Comforting food for couples on a budget

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Love is always worth a celebration. But how about a celebration that focuses on the love, not the credit card? Nor does it have to be exclusively for lovebirds. Maybe it's time to celebrate the month of love with children, good friends, parents and cousins.

(Though, please, don't let that stop you, lovebirds. The economy needs you.) Start by losing the pressