricot brandy with an electric mixer for at least five minutes or until very smooth. Add melted white chocolate and blend another five minutes. Add sour cream and mix to combine. Pour into crumb lined pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Chill overnight before serving.

This cheesecake freezes very well, and makes about 12-14 slices. Dress up with a garnish of fresh raspberries or strawberries and mint sprig

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