For chocolate lovers, consider whipping up some decadent chocolate Valentine’s cupcakes or a luscious molten lava cake that oozes with love at every bite. Valentine’s chocolate covered strawberries are a timeless classic, blending the natural sweetness of fruit with the indulgence of creamy chocolate.

If fruit-based desserts are more your style, try making a Valentine’s Day cake, like Paula’s Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake, or a classic Valentine’s Day dessert recipe, like cherries jubilee. These Valentine’s desserts not only taste divine but also add a pop of color and elegance to your Valentine’s celebration.

For those that enjoy their treats on the boozier side, try making a batch of heart-shaped hot cocoa bombs filled with a boozy chocolate-strawberry ganache. They’re as delightful to look at as they are to eat, and they show that you’ve gone the extra mile to create something special. Of, course, you also can’t go wrong with some fabulous Valentine’s Day cocktails!

This Valentine’s Day, let your treats do the talking and make the sweetest statement of all. After all, love is best savored one sweet sip or beautiful bite at a time!

What Valentine’s Day treats will you be making for your special someone? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Oh-So Sweet Valentine’s Treats appeared first on Paula Deen.

Now, let’s get started!

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Get out the good linens, light a few candles, and add an arrangement of flowers. Then prepare one recipe from each category (with the exception of the Valentine’s Dinner side dish recipes—you’ll want two to three from that one!), and you’ll have a fabulously romantic dinner for your special Valentine in no time.

Do you prefer to eat out or dine at home on Valentine’s Day? Let us know in the comments section. And, of course, we wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Appetizers:

Shrimp Crostini

Red Pepper Scallops

Grilled Oysters with Lemon Dill Sauce

Crab Cakes

Caprese Pinwheels

Main Courses:

Five-Star Filet Mignon Stuffed with Mushrooms & Onions

Whole Steamed Lobster

London Broil

Slow-Cooked Roast with Creamy Herb Sauce

Shrimp & Scallop Fraiche

Side Dishes:

Spinach Salad with a Hot Blackberry-Walnut Dressing

Brandied Steak-Side Mushrooms

Roasted Red Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette

Risotto Cakes

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

Honey-Lemon Carrots

Green Bean Bundles with Bacon Vinaigrette

Creamed Spinach

Dessert:

Strawberry Cannoli Parfaits

Classic Chocolate Fondue

Chocolate-Covered Cherries

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Toffee Sauce

Chocolate Brownie Shake

Drinks:

French Martini

Startini

Pimm’s Cup

Strawberry Fizz

Sweet Tea

The post A Mix & Match Valentine’s Day Menu appeared first on Paula Deen.

1. Save money. Dining out at a fancy-shmancy restaurant is pricey! Instead of shelling out a couple hundred dollars on a meal out, make a meal plan of your own and head to the grocery store to get the ingredients for a knock-out, homemade meal. Then, take the money you saved and plan something special like a couple’s massage or add it to your vacation fund for future fun! Just think of what you could do on the wine savings alone.

2. Pre-fixe menus. On restaurants’ most popular evenings, like Valentine’s Day, many places opt for pre-fixe menus to expedite things for the kitchen. While it’s great for the restaurant, it can be a real bummer if your favorite steakhouse or seafood spot doesn’t have you or your sweetie’s favorite dishes on the menu. We prefer getting what we want, don’t you?

3. Have it your way. Don’t get us wrong—we’ve been to restaurants that prepare foods in ways we hadn’t thought of that are absolutely out of this world. But sometimes you just know what foods you like and what foods bring back wonderful memories. The great thing about dining in with your sweetie is that you can make exactly what you both like, how you like it. And since you made it yourself, you know you won’t have to send back that dish because they forgot to leave out the onions.

4. More intimate. Chances are, you’re looking for a little romance on Valentine’s Day. You know what is a romance-killer? That couple at the next table who hasn’t grasped the concept of “inside voices,” the cheesy playlist, and the constant interruptions from your attentive wait staff. Eating at home is less crowded, less noisy, and way cozier.

5. Something special from the heart. Our very favorite reason to treat your Valentine to a romantic dinner at home is because it shows that you put a lot of thought, time, and effort into creating a special evening for the two of you—way more thought than making a reservation! Plus, if it’s something the two of you enjoy doing together, you can even make cooking the meal a part of the date!

Whether you choose to celebrate at a restaurant or at home, we hope your Valentine’s Day is full of romance, love, and plenty of good food. Happy Valentine’s Day!

The post 5 Reasons to Treat Your Valentine to a Romantic Dinner In appeared first on Paula Deen.

I am so blessed to have a husband as handsome, funny, and supportive as Michael Groover. In honor of Valentine’s Day and my special Valentine, I thought I’d share this video we recorded a few years ago where we tell the story of how I met that loveable husband of mine—though I can say he didn’t seem that loveable on our very first meeting! I may have ran away that time, but when the good Lord (and my dogs) threw us together a second time, we realized we both checked all the boxes for one another.

