I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day. Yes, I buy into all the commercialism, the heart-shaped chocolate boxes, the teddies with t-shirts that say “I Luuuuv You”, the flowers. That said, my husband and I make it a point every year to spend Valentine’s Day at home. For me, there’s nothing less romantic than being stuck in two hours of traffic while trying to get to a fancy restaurant.

This means, of course, that we prepare our Valentine’s Day lunch and dinner at home- and let me tell you, when I’m doing the preparing, everything is pink. Pink napkins, pink lemonade, pink frosted cupcakes- and this, which I love to serve in the afternoon as part of our pinkstravaganza.

I use maraschino cherries, because I like them, but feel free to use fresh cherries. The same goes for frozen strawberries- use fresh if you have them.

Cherry Strawberry Milkshake

8 maraschino cherries
8 frozen strawberries
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup cold milk
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (I use Hershey’s)

Put everything in a blender. Blend until nice and thick and oh so pink.
Serve in 2 tall glasses.

Because my last post was mostly for the boys (it’s just something about guys and wings, no?), today I want to share a recipe for the girls. This martini, which gets its pink from pomegranate juice, is something my husband and his buddies wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. It’s just too… pink.

To that, I say: more for me!

Seriously, I’ve posted before about my love for martinis, and this one must be my favorite kind right now. It’s sweet but not overly so, with a hint of orange from the Cointreau, and that unmistakable pomegranate flavor that’s just bursting with goodness.

It’s perfect for your next girls night in, or for the ladies on Superbowl Sunday.

Pomegranate Martinis
Makes 3 servings

3 oz good vodka (I’m partial to Ketel One, but use whatever floats your boat- or whatever’s in your bar!)
1.5 oz Cointreau orange liqueur
9 oz pomegranate juice
Fresh lemon, optional

Combine vodka, Cointreau and pomegranate juice in a cocktail shaker. Add about a half cup of ice chips. Shake well, and strain into a cocktail glass. A squeeze of lemon is optional.

With Superbowl Sunday coming up, it’s the perfect time to show you one of my favorite recipes. This is the one I pull out when my husband’s friends are coming over. Because they’re chicken wings, they’re tasty tasty tasty- and because they’re baked, not fried, you don’t have to feel so bad about polishing off so many of them.

You’ll want to serve these with a bowl or two of some good blue cheese or ranch dressing- preferably homemade, but the stuff from the bottle is just fine. I’ve served these with fat-free ranch dressing, and no one was the wiser. Including the husband, who is decidedly anti-anything fat-free.

For these, I use our homemade hot sauce, but feel free to use Frank’s Red Hot or something similar. Like Sriracha. These are awesome with Sriracha.

Baked Wings

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
chicken wings- around 2 dozen
1/2 cup melted salted butter
hot sauce (1/2 cup if using something like Frank’s Red Hot, or around 5 tablespoons Sriracha or Tabasco)

Line a cookie sheet with foil, and spray with some Pam or Crisco spray. In a large freezer bag, combine flour, cayenne, garlic powder and salt. Mix well. Add the chicken wings, which you’ve patted dry, seal, and shake until well coated.

Transfer wings to foil-lined sheet, and (this is important!) refrigerate at least an hour.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400F. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce.

One by one, dip the wings into the butter/hot sauce mixture, and return to the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes, turn over and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes.

I’m a huge fan of Tzatziki, a yogurt-cucumber-garlic sauce that somehow manages to taste creamy and rich and light all at the same time. A Tzatziki sauce can make or break a gyros sandwich, and when paired with a couple of skewers of homemade meatballs, is one of my favorite dishes ever.

Making the Tzatziki

I like to make the Tzatziki before the meatballs, giving it time to chill a bit in the fridge. You’ll need:

2 cups plain yogurt (the full fat stuff, and preferably Greek)
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, crushed finely
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 whole cucumbers, peeled, seeded and grated (large)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

In a bowl, combine yogurt, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Mix well. Separately, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt over the grated cucumber, and let it drain for around 20 minutes. You want to get rid of as much excess water as you can, so you don’t end up with watery Tzatziki. Add grated cucumber to yogurt mixture, add pepper, and combine. Cover and chill in the fridge at least an hour. Drizzle with olive oil right before serving.

Making Greek Meatballs

2 slices bread (white, whole wheat… whatever floats your boat)
1 cup milk
2 lbs. lean ground beef (or you can do 1 lb. lean and 1 lb. regular if you want more fat)
1 onion, minced fine
4 garlic cloves, minced fine
1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
2 teaspoons white or red wine vinegar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
all-purpose flour, to roll the meatballs in
extra virgin olive oil, for frying

Dunk bread slices in milk to absorb the liquid. Mash well.

In a large bowl, combine mashed milky bread with beef, onion, garlic, mint, vinegar, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Do not overmix, you want to be as gentle as possible or you’ll end up with tough and dry meatballs.

Gently form into small (1 1/2-inch) meatballs, roll lightly in flour, and fry in hot olive oil.

You can spear these on skewers, or simply piled on a pretty plate, with a bowl of chilled Tzatziki on the side. Delicious!

And you do, don’t you?

But wait, before you begin reading the recipe below, I must warn you: it includes a box of white cake mix.

Ah, so that’s why I titled this “Elevating the Ordinary”! Let me tell you, though, that there isn’t anything ordinary about these cupcakes.

The secret of these cupcakes is that they’re made with mascarpone- a creamy, delicious Italian cheese that is simply like no other. The stuff is not cheap, certainly, but that’s another reason why these cupcakes taste so good: they’re decadent. You can, of course, try substituting regular cream cheese (Philly or otherwise), which should work nicely, but if you can, please, please try these with mascarpone. They’re from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis, but while the lovely Giada makes them in mini sizes, I like to use my standard sized cupcake pan for these.

Mascarpone Cupcakes

8 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I like to use Sunflower or Safflower. The more flavorless, the better!)
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Combine mascarpone, egg whites and oil in a large bowl. Beat with a stand or hand mixer until combined and creamy. Add white cake mix and water all at once, and mix on LOW speed until smooth, until incorporated- but don’t overmix.

Fill cupcake pan 2/3rds full, and bake around 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frost with American Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream and top with your favorite sprinkles- or, as in the mouthwatering photo above, with little curls of white and dark chocolate.