Valentine's Day Feast

Zach and I had a lovely Valentine’s Day this past weekend. I had originally planned to make a special five-course meal for us on Saturday to celebrate, but the weather ended up being so nice (65 degrees!) that I didn’t want to spend the day cooped up in the kitchen. So on Saturday we went on a lovely hike. It felt pretty surreal for February, which is usually unbearably cold and snowy. Then Sunday I made the fancy meal that I wanted to share with you.

Here's us on our hike Saturday. We're smiling even though we're pretty sad about the lack of snow.

The appetizer course was stuffed mushrooms from a recipe we made up using flavor affinities listed in The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. These are actually the best vegan mushrooms we’ve ever made (and we’ve tried a lot of recipes), so I’ve shared the recipe for these at the end of this post.

First Course: Spinach and fennel stuffed mushrooms

The next course was a lovely pea and Boston lettuce soup. This was very light and spring-y and matched the uncharacteristically warm weather we’ve been experiencing.

Second Course: Green Pea and Boston Lettuce Soup

Following the soup course were these scrumptious smoked Salmon pizzas. This was the first time I’ve tried making individual pizzas and I think I’ll actually do this more often. This allows Zach and I to add toppings individually so we both get the exact pizza we want.

Third Course: Smoked Salmon Pizza

After the main course I served a grapefruit and fennel salad. Serving salad after the main course is pretty fancy for Zach and me, but it was a nice follow-up after the rich pizzas and it got us primed and ready for the best course of all…

Fourth Course: Grapefruit and Fennel Salad

Dessert! To celebrate this silly holiday I made one of my favorite desserts ever, chocolate cream pie. I made the crust from homemade graham cracker crumbs, filled with this chocolate filling, and topped with coconut cream whipped from coconut milk.

Fifth Course: Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

So all-in-all we had an excellent Valentine’s Day. I hope all of you enjoyed the weekend as well. As promised here’s the recipe for perfect stuffed mushrooms:

Spinach and Fennel Stuffed Mushrooms

vegan, makes enough for about 15 large mushrooms

Ingredients:

15 large mushrooms, stems removed

1 fennel bulb, diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 large handfuls spinach, chopped

Juice from ½ lemon

½ cup of ohsheglows.com Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Sauté fennel with garlic and lemon juice in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook for another 2 minutes. Stuff mushrooms with fennel mixture, then top with “Parmesan cheese”. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (I baked mine in silicone cupcake wrappers to stabilize them).

So yummy...