Heart Shaped Fruit & Dark Chocolate Strawberries for Junior Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I made these gorgeous and delicious strawberries dipped in chocolate for my third grader's class party today. Needless to say, they sold out! The kids even came back for seconds for the heart shaped cantaloupe and pineapple I made with cookie cutters.

For the strawberries, wash and dry them thoroughly. Do not use any that have soft spots. Break up a bitter or bittersweet bar of dark chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Keep microwaving and stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. The strawberries must be completely dry. Introducing a liquid into the chocolate can make it seize up and that is a really ugly thing and a waste of good chocolate. I like to user Trader Joe's South American unique origin chocolate for this. The Scharffenberger is great too but it's less viscous and therefore goes on a bit too thick.

Holding the strawberry by the hull, roll it three quarters of the way up in the chocolate. Allow excess to run off and then place on a parchment paper lined plate. Repeat with remaining strawberries, reheating the chocolate by microwaving for 5-7 seconds when it starts to cool and thicken too much to coat the strawberry properly. Let dry, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

These have been a big hit a kids' birthday parties where the parents stay. It's nice to spoil parents too.

Real Mac 'n Cheese

A few weeks ago, I blogged about certain kids' cookbook authors who endorse hiding vegetables in food. Not a bad idea, but don't commit culinary atrocities. I think putting pureed chic peas in mac 'n cheese ruins it, sorry Missy! One of the loveliest things about mac 'n cheese is the silky texture of the cheese sauce. This recipe makes a luxurious one. Don't skimp on the hot sauce either, it really adds another dimension. Don't be afraid; this is not complicated. Get a good whisk ready! I like serving this with steamed broccoli florets; no more than 6 minutes please!

Get your kids to help you make this. Mine had fun weighing the cheese and grating the nutmeg. Of course, licking the pot is the most fun.

Real Mac 'n Cheese
(adapted from an ancient NYT recipe that I can't find online)
Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12, feel free to halve the recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced onion
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1 quart low-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 24 ounces grated low-fat aged Cheddar cheese, or a mix of cheeses (I added local farmer's market cheese and it was excellent)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
• 16 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni, cavatelli, penne or rigatoni
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

Preparation:

1. In a deep saucepan, cook onion in butter over low heat until onion is soft but not browned. Stir in flour. Remove pan from heat, slowly add milk while whisking. When thoroughly blended, return to medium heat and cook, stirring, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat, and whisk in mustard and 20 ounces Cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and hot-pepper sauce. It will be lumpy at first, but have faith, it will come together.
   
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to "al dente" directions. Do not overcook! Drain, return to pot, add cheese sauce and stir until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Spoon mixture into two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes. Top with remaining Cheddar cheese and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, allow dishes to return to room temperature, heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake about 20 minutes, until mixture is hot, bubbling and golden.
   

Soup for Lunar New Year

Dumpling soup is traditionally served on Lunar New Year in many Asian countries. It’s such an easy soup to make that I make it whenever it’s cold and I want a quick and yummy soup. Trader Joe’s Thai dumplings are particularly flavorful so I do not recommend substituting another type of dumpling unless you are ready to add much more seasoning to the soup.

Serves 4-6 people a dinner-sized portion

Ingredients:

• 2 containers Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth
• 2 bags Trader Joe’s Thai shrimp or vegetable dumplings (I like using one of each)
• 1 bag Trader Joe’s organic spinach
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, crushed (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced (optional)
• Trader Joe’s low-sodium soy sauce
• Trader Joe’s toasted Asian sesame oil

Preparation:

1. Empty broth into 4 quart pot, cover and bring to a boil.
2. Add dumplings all at once, cover and return to a boil. Remove lid and lower heat to medium to gently boil dumplings. Do not vigorously boil or they will fall apart. Cook 7-8 minutes only.
3. When dumplings are cooked, add bag of spinach, stir and cook about 1 minute just until spinach is wilted.
4. Ladle dumpling soup into bowls and top with a heaping teaspoon of scallion or combine the scallion, sesame seeds and garlic in a small bowl and pass around as a topping. Pass around small bowls of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for each person to season their bowls as desired.