10 Restaurant Quality Recipes for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Have you got anything planned? If you're planning on cooking your loved one a romantic meal at home, here are 10 restaurant-quality recipes you can easily recreate at home. Guaranteed to impress ;)

Click on name of dish for the full recipe.


1. Ham and rock melon
This is popularly served as a starter in Spanish or Italian restaurants, we had this numerous times while we were holidaying in Marbella.

To make this, no cooking skills are required. All you need to do is buy a rock melon and good-quality Jamon Iberico or Jamon serrano or Prosciutto. Cut the melon into slices and drape the Prosciutto over it. You can also make them into canapes (recipe here). Lovely with a glass of champagne.

2. Pan seared scallops with cauliflower puree and bacon crumble
This is my favorite scallop recipe, which I have cooked many times in my humble kitchen for my man. Not only does it taste fantastic, it looks really great on the plate too. A sure-fire way to impress your date, yes?

3. Chunky mushroom soup with truffle oil
Who doesn't like mushroom soup, especially when it's made with several different types of mushrooms and then finished off with a drizzle of truffle oil. You can make this early in the morning and then just reheat before serving.

4. Tenderloin steak with pumpkin mash
Steaks are incredibly easy to cook at home. You can also use rib eye or sirloin (these will not require a meat thermometer) - simply cook a 1 inch steak for 2 minutes each side for medium rare doneness.

5. Spaghetti with zucchini and king prawns
If your other half is a fan of Italian cuisine, make this pasta dish and reenact that kiss scene from "Lady and the Tramp". ;)

6. Risotto with scallops, asparagus and bacon bits
Another great Italian dish to recreate at home is risotto. It does require a little more effort, but nonetheless a simple dish to make. Creamy, rich and comforting, your other half will be most impressed and give you an A+ for your effort and the love that goes into making that risotto.

7. Roast lamb loin chops with rosemary and fries
Go to the supermarket and get 4-6 lamb loin chops and a packet of frozen fries and pop them in the oven. In 20 minutes or so, dinner is ready! How is that for easy?

8. Strawberry mille-feuille
Mille-feuille is an elegant and impressive-looking dessert. But guess what, it's soooooo easy to make. Plus Korean strawberries (the best kind!) is in season right now.

9. Passion fruit meringue
Meringues can be made ahead of time (ie make them the evening before) so all you have to do on Valentine's Day is to whip some cream and scoop out the passion fruit onto the meringue. More time to spend with your love!

10. Chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream
Chocolate is considered as a powerful aphrodisiac, so you can't go wrong with chocolate brownies on Valentine's Day. Another dessert you can make the evening before, top it with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have a winner!

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Early Mother's Day Celebration @ Prime Steak Restaurant, Le Meridien KL

A couple of nights ago, Hubby took me to my favorite steak restaurant, Prime for an early Mother's Day celebration. We have not been here for a few months now, but I knew exactly what I wanted from the list of steak cuts available - the oyster blade (Australian certified Wagyu beef Marble score 9 and above).

To start our meal, Chef Nur specially prepared a trio of appetizers for us to sample. Talk about starting the meal on a high :) The trio included the Australian-style crab cakes served with mango salsa and garlic sauce, truffle ravioli with mushroom fricassee, and the warm portobello mushroom salad with rocket, shaved Parmesan and shaved truffle.  I thoroughly enjoyed all three appetizers, especially the warm crab cakes which was beautifully crisp on the outside.

Warm Portobello mushroom salad

Truffle ravioli

Australian-style crab cakes

For the main event, Hubby went for the 450g 120 days grain fed Australian prime rib (RM150). It was his first time trying this particular steak cut at Prime, and he was very impressed. We were told that the prime rib was first cooked sous vide and finished off on the charcoal grill. Hubby loved the charred flavor and succulent meat.

My oyster blade steak (RM130 for 220g) was perfectly cooked, cuts like a dream and tastes fantastic. As I took my first bite, it affirmed Prime's position as my favorite steak restaurant. The meat is soooooo tender, juicy and well-marbled.

For our side dish, we picked the deep-fried breaded crispy onion rings (RM12) and as the name suggests, it was wonderfully crispy. Loved it!  We also had the Roma tomato and red onion salad with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil (RM15) which complemented our steaks well.

It was a really fantastic meal, so thank you Hubby for this lovely treat! Hope all you mummies get spoilt on Mother's Day too :)

Pork-free.

Opening times: Monday to Friday: 12.00pm to 2.30pm (Lunch); Monday to Sunday: 6.30pm to 11.00pm (Dinner)

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill RM350. Appetizers, compliments of chef.  SPG card members can enjoy 20% discount (membership is free).

Location: Prime, 5th Floor, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2263 7555

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524

Website: http://www.lemeridiendining.com.my



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Recipe: Pan-roasted sea scallops with white wine, capers and lemon

As you all know, I love scallops so any opportunities of having this on my dinner table will be very welcomed. Usually I just sear it or stir fry it Chinese-style, but I wanted to be a bit more adventurous and hence tried this Italian-style scallops from Marco Canora. 

