February 14th—Valentine’s Day—is also National Creme Filled Chocolates Day.

But what’s with creme vs. cream?

“Creme,” pronounced cream, is a misspelled, mispronounced Americanization of the French word for cream, crème (pronounced KREHM). It is used in the U.S. to make chocolates and desserts seem more special; i.e., French, without the correct French pronunciation and accent mark.

So if it isn’t a French dessert or confection—crème brûlée pr crème caramel, for example—why not just use the English-language word cream?

Some users are pretentious, some merely unaware.

More than a few people—both professionals and home cooks—use “creme” in recipes that don’t even contain real cream

Instead, the recipes have creamy fillings made with coconut cream, cream cheese, tofu, various starches and other ingredients (we’ve seen more than a few “creme pie” recipes made with Cool Whip).

For these creamy recipes, why simply use the English-language word creamy?

Just use cream, people (and see more below).
 
 
WHAT ABOUT CHOCOLATES?

Some chocolates with creamy centers contain no cream; other chocolates are truly cream-filled with whipped cream, although few American chocolatiers make them because of their shorter shelf life. (You can get them from Leonidas Belgian Chocolates).

And some do actually have cream in their centers. ganache is a prime example, as is caramel).

Fruit fruit creams—lemon, orange and raspberry, for example—are appear more in Belgium than France, as are cream liqueur centers. You won’t find a lot of them at French chocolatiers.

Dictionary.com allows for crème or creme, but only as they refer to crème-or-cream liqueur and desserts, e.g. crème brûlée.

In our opinion, spelling chocolates or whatever “creme” but pronouncing them “cream” is just wrong, when cream is a perfectly accurate word.

Our advice: If it’s made with cream, use the word cream. No one will be confused. If it isn’t made with cream but it’s creamy, use the word creamy.

And save crème or creme, both pronounced KREHM, for French foods: coeur à la crème, crème anglaise, crème brûlée, etc. Not everyone is good with French accent marks, but creme/KREHM is an honest attempt.
 
 
We hereby proclaim February 14th National Cream Filled Chocolates Day.
  

[2] Beet juice is an under-used cocktail mixer. It’s also delicious as a straight juice drink (photo courtesy R.W. Knudsen).

For Valentine’s Day, treat yourself to a beet-red cocktail.

A Bloody Mary or Cosmo may be the obvious red drink choice, but we were looking for something new. We like this drink because, on a day loaded with chocolate and other sweets, it’s savory—although not as much as a Bloody Mary, because beet juice has naturally sweetness.

We developed the recipe using gin, but you can use whatever spirit you like. Mezcal gives it a nice smokiness.
 
 
RECIPE: RED BEET COCKTAIL

If you aren’t a juicer, simply buy the beet juice. If your supermarket doesn’t have it, head to the nearest natural foods store. Our favorite brands are Biotta, Love Beets and R.W. Knudsen (photo #2).

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the rim. Combine equal parts of salt and lemon zest. Use a lemon wedge to moisten the rim of the glass, and twist the rim in the salt-zest mixture to coat.

2. COMBINE the ingredients with ice and shake. Strain into a glass.

3. GARNISH as desired.
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*Beet juice is so sweet, that the drink doesn’t need any sweetener. However, the brown sugar adds a note of molasses. Taste the drink first before adding the sugar. To enable the sugar to dissolve, pulse it in the food processor until very fine. Alternatively, mix it with a bit of the juice, heat for 15 seconds in the microwave and stir to dissolve.

Spring begins on March 20th and Easter Sunday is April 1st…but IKEA is having a celebration on Friday, March 9th.

You can join participating IKEA stores nationwide* for a Påskbord, a Swedish smörgåsbord buffet in honor of the Easter holiday.
 
IKEA PASKBORD MENU**

The all-you-can eat buffet of classic Swedish food offerings includes:

First Course

 
Second Course

 
IThird Course

 
Desserts & Beverages

 
Boy, are we hungry!

All this and more is yours at the IKEA Påskbord buffet—but only if you get your tickets before they sell out (photo courtesy IKEA).

Tickets are available for only $16.99 per person, $4.99 for kids 12 and under, or at a discounted rate for IKEA FAMILY*** members of $12.99 per person, $2.99 for kids 12 and under.

Seating is limited, so head to your local IKEA store ASAP (find your closest store at IKEA-USA.com).
 
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* IKEA Carson will not host an Easter Påskbord in 2018.

**Menu is subject to change due to product availability.

***IKEA FAMILY is a benefits program that offers membership perks including special product discounts, sneak previews, free coffee and tea in the IKEA Restaurant, and more. Consumers can sign up for the free program online or in-store.

[2] Dessert pots in Lemon Ganache (above) or Chocolate Ganache (next photo) pack a lot of flavor into a small but satisfying size (photo courtesy The Coconut Collaborative | Facebook).

[3] The Chocolate Ganache pot (photo courtesy Flicking The Vs).

[4] The company calls their products “free from dairy but not from temptation” (photo courtesy The Coconut Collaborative).

The #1 brand of coconut milk-based yogurt brand in Europe, The Coconut Collaborate has come to the U.S., bringing their very impressive dairy-free products. While we love dairy, we also want to eat more sustainably—and more plant-based foods let us do that.

