Pink — the color of romance and charm, affection and tenderness. It’s the sweet side of its hotter cousin, red. While red can signify deep love and passion, delicate pink hits a more subtle note. A site called empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com tells us pink is unconditional love and nurturing, compassion and understanding. Lucky for us, it’s also one of the most popular colors of Valentine’s Day, which we will celebrate next Tuesday.
There are oh, so many ways to incorporate pink into Cupid’s big day without taking on more of the almost $20 billion Americans will spend on celebrating than you should. (Yes, billion with a B, according to time.com/money. A major chunk goes to candy and sparkling wine. Over a third of Americans splurge on a dinner out, we’re told.)
Whether your celebration is an intimate dinner for two, a larger affair with family or friends, or even a classroom party, one or more of today’s recipes could put everyone, if you’ll forgive me, “in the pink.”
Old-fashioned pink popcorn is perfect for parties, for bagging up as happies, to add to kids’ lunches or for cuddling up on the sofa for rom-com movie night. Valentine bark boxed or bagged makes a festive, thoughtful gift for neighbors, the office or a classroom party. If you have a luncheon or special dinner coming up, the “naked” mini coconut-raspberry cakes are a pretty addition. (Great for bridal showers, too.)
Pink drink and other thoughts
There are any number of pink drinks to lend color to Valentine’s Day. One of the very simplest is a Cupid’s float — a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream with cherry soda (like cherry 7-Up) and a stick of red licorice for accent.
A Valentine breakfast? Heart-shaped French toast topped with swirls of strawberry butter can set the mood. For the butter, combine 1/2 cup of softened butter with 1/3 cup powdered sugar and a tablespoon of strawberry preserves in a bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until it’s creamy. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Need more pink? Just look around: red grapes, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, cherry or strawberry yogurt, cranberry juice, strawberry or cherry Jello.
Color aside, anyone with heart-shaped cookie cutters or even a knife can “sweeten up” almost any menu item with a little creative thinking — heart-shaped toast, sandwiches, pizza, the list goes on.
How about using little cookie cutters to cut out x’s and o’s from cheese to add to a salad? Or give fruit fans whole fruits decorated with red hearts and markers for the special day: “I am bananas for you,” “Orange you glad we are together?” “We make a great pear” or “You’re the apple of my eye.” A gesture doesn’t have to take a lot of time in order to make the recipient feel special.
So, Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone, whatever color you choose to celebrate with.
OLD-FASHIONED PINK POPCORN
2/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup half and half
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 drops red food coloring (or any other color you’d like)
(Source: cookingclassy.com)
VALENTINE BARK
Total Time: 2 hours
Yield: 8-10 servings (2-3 pieces each)
1 package chocolate candy coating/melts
1 package white candy coating/melts
pink food coloring (that does not contain water)
1 package M&M’s
Assorted heart sprinkles
(Source: Adapted from “Confessions of a Cookbook Queen”)
MINI COCONUT RASPBERRY VALENTINE “NAKED” CAKES
Makes 10 mini cakes
For the coconut cake:
1 vanilla or white cake mix plus ingredients on box
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons coconut extract (don’t use imitation, use the real deal)
For raspberry buttercream:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
3-5 Tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
red or pink food coloring
(Source: minibaker.com)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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