I hope you plan on spending Valentine’s Day showing those people you love how much you care. Of course, a Valentine doesn’t have to be a romantic love—it can also be a grandchild, a friend, a sister, or anyone that you think could stand to hear that you’ll always be there for them.

And if you’d be so kind, I’d love to hear how you met your Valentine in the comments below.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo,

Paula

The post A Blog for My Valentine appeared first on Paula Deen.

This doesn’t mean doing a last-minute dash to the grocery to pick up a box of chocolates, like the ones with the little maps inside to let you know what you don’t want to eat. Store-bought chocolates just say “re-gift”—not exactly the best way for someone to feel the love. Of all the days, Valentine’s Day is just not the time to be settling for less. The whole point of the holiday is to find a way to say “I love you” without even having to move your lips.

Whatever you may have heard about the complexities of candy-makin’, rest assured that these Valentine’s Day chocolates are so easy. “Simple and sweet” is the best way to describe these handmade boxes of chocolates that I’ve put together. All you really need is your favorite brand of chocolate and some inspiration.

I found my inspiration in dozens of darling little molds used to make chocolate pops. I fell in love with these lips that I wrapped tightly in bright red foil. All I had to do was melt the chocolate, pour it in the mold, let it harden back up and pop it out. I also made “nut clusters” by mixin’ in my favorite nuts and spooning it into festive paper liners in a mini-cupcake tin. Once the chocolates set, I put them in a decorative container with my Valentines’ names written on them, keeping in mind that while presentation isn’t everything (taste is!), it still counts for something.

Of course, no box of chocolates would be complete without a couple pieces of homemade fudge. My simple recipe makes fudge that will just melt in your mouth. And forget about drawing a map for your box of chocolates. Your loved ones won’t be discriminating—they’ll eat every single morsel.

You know, Valentine’s Day and a box of chocolates go hand in hand. Like two people madly in love, they can’t be pried apart—not even with a crowbar, y’all. Likewise, you won’t be able to pull these wonderful chocolates out of the hand that receives ‘em, so be sure stash away a few for yourself! The cook deserves some lovin’, too.

*You can find similar supplies in your local craft stores!

Make your own homemade chocolate box with my featured recipes!

The post Life is Like… Well, You Know appeared first on Paula Deen.

When we think Valentine’s Day, we think of rich, decadent CHOCOLATE! This classic sweet has been a long-time go-to gift for the special Valentines in our lives. Of course, chocolate doesn’t just come in a heart-shaped box. In fact, we prefer it in cookies, cakes, and other homemade goodies, and if you do too, we think you’ll like the list of chocolate recipes we’ve cooked up.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The post For the Love of Chocolate appeared first on Paula Deen.

Appetizers

Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms En Croute

Chargrilled Oysters

Stuffed Artichokes

Salads

Vidalia Onion and Lump Blue Crab Salad

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Orange, Strawberry, and Date Salad

Entrées

Cowboy Rib Eyes with Caramelized Mushrooms and Shallots

Whole Steamed Lobster

Chicken with Cocoa Tomato Sauce

Perfect Char-Grilled Filet Mignon

Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes and Basil

Side Dishes

Fried Asparagus with Creole Mustard Sauce

Shrimp Mashed Potatoes

Brandied Steakside Mushrooms

Brussels Sprouts with Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

Smashed Potato Cake

Desserts

Chocolate Heaven Cake

Tassie Cups with Lemon Curd Filling

Peach Cheesecake

Red Velvet Trifle

Drinks

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Mixed Berry Bellini

Caramel Cinnamon Latte

The post Valentine’s Day Recipes for a Romantic Dinner for Two appeared first on Paula Deen.

To help you find the right sweet for your sweetie, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite Valentine’s Day dessert recipes, including cakes, pies, cookies, and more.

The post Sweet Valentine’s Day Desserts appeared first on Paula Deen.

Since chocolate is such an integral part of Valentine’s Day celebrations, we thought we would share a few fun facts about it.

• Because of where cacao trees grow wild, people have speculated that the Olmec people of what is now Southeast Mexico may have been the first to use chocolate, though there is no proof of it. The word “cacao,” however, originated from their word, “kakawa”.
• Mayans were the first people known to have used chocolate, as currency and in religious ceremonies, like weddings and baptisms.
• Joseph Fry created the very first chocolate bar, as we know it now, in 1847.
• Chocolate was actually consumed as a liquid, not the solid we think of now, for about 90% of its history.
• You know the three types of chocolate: dark, milk, and white chocolate. But did you know that white chocolate isn’t technically chocolate? Its primary ingredient is cocoa butter, which comes from cocoa beans; however, it doesn’t contain any of the nibs that actually turn into traditional chocolate! We still love it though.
• According to The Guinness World Records, the largest chocolate bar ever created weighed more than 12,770 pounds.
• In the late 1930s, Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie. She later sold her Toll House recipe to Nestlé for a dollar and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

If you would rather give a chocolaty confection made by your own two hands, try one of these desserts that are sure to make your sweetie swoon.

The post Chocolate Decadence appeared first on Paula Deen.