Whether you have a current brand of coconut-based yogurt, don’t like coconut yogurt, are lactose intolerant, or are happy with your dairy-based yogurt, The Coconut Collaborative yogurts must be tried!
 
 
COCONUT-BASED YOGURT THAT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE COCONUT!

They yogurts have an amazing taste, and unlike U.S. coconut yogurt brands we’ve tried, the taste isn’t coconut.

For example, with the So Delicious brand, the taste of coconut shines through the fruit or other flavor. With The Coconut Collaborate yogurts, which are made with cultured coconut milk, the fruit flavors are as prominent as with cow’s milk yogurt.

You taste the delicious fruit-on-the-bottom fruit compote (not preserves), currently Blueberry, Mango and Passionfruit.

Even the Original, made from 95% coconut, can compete in deliciousness with cow’s milk yogurts.

We emphasize this because, even coconut lovers like us don’t necessarily want every flavor of yogurt to have a coconut taste.

The yogurt texture is very think and creamy; the experience is delightful. (With every spoonful, we said to ourselves: “So good! So good!)

The products are also targeted to a healthy lifestyle: plant-based, low in sugar, gluten-free and vegan. The brand is in the process of obtaining OU Pareve kosher certification.

 
 
AND THERE’S MORE: LUSCIOUS DESSERT “PARADISE POTS”

As delicious as the yogurts are, there’s even a more an indulgent treat: Paradise Pots in chocolate ganache or lemon ganache.

The name does not exaggerate. At only 100 calories, these single serving dessert pots are bites of paradise.

Made with coconut cream instead of coconut milk, they’re even richer and thicker than the yogurts, with the benefits.

Paradise Pots are guilt-free (100 calories) richness that will satisfy cravings, exactly as if you’d had a pot de crème or mousse.

Treat yourself, family and friends to a Coconut Collaborative tasting session. You’ll enjoy it more than ice cream!

Here’s the store locator.
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY

All of the company’s coconuts are sourced from plantations in Southeast Asia.

The company’s Pur Projet (Pure Project) supports the local farmers, providing a sustainable income for the communities. The project plants thousands of coconut trees each year to ensure that the farmers have new crops to sell.

Discover more at TheCoconutCollaborative.com.
  

We got our love of rice pudding from our mom, who made it from scratch, with lots of raisins and cinnamon. Before she put it in the fridge to chill, we got to eat some warm.

If your Valentine—or your mom—loves rice pudding, try this special recipe*. The coconut flavor comes from coconut milk, which is much more subtle than flaked coconut. The raisins are soaked in coconut rum.

If you don’t have coconut-flavored rum and don’t want to buy it (you can look for miniatures), add a bit of coconut extract to plain white rum.

However, if you do buy a bottle of coconut rum, you can use it in Piña Coladas and other rum drinks, with after-dinner coffee, in baking (cakes, cupcakes, brownies) and other recipes.

If you’re a real DIY cook, you can make your own coconut rum.

And then, this sophisticated recipe adds the heavenly, crunchy top of crème brûlée. The passion fruit is spooned over the top. If you don’t like the tartness of passion fruit or can’t find any, substitute a fresh mango.
 
 
PASSION FRUIT RICE PUDDING BRULÉE

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the raisins and rum in small bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing pudding.

2. PREPARE the coconut broth: Combine the nonfat milk and the next 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from vanilla bean; then add the vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat and allow to steep, uncovered, for 1 hour. Then strain and put 1 cup of broth in a heavy medium saucepan to cook the rice.

3. RINSE the rice in a medium bowl of cold water. Drain and repeat 2 more times. Add the rice to the pan with 1 cup of the coconut broth. Cook the coconut broth and rice over medium-high heat until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.

4. ADD the remaining coconut broth; cook over low heat until the rice is tender, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Remove from the heat; the mixture should be thick. Stir in 6 tablespoons sugar, transfer to large bowl and cool.

5. WHIP the cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into the cooled rice.

6. DRAIN the raisins and stir along with the lime peel into the rice. Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Divide the mixture among eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups.

7. PREHEAT the broiler (or use a kitchen torch). Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon sugar over each pudding. Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until sugar caramelizes, watching closely to prevent burning, about 3 minutes.

8. SPOON the passion fruit over the puddings and serve; or chill for later.

[1] If your Valentine loves rice pudding, try this Rice Pudding Brûlée recipe (photo © Epicurious.com)*.

[2] Personally, we’d like a larger serving, but some will prefer smaller ramekins like these (photo courtesy Epicurious).

[3] Some passion fruits have have smooth skins; this variety has wrinkled skins (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

[4] Coconut rum can be variously used in other puddings, cakes and brownies, after-dinner coffee, gelatin shots and a broad variety of cocktails (photo courtesy Malibu Rum).

*We received this recipe, called Warm Jasmine Rice Pudding with Passion Fruit, from Savor California, crediting rice farmers Rue & Forsman Ranch. We found the identical recipe on Epicurious.com. Condé Nast did not respond to our inquiry requesting clarification, but we’re guessing the copyright goes to Condé Nast Digital, Inc.