This recipe was taken off one of the cookbooks I got from BBW sale - Salt To taste by Marco Canora, one of New York's most respected chefs known for his intensely-flavored menus at his restaurants. The Hokkaido scallops are first cooked in the pan and later, a simple pan sauce is poured over the scallops. The sauce contains shallots, capers, lemon and white wine. The sauce is pretty zingy, thanks to the lemon, however I would reduce the caper amount next time from 2 1/2 tablespoons to 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons as it makes the sauce taste quite salty. Overall, we enjoyed this bold-tasting appetizer. If you like more delicate-tasting scallops, check out my other scallop recipes here.

A simple, tasty appetizer (Italian-style)

Pan roasted sea scallops with white wine, capers and lemon
Recipe adapted from Salt to Taste by Marco Canora
Preparation time: 10 - 15 minutes
Cooking time:
Serves 5, as an appetizer

Ingredients
For the scallops
About 2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
15 medium sea scallops (I used Hokkaido scallops)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter

For the sauce
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 1/2 tbsp small capers
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp chilled unsalted butter
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the scallops:
1. Wash and pat dry the scallops with a kitchen towel. Season them with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, add enough oil to cover the bottom and swirl to make sure it spreads evenly. Wait until the oil begins to smoke, then place the scallops in the skillet, making sure to leave plenty of space between them.

3. Let the scallops cook undisturbed until a crust forms on the bottom, about 1-2 minute. Flip each scallop, lower the heat slightly and add the butter to the pan. Cook for another 1-2 minute until the scallops are just barely firm. Transfer the scallops to a plate while you make the sauce.

For the sauce:
1. Pour the excess butter out of the pan, leaving just a skim. Adjust the heat to medium and add the shallot. Cook until they begin to soften, about a minute. Add the garlic and cook another minute.

2. Add the capers, lemon juice and wine. Simmer vigorously until the pan is almost but not quite dry, about 2 minutes. Add any juices that have accumulated under the resting scallops. Make sure there are a couple of tablespoons of liquid in the pan (add a little water if the pan is dry). Finish the sauce by swirling in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. Add parsley to the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook gently until the flavours blend for another minute or so.

4. Transfer the scallops to warm plates. Spoon the sauce over them and serve.

I am linking this to the Little Thumbs up "Lemon" event organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Grace from Life can be Simple. You can link your posts here.

I am submitting this to Cook-Your-Books #9 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours .

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Recipe: Thai appetizer, Galloping Horses (Ma Haw ม้าห้อ)

Ma haw or ma hor ม้าห้อ, literally translated to Galloping Horses is a popular Thai appetizer and is said to be named in honour of King Rama VII's excellent horsemanship. The sweet and sticky caramelised minced pork is topped on segments of fresh pineapple or tangerine and garnished with a coriander leaf and thinly sliced red chilli.

Galloping Horses

It is great as finger food at parties, as you can just lift a piece off the plate and pop the bite-size hors d'oeuvres into the mouth. At our bloggers gathering a few months ago, this was what I made. I cooked the pork at home, and assembled it at the party.

I particular like how attractive and colorful it looks on the plate - a multitude of colours from the pork, pineapple, coriander and chilli. In Thai cuisine, a balance of flavours (sweet,sour, salty and spicy) is important and this dish definitely delivers. Use good-quality pineapple (not overly ripe which is both sweet and slightly tart in taste) for this dish to shine. The minced pork plus peanuts contributes to the sweet and salty element and the chillies is added for the spicy factor.

Beautiful colours, and lots of different textures and tastes

Galloping Horses  (Ma Haw ม้าห้อ)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from A Little Taste of Thailand
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Makes 25

Ingredients
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
225g minced (ground) pork
2 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp palm sugar (gula melaka)
1 spring onion (white parts only), finely sliced
1/2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
25g unsalted cooked peanuts, skin removed and roughly ground
A pinch of ground white pepper
1 pineapple

To garnish
20 coriander leaves
1 red chilli, very finely sliced

1. Peel the pineapple, then cut into rounds with 1.5cm thickness. Cut each round into quarters - cut off the core and discard as it can be tough. You should get about 25 pieces of pineapple.

2. Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat, then add the garlic and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, until lightly browned. Lower to medium heat, then add the minced pork and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and begins to brown slightly. Use your spatula to break up the meat until it has separated.

3. Add the light soy sauce, palm sugar, pepper, spring onions, chopped coriander, and crushed peanuts, and stir well. Cook for a further 4-5 minutes until the mixture is dry and sticky. Taste and season with more soy sauce, as required.

4. To serve, place pineapple segments on plate, then scoop a tablespoonful of cooked minced meat onto the segment. Garnish with a slice of chilli and coriander leaf each.

Note: If serving to children, omit the chilli.

All the dishes we had during our gathering. You can read more about each individual dish here.

*I am submitting this to Cook-Your-Books #6 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours and to Asian Food Fest #2 Oct 2013 : Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings.


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