Probably the most important thing about Valentine’s Day is the time you are going to spend with your special someone.  It is a holiday celebrated for the intimacy between you and your significant other.  The team here at Diners.org believe that a proper Valentine’s Day recipe should revolve around this concept.

So it is with great pleasure that we announce the recipient for our “Best Recipe” award is CarlyAnn O. and her Valentine’s Dinner for Two!

Two for two of you of course

It also comes with a desert!

The ingredients are as follows:

Sorted into little bowls as usual

• Message:
  Valentine’s Dinner for Two (Very Easy and Delicious):
  This is a healthy and inexpensive dinner that just about anyone can make to impress that special someone. Add a couple of candles to a nice table setting to give the meal that extra-special little something. ^_^
• Menu:
  -Favorite Wine (Rose or Pinot Gris recommended)
  -White Fish with Cream Sauce on a Bed of Steamed Veggies (pasta, rice or bread optional)
  -Sticky Buns with vanilla ice cream (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate optional)
• What you will need:
  1. Tin foil
  2. Cooking pot with lid
  3. Cookie sheet
  4. Small bowl
  5. 1 desert serving plate
  6. 2 dinner plates
  7. Pie pan or loaf pan
• Main course-
  1. 2 tbsp Olive oil (any oil can substitute)
  2. ¼ cup water
  3. 2-4 Fillets of white fish (cod, tilapia, etc)
  4. ½ can of condensed mushroom soup with whole mushrooms
  5. 2 tbsp. Pre-fried caramelized onion (you can caramelize fresh onion if you know how)
  6. ½ cup Shredded cheddar cheese
  7. 2 cups Colorful Veggies that you like to accent the meal – for the purposes of this recipe, I chose the following: Broccoli, Zucchini,Potato, and Carrot
  8. 2 Garlic cloves or garlic powder
  9. Basil, Oregano and Pepper to taste.

  ***be careful if you choose to add Salt; cream of mushroom soup can be very salty as is.

• Desert-
  1. One can (at least 8 in can) of buttermilk biscuits (Pillsbury type or store brand)
  2. ½ stick of butter (¼ cup butter)
  3. ½ cup Sugar
  4. ½ cup packed Brown sugar
  5. 1 tbsp. Cinnamon
  6. Dash of Nutmeg
  7. Dash of Ginger
  8. Walnut or Pecans optional
  9. Vanilla Ice Cream

Whew, that was quite a list.  Not as long as the “Phoenix Rebirth” dish even though this is made for two people.

And now, the preparation!

Prep:

Depends on you level of ability, but still should not take more than 15mins to prepare the food and 30-40mins to cook the fish and 15-20mins to cook the sticky buns. Pre-heat oven to 375.

Dinner:

Mmmmm cheddar and seasoning

1. Cut veggies and put in cooking pot. Add and inch on water and put on the stove at medium heat to steam.
2. In a bowl, mix mushroom soup, water, garlic, and olive oil until you have a pasty consistency.
3. Cover cookie sheet with tin foil and place fish in the center. Gently turn up the side of the tin foil to create a ‘bowl’ around the fish. Sprinkle fist with basil, oregano, and pepper.
4. Add mushroom soup mixture to fish.
5. Tear another piece of tin foil to create a ‘lid’ to cover the fish and put in the oven for 20mins.
6. Check veggies frequently. Nothing stinks up a house like burned veggies.
7. After 20mins, take fish out and uncover. The fish should almost be done. Sprinkly fist with cheese and return in to the oven uncovers for another 10-15 minutes.
8. By now the veggies are definitely done. Drain the excess water. Leave them covered until the fish is done to keep them warm, but turn off the burner.
9. When fish is down take it out of the oven. On a plate, put one cup veggies in the center. Put 1-2 fillets directly on top if the veggies (think ‘spaghetti’ preparation). Sprinkle onions on top and serve.

