Party Appetizers and a Berry Cobbler for my grown up girl.

My daughter is having a big birthday this year.  We celebrated with the family Saturday and it was so much fun.  Her hubs organized it.  It started with appetizers at my house.  The table was decorated brightly…because who really enjoys a “black” party when you are turning… old. Well, I did use  black table cloth because it made an excellent background for the brighter colors and reflective confetti  Ha.  Everything was simple and easy to do.  A vegetable tray for those who watch what they eat and Caramel Apple Fondue with lots of coatings.  I threw in a Rotel Cheese dip too. 

Raspberry/Hazelnut/Chocolate Pastry

Last valentines I made this delicious Pinterest find for hubs.  We both loved it so much, it's become part of our dessert favorites.  Link to the original post for the recipe here.

This valentines, I'm thinking a scoop of Bluebell Home Made Vanilla ice cream on the side while we warm next to the fireplace.

Mine came out a little less than than perfect like the photo above, but the taste was totally worth it.

Post script:  A reader reported difficulty linking back to the original Pinterest recipe from Pillsburry, I changed the link to go directly to the recipe, but also included the recipe as I wrote it down in my style here.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

• 1 can Pillsburry seamless crescent dough, cut into 8 squares, placed on aparchment lined cookie sheet.
• Spoon 2 teaspoons hazelnut spread on each square.
• Top with 3 fresh raspberries and
• 4 chocolate chips
• Fold the dough over and press edges to seal.  Form into heart by pressing indention in top center (for the heart top) while rounding the edges with your hands and ending with the heart point at the bottom.
• Brush with a beaten egg.
• Bake 13-17 minutes and cool 
• Dust with powdered sugar. 
• Microwave 1 Tablespoon hazelnut spread and 1 Tablespoon chocolate chips 45-60 seconds.  Stir smooth.  Drizzle over baked pastry and serve to your sweetheart.

... when I made mine I made 4 larger squares and doubled the filling for each square.  

Valentine sensation out of the bucket

I wonder if St. Valentine knew what a senstion he would stir in our modern world.  Of all the legends out there, I like the one that claims Saint Valentine defied the Emperor Claudius II by secretly performing marriages for soldiers.  And God bless the man who sent the first valentine. 

My hubs started our Valentine celebration last evening with flowers so I made our special week night dinner of steak, asparagas spears, roast corn cobs and gilled red pepper rings.  We were pretty stuffed, so tonight will be dessert night off Pinterest.  I'll be cooking up a beautiful heart pastry pinned from http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chocolate-raspberry-hearts/4dd3a0d9-b0ff-48f4-98fb-10d24766ff1e

Doesn't it look fabulous? 
PS.  Someone once told me how to remember if it is desert or dessert.  Desserts add pounds to our rear ends, so the word has an added s.  (If you have a Texas accent, S comes out sounding a bit like ass).

1 kind act:  Give a valentine to someone annonomously