Our hearts are large. Soul mates and kindred spirits of all
kinds enter our lives every day, and the day to celebrate them is coming soon: Valentine’s Day. Even if we don’t have a significant other, we’re all lovers in some way--of our
friends, children, or family. This year on Valentine’s Day, honor the many lights
that illuminate your life with a Feast of Love.
Here are a few ideas to help you plan a celebratory meal
overflowing with love.
-Find every dish, piece of flatware, candleholder, vase,
napkin, and tablecloth in your house that’s pink, red, purple, or white. Create
your tablescape from these assembled items. If you come up short, keep the
color scheme in mind and poke around the house for vintage figurines, toys,
objets d’art, and other unexpected items to help you fill out the aesthetic.
-Buy pink, purple, red, and white construction paper. Cut
out hearts of all different sizes and scatter them down the center of the
table. This effect looks especially striking against a clean, white tablecloth.
-Set a construction paper heart at each place setting. On
each heart, write something that person brings to the table—something you love
about him or her. It could be something like “You do pitch perfect
impersonations,” or “Martha Stewart has nothing on you; you make the best upside
down pineapple cake known to man,” or "When you’re around, everybody laughs themselves
silly.” If you want, you can even make it a game—leave the name off the placecard
and have each guest guess which card is meant for him or her.
-Pick a meal theme. Foods you loved as a child. Foods from
famous love stories. Foods with love-related names. Or, maybe just make some food that everybody loves.
-Make sugar cookies for dessert (see recipe below). Instead
of using Valentine’s Day-themed cookie cutters, find alphabet cookie cutters.
Typically your local kitchen store is a good place to start. If not, try Sur La
Table, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or Fish’s Eddy if you’re in Manhattan. Cut out
cookies in the shape of the initials of each guest, plate the cookies and serve
with a scoop or two of delicious ice cream. Or, spell out a message of love in
cookies on the cleared table or a banquet after the meal is over.
Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to spread love
far and wide. Create a space for friends and family to share love on a grander
scale than lover to lover. After all, there’s no such thing as too much
love.
Rosanna’s Sugar
Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
red, pink, or
purple sprinkles and silver or gold dragee balls optional
Instructions
1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and add the sugar.
3. Add the egg and vanilla to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat well.
4. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until well
balanced.
5. Wrap the dough in cloth, pastry paper or aluminum foil. Chill for at
least 30 minutes before rolling.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Grease one or two baking sheets and set aside.
8. Roll out 1/3 of the dough and cut with cookie cutters into desired
shapes and letters.
9. Optional: Sprinkle the cut
out cookies with of colored sugar crystals or decorate with candies.
10. Place cookies on baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Watch to
make sure they don’t brown!
11. Remove the cookies from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove cookies
from sheets with a wide spatula leave to cool on cookie racks.
www.rosannainc.com