It all melts together into a sticky goodness

Dessert:
Wash the pot that the veggies were in and wash the bowl the mushroom soup was in.

1. In a bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
2. Open the biscuits and generously coat them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
3. Place the coated biscuits in the pie pan *note: the should fit snuggly, don’t be afraid to stuff them in the pan. (if you want to add nut, put the nuts at the bottem on the pan under the biscuits).
4. In the pot, combine butter and brown sugar and melt them together. (This can also be done in the microwave)
5. Pour butter-sugar mixture over the biscuits.
6. Place in oven for 15-20mins until Biscuits are golden brown on the top.
7. The sticky goodness is at the bottom; turn the sticky buns over onto a serving plate so that the sticky goodness drips over the buns in all its glory.
8. Serve hot with ice cream.
9. Enjoy the company that you are with ^_^.

We totally agree with you on step 9!

In the end, the team at Diners.org would like to thank everyone for their participation in our first contest.  A lot of you deserve prizes like our finalists but unfortunately that’s how contests work =(

So, with full and content stomachs, we like to congratulate our finalists and we hope to see you all at the next contest here at Diners.org!

If there’s something that captures the mood of “Yummy-in-my-tummy” on Valentines Day (chocolates aside), it is cheesecake.  The gooey, soft, and creamy desert is appreciated by all (well, except for you lactose intolerant peoples but we still love you!).

But what sets the following cheesecake recipe apart from the others we received, is that it is baked into smaller portions so you can share it without having to slice it.  Part of the what the team at Diners.org believe to be the essence of Valentines Day is sharing the occasion with friends and love ones.

So our RUNNER’S UP PRIZE goes to REBECCA F. and the BABY CHEESECAKES DISH.

(Note:  Because we are idiots, we forgot to buy muffin cups.  So we did two versions: lined with more aluminum foil and without.  Both ways worked.)

Here it is! Baby cheesecakes fresh out of the oven with our other entries!

The ingredients are as follows:

This is all you need people; simple things are best

• 12 Vanilla wafers OR 1/4 cup Grape Nuts cereal, crushed.
• 2 packages Cream Cheese (8oz ea.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs

No really, this is all you need. Everything else is extra.

The recipe:

1. Heat Oven to 325 degrees
2. Line a muffin tin with foil liners, and either place a vanilla
   wafer or a layer of grape nuts at the bottom (the only difference
   between the two is how crunchy you like the base)
3. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar; beat
   until well blended.
4. Beat in eggs until blended.
5. Pour cream cheese mixture over wafers, filling each liner about
   3/4-full.
   

   This is messy business so be careful

   

   There's egg in the mixture so you can't lick it off the spoon =(

6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until centres are set. Let stand 15-20
   minutes, then refrigerate for at least an hour if not two.
7. Top with berries, jam, pie filling, whipped cream, coco powder or
   whatever else catches your eye.

We served the Baby Cheesecakes in a party manner and was pretty neat to pass around the kitchen =)

So, thank you Rebecca F. for your Baby Cheesecake recipe!  We can’t wait to see more recipes from you in other contests!

Now comes the entry we have all been waiting for, the Best Recipe Prize!

We’re going to start with our Staff Favorite Award, which is given to the entry that although it doesn’t quite capture the essence of Valentines Day, is SO AWESOME that we have to award it something.

So our STAFF FAVORITE AWARD goes to JIAMIAN Y. and the PHOENIX REBIRTH DISH.

(The following recipe is taken directly from the instructions submitted from the contest.  We are also using 1/2 pound lobster tails since we couldn’t find 1 pound lobster tails on short notice)

Tada! The Phoenix Rebirth!

