As a treat for friends and family, try your hand at making marshmallows for Valentine’s Day. These chocolate marshmallows, by Christina Lane of DessertForTwo.com, are dipped in melted chocolate for a double-chocolate treat. They take only 15 minutes to make!

Since this is “dessert for two,” the recipe makes 12 mini marshmallows. Make the first batch to see how you like them, and then make a larger batch

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients For 12 Mini Marshmallows

 
For Dipping

Dipped chocolate marshmallows. Photo courtesy DessertForTwo.com.

Preparation

1. LINE a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or foil. Spray with cooking spray.

2. COMBINE the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 2 tablespoons of the water in a medium sauce pan. Clip on a candy thermometer, and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil without stirring and continue to cook until it reaches 238°F. Meanwhile…

3. PLACE another 2 tablespoons of the water in a medium bowl, and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let sit to dissolve for 5 minutes.

4. ADD the last 2 tablespoons of water to a small dish and microwave for 25 seconds, until hot. Remove from the microwave carefully, and whisk in the cocoa powder. Stir the cocoa powder mixture into the dissolved gelatin.

5. SLOWLY STREAM the hot sugar (238°F) into the gelatin mixture while continuously beating with a hand mixer on medium-high. Be careful not to pour the hot sugar near the sides of the bowl because it will stick and harden immediately. Beat the mixture for 10 minutes, until light and fluffy; then beat in the vanilla.

6. POUR the mixture into the loaf pan, and let set for at least 3 hours. Then lift the parchment paper or foil out of the pan, and cut the marshmallows into squares with a well-greased knife. Grease the knife between each cut. If the marshmallows are too sticky, roll them in extra cocoa powder.

7. DIP the marshmallows: First place the marshmallows in the freezer for 5 minutes, on a baking sheet. While they are chilling, combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium heat in 30-second pulses until melted, stirring between each pulse. Stir until chocolate is evenly melted and smooth.

8. REMOVE the marshmallows from the freezer and dunk half of each marshmallow in the melted chocolate. Place each marshmallow back on the sheet, and refrigerate until the chocolate sets, about 5 minutes.

Love Potion #31 features white chocolate and raspberry ice creams, a raspberry ribbon, chocolate chips and raspberry-filled chocolate hearts. We love chocolate and raspberry, so thanks, B-R: This is right up our alley.

Customers can enjoy a free red waffle cone with the purchase of any double scoop of ice cream at participating Baskin-Robbins shops nationwide.

The Valentine offerings also include ice cream cakes in the shape of “conversation hearts,” with messages including Be Mine, Love You and XOXO. You can order the cakes online for pickup at your local Baskin Robbins.

[1] A dish of poutine: fries, gravy, cheese curds (photo © V. W. Campin | CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0-License).

[2] Wendy’s Canada locations serve classic poutine (photo © Wendy’s | Canada).

[3] There are many enhancements to basic poutine. Here, it’s topped with pulled pork (photo © Dirty Dogs | Montreal).

[4] This poutine baked potato trades the fries for a baked russet potato, loaded with cheese curda and gravy (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

In Canada, the first week in February is La Poutine week.

Poutine (poo-TEEN) is a popular Canadian potato dish: French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy.

It’s the northern version of cheese fries, with brown gravy instead of ketchup; and is often referred to as the national dish of Canada.

Decades ago, it became popular in Quebec as a snack to follow a night of drinking. Of course, it begs to be accompanied by a cold beer.

During La Poutine Week, chefs at restaurants across Canada will pull out all the stops to out-poutine the classic poutine. Last year:

 
Year-round, La Banquise in Montreal serves more than thirty different kinds of poutine. It’s open 24 hours daily. Here’s the menu.

This recipe from French’s makes adds shredded barbecue beef and a fried egg (French’s used its company’s Cattlemen’s Memphis Sweet Finished BBQ Sauce). Make it, or create your own.

As for a matching beer: Cold Snap from Sam Adams sounds just right.

The unfiltered white ale has a snap of added flavor: fruit including orange peel, plum and hibiscus, and a peppery snap from fresh ground coriander.
 
 
RECIPE: BARBECUE BEEF POUTINE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. FRY the French fries to a crisp, golden brown and arrange on a platter.

2. COMBINE the beef with barbecue sauce and heat. Sprinkle over the fries.

3. SLICE the cheese curds in half and top the fries. Melt in a hot oven.

4. TOP with the egg and scallions. Serve.
 
 
POUTINE HISTORY

Various places claim the credit for inventing poutine, in rural Quebec in the 1950s, where numerous dairies produced Cheddar cheese curds.

The first leg of the story is that poutine originated in a restaurant called Le Lutin Qui Rit (“The Laughing Goblin”), when a customer asked the owner Fernand Lachance to mix cheese curds with his fries.

A restaurant called Le Roy Jucep is the first to have served poutine as we know it today—French fries, cheese and gravy—in 1964. The owner registered a trademark for the dish.

Another restaurant La P’tite Vache (“The Little Cow”) sold curds from the local Princesse dairy. Customers would order fries and buy a bag of cheese curds to mix together at their tables in a 50:50 proportion.

When gravy was added, the dish became known as “mixte” (“mixed”).

The name “poutine” appeared in 1982, when large restaurant chains began to sell it.

While no one can explain the derivation for certain, it could be derived from the English word “pudding,” which was expressed as “pouding” in Acadian French.

One meaning of “pouding” in Canada is “an unappetizing mixture of various foods, usually leftovers.” According to Merriam-Webster, poutine derives from a Quebecois slang word meaning “mess.” [Source]

We vote for that one (see photo #1)!

Pretty to look at, these shiny chocolate hearts are filled with luscious raspberry-infused ganache. Photo courtesy Kohler.

These lovely hearts, from Kohler Chocolates, are beautifully crafted:

The dark chocolate shells are filled with a delicate raspberry-accented chocolate ganache.

The dark chocolate is then enrobed with a thin layer of red-tinted white chocolate, which is hand painted with pink dots, and glazed to a very dazzling shine.

Choose from four sizes, gift-boxed and tied with a lovely ribbon. The smallest size makes a great wedding favor.

 
Get yours at KohlerChocolates.com.

Love sashimi? Looking for a light lunch or first course? Make sashimi salad.

Pick up some of your favorite raw fish from your fishmonger—salmon, tuna and yellowtail, for example. You can also add cooked varieties, such as shrimp and squid.

Then, create a salad of choice:

 
Some Asian markets, fish markets and even supermarkets carry wakame salad. Wakame, pronounced wah-kah-MAY, is a type of seaweed; for wakame salad, it is marinated in vinegar and seasonings. If you can’t find it, you can substitute a fresh herb like cilantro.

The toughest part of making sashimi salad is slicing the fish. There’s no cooking required for this delicious, lower-calorie, healthful dish.

RECIPE: SASHIMI SALAD

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Dressing

1. MAKE the dressing: Combine the ingredients and whisk thoroughly.

2. CUT the top loin in half crosswise With a sharp knife. Place the knife at a 45° angle and slice into ¼- to-½ inch strips.

3. ARRANGE the fish on plates along with wakame salad and salmon roe. Drizzle the dressing over the fish.

 
RECIPE: HAWAIIAN POKE DRESSING

Another dressing that works with sashimi salad is poke dressing, used in Hawaii’s version of sashimi salad, called poke (POE-kuh).

Ingredients

Preparation

1. BLEND all ingredients thoroughly.