When it comes to giving gifts on Valentine’s Day, you might consider mushrooms and other fungi if you’ve reached your limit when it comes to chocolates and roses. Mushrooms are culinary delights in their own right, but none is more renowned or desirable than the truffle. The fungal truffle lent its name to the confectionery treat in the 1920s and is still a worldwide delicacy. The smell and flavor of truffles are largely described as being earthy, musky, and intense by experts in this field. The scent is special in other ways, too. Truffles grow underground, so they require animals to dig them up, eat them, and disperse their spores in order to reproduce.

Truffles release chemical scents that mimic pheromones produced by mammals to encourage animals to eat them. Boars produce androstenone, one of these chemicals, in their saliva, which is the primary sexual hormone. Therefore, truffle hunters often use female pigs to track down the elusive mushrooms. As androstenone is also found in human sweat, some people consider truffles to be aphrodisiacs.

Now, if you are making a special Valentine’s meal for your significant other tomorrow night, you might want to take some of these suggestions into consideration.

Just saying…

Click on the name of the various aphrodisiacs to find a recipe for each.

asparagus – loaded with essential vitamin E

basil – libido lifting nutrients vitamins A and C, magnesium, beta carotene, and potassium

caviar – luxurious jewels from the sea, salty and sexy

chiles  – elevates heart rate, raises body temperature, makes lips swell

chocolate – releases phenylethylamine, the same hormone love-making releases and increases endorphin secretions and raises heart rate

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A couple of weeks ago I posted a delicious and rather decadent recipe for a Crêpe Gâteau. That recipe came from the need to use up a big stack of crêpes leftover from making Lobster Crêpes for an appearance on Valley Dish. Well… this is the 3rd reincarnation using those same crêpes! I think it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day; it’s rich, a little bit sweet, and lovely soft pink. When I say rich, I mean really rich, so a thin wedge would be perfect as an appetizer or alongside a salad with a light vinaigrette. Just a thought…

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… is Valentine’s Day!  Are you ready? Here’s a pretty, fun, and festive tart to make and present to your loved ones. It’s easy and comes together quickly, all you need to do is get yourself a heart-shaped tart pan. You’ll find them at kitchen stores such as Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, or locally at ABC Cake Decorating. Or, if you get on the stick today, you can even order it from Amazon at THIS LINK.

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There’s nothing like a little salt with your chocolate, the flavor combination is irresistible, no wonder peanut M&Ms are a snacking favorite. The pretzels can be difficult to make into crumbs for this crust, but not to worry, the mixer will do the finishing work for you. Be sure to use the pulse button of your food processor to coarsely chop the pretzels, otherwise, you’ll just have a pile of fine crumbs. Then when you add them to the butter and powdered sugar in the mixer and let it go to town, they’ll end up being a perfect consistency. Picture proof below!

Valentine’s Day is only 2 weeks away. This is a special little something you might like to consider making for the sweethearts in your life.

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We are all born for love…it is the principle of existence and its only end.
~ Disraeli

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
~ Bertrand Russell, Earl Russell

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

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This lovely red soup is perfect for Christmas or Valentine’s Day. It is decorated with crème fraîche.

Crème fraîche is a thinner form of sour cream developed by the French. It has a slight tanginess because it contains bacterial cultures. But the amounts of cultures are far less than those in sour cream, so it has a smoother taste. One of the advantages of crème fraîche is that it doesn’t “break” as sour cream may when added to sauces. This is due to its higher fat content.

Crème fraîche is becoming more and more available in stores, but is still just as easy to make at home. To do so; pour 1 cup heavy cream into a jar, add 1 tablespoon buttermilk, cover, and shake. Leave covered, on the counter, in a room temperature draught-free place for  24 hours. It is ready when it is thick. Do not worry about the cream going bad, the benign live bacteria in the buttermilk will multiply and protect the cream from any harmful bacteria. After the 24-hour “counter time” place it in the refrigerator. It will continue to thicken and take on a more tangy flavor as it ages. Crème fraîche will keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
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