The ingredients are as follows:

It's always a good idea to organize your ingredients beforehand

Of all the recipes we recieved, "Phoenix Rebirth" had the most ingredients

• 2 lobster tails (about 1 pound each)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon salted black beans, (also called fermented black beans) pounded and soaked in 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped fine
• 1 scallion, chopped fine
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 to 4 cups oil for deep-frying and stir-frying

WARNING:  THERE IS HOT OIL IN THIS RECIPE.  HANDLE WITH CARE AND DO NOT MIX WITH WATER.  VENTILATE YOUR KITCHEN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHEN TRYING THIS RECIPE. (Believe us, we made that mistake)

Recipe:

1. Cut each lobster tail in half. Wash thoroughly. Drain. Cut tails into pieces 1 1/2 inches in length, leaving shells on.
   

   Easy does it...

   

   Straight down the middle...

   

   I would like to remind everyone to watch their fingers here...

   

   If anyone has a better cutting technique, please let us know!

   

   If at first you don't succeed....

   

   ...Try, try again until you can make it work.

2. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the flour on lobster.
3. Mix garlic with black bean mixture in a bowl. Stir well.
   

   Some of these ingredients (like the black beans sauce) you will need to get at specialty stores in your local Chinatown

4. Heat oil for deep-frying to smoking hot. Put in lobster pieces. Deep-fry until shells are red. Drain. Remove.
   

   CAREFUL WITH THIS! Hot Oil is no joke!

   

   This is what your lobster tails should look like after they are deep fried. Don't they look pretty?

5. Reheat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok. Stir-fry black bean mixture 30 seconds. Remove.
6. Reheat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok. Stir-fry ginger and scallion until there is an aroma, about 30 seconds. Add pork. Stir-fry on high heat until color changes. Add 1 tablespoon of sherry, soy sauce, black bean mixture, and stock. Bring to boil.
   

   The meat sauce mixture is a vital complement to the deep fried lobster

7. Add lobster to meat mixture. Add 1 tablespoon sherry. Cover. Cook 3 minutes.
   

   Mmmmm... once you add in the lobster this starts to smell real good

   

   Just a little bit more...

   

   Now THAT ladies and gentlemen, is going to be delicious when its done.

   

   We like using a glass lid so we can keep an eye on the food while it is covered.

8. Remove lid. Bring to boil. Thicken gravy with dissolved cornstarch.
   

   Say what you want but it holds water.

9. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add scallions. Slowly pour in beaten egg. Stir-fry about 10 seconds. Remove
   

   We like little bowls

   

   One beaten egg coming right up!

   

   Using chopsticks to beat eggs saves us time in cleanup

   

   It takes some practice though to get it right

Then in the end it comes out looking like this:

There she is, the Phoenix Rebirth in its full glory!

So there you have it, people.  The “Phoenix Rebirth” entry by Jiamian Y.  Thank you for your participation and we look forward to future entries from you!

Up next is the Runner’s Up Prize!

With stomachs full and a fridge full of leftovers, the team here at Diners.org would like to thank everyone who participated in our Valentines Day contest.  Winners have already been contacted and given their prizes.

All meals began at the grocery store.  So for the Diners.org team, this amounted to a raid at our local supermarket followed by an exhausting day of cooking.

So to best showcase our three winning entries, we are going to cover each recipe separately.  First we are going to present the Staff Favorite Award, then the Runner Up Prize, and finally the Best Recipe Prize that we had all been waiting for!

We here at Diners.org are always on the lookout for new dishes and recipes to try out.  So in celebration of perhaps the most romantic (and expensive) holiday of the year, we’ll like to announce Diners.org’s first contest!

Valentines Day Contest Flyer

Yep, we’re looking to see how romantic people can be on Valentine’s Day with their cooking recipes!  For more information, just click on the link on the banner to the right, fill in your full name and e-mail address (how else are we going to send you the Amazon.com gift card information?) and submit your recipe or idea!

The contest ends midnight on February 18th.  Winners will be announced on February 22nd.

Have fun people!

(P.S. – Yes we did make those deserts in the image and they were DELICIOUS.  You will get to see them on our Valentine’s Day feature).