Happy Chinese Valentine's Blizzard

My, my, my…what a busy week.  I never really think of February as having a lot going on other than an endless series of arctic blasts and our heating bill soaring through the roof.  Happily, this week proved me wrong not only with Valentine’s Day (which is today), but also with the celebration of the Chinese New Year, a “blizzard “and a wonderful baby shower gearing up for the arrival of Baby Jew.

Though I do admit to being slightly anti Valentine’s Day (purely from consumerist exhaustion), I definitely enjoy its color scheme.  Pink has long been one of my favorite colors.  I’m drawn to it over and over while shopping and when choosing plants to put in the garden out back.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a “Spring” and a “Summer” according to the color analysis my Aunt Helen gave me in the 1980’s, or if it’s because I was a butterfly or bee in my former life.  Regardless, I like it and pink makes me smile.

Late last week I found a website for a company in Chicago called P.O.S.H. which sells vintage glasses and dishware (as well as reproductions cast from original molds).  I was on a search for antique milk glass cake stands, and they have a lovely assortment.  The one I ended up getting was pink.  Knowing that Valentine’s Day and spring were both on the way, I wanted a new serving piece on the shelf for those softer looking, potentially pastel desserts.

In honor of Valentine’s Day I decided to make Raspberry Almond Financiers.  These almond cake, bite size desserts are somewhere in the middle of a semi-sweet muffin or cake…actually a tea cake might be a nice description.  The point being that they are not overpowering.  What I like about financiers is they are petit fours, and meant to be eaten in a bite or two…simply and without guilt, almost like it never was there.  I’ve made them once before when I was in pastry class, but haven’t since because I didn’t have the proper pan.  This recipe calls for using two nonstick mini-muffin pans (of which I had one on hand), and is something I think most people might have around the house.  I will say that you should have both pans if you are going to make this recipe because the batter sets up very quickly due to the honey it contains.

Raspberry puree makes these little bites very pretty.  I did break my own rule and go out of season on this one. The puree is easy to make, you just take a couple of pints of raspberries, throw them in the food processor, puree and pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.  I also added just a little sugar to them because they were a little on the sour side.  Sorry California, but your winter raspberries don’t compete with our glorious summer berries.

This recipe has leanings toward the complex side.  Normally I make things that are full of simple steps, which lead up to something seemingly complicated, but this one is a bit of a pain to get the hearts looking correct.  A few dirty pans are involved because you need your food processor to make both the puree and grind up the toasted almonds. The pan used for almond toasting can also be used to make the browned honey butter the recipe calls for. 

The complexity comes in once you have filled your muffin cups with batter and start adding the raspberry puree.  Using a 1/2-teaspoon, dollop the puree onto one side of the almond batter and then use a toothpick or wooden skewer to “drag” it through the batter in a “V” shape.  I found this to be somewhat challenging to get right, and it makes more sense to drop two little dollops of puree onto each side of the muffin cup (forming the tops of the hearts) and drag the toothpick down and toward the center (forming the base of the heart).  Whatever way you choose, just prepare yourself for a little more concentrated work than usual.  Also, prepare yourself for imperfection on this one.  The recipe makes about 4-dozen, and I would venture a guess that about a dozen held their shapes and looked like proper hearts.  Luckily, they taste great just the same with a buttery, almond, honey and raspberry bite filling your mouth with Valentine’s joy.

As I was making the dessert I started thinking about Valentine's Day, and realized I didn’t know anything about why we celebrate.  According to the research I did, I discovered we had another martyr in our midst.  The legends of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, always seems to end with his death...how romantic.  In various tales surrounding this mysterious figure he was either put in prison for secretly wedding soldiers to their girlfriends after a Roman law was issued banning young men from marriage (I guess single men are better army recruits), or just the target of persecution for helping Christians. He was also potentially responsible for the first Valentine being sent, signing “from your Valentine” in a love letter mailed to his girlfriend from prison.  War and prison seem to have a strong presence in his history, but I don’t really see many Hallmark greeting cards with Cupid in jail on the front.

On a lighter note, a “blizzard” hit New York earlier this week.  It was a great excuse to stay home for a day (and work).  It had been such a long time since I felt the twinge of “snow day” excitement coursing through my veins.  As a kid it was an excuse to go outside and play, but as an adult in the modern age you can do your work from home just as easily as going into the office.  As I sat working away, I was happily greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies coming from the kitchen…cookies not created by me!  Brian had taken it upon himself to whip up a batch of oatmeal cookies.  The recipe is called Andy’s Oatmeal Cookies and what I liked about them was the replacement of raisins with a small amount of coconut and a decent amount of butter.  They were rich and satisfying without being plagued by the healthiness of the raisins (I’m not a huge raisin fan in general).  It was a very sweet and wonderful surprise.  I think I should stay home and work more often.

And if things weren’t exciting enough, the shower for Baby Jew was this weekend.  Our friends Andrea and Nathan (who’ve been featured on this blog in the past) have been expecting for some time now.  They are due in about 6 weeks, which seems absolutely crazy to me.  The shower was a lot of fun.  Brian and I were the only boys allowed…but we are really just considered part of the “girlfriends” who were in attendance.   Games were played; baby bellies measured, baby foods tasted and a lot of really generous gifts were floating around the room.  Both the grandmothers to-be were present, happily glowing and ready for the baby to come.

As a parting gift, Patricia, Nathan’s mom, gave everyone red envelopes filled with coins as a token of luck and prosperity.  Her family history and spiritual practices are aligned with Asian tradition and philosophy, and the envelopes are part of this tradition.  It made sense on a family, personal level, but also coincides with this week’s Chinese New Year celebration.   The red envelopes are often given to children and, not so hilariously, unmarried and unemployed adults.  I’m going to take my envelope as a nod to luck and prosperity in the coming year of the Tiger, and forget about the unmarried jobless part.

Who says February has to be boring?  A time of waiting for spring can also be a time of productivity.  There are things to bake, movies to watch before the Oscars air, home projects to be addressed while the weather is inclement and celebrations to share in with friends and loved ones.  Tonight Brian, Izabella and I (Jonathan is unfortunately flying) will go out for dinner at The Cookery to celebrate the martyrdom of St. Valentine, eat meat and be merry.  The place is a fabulous little Italian gastro pub in Dobbs Ferry, not far from our home. 

I know I feel fortunate to have people in my life to share these activities with, as well as having a “holiday” excuse to consume a high calorie diet.  Don’t forget to give your sweetheart a hug. I know I will.  It’s just who I am.

Aging cranberries put out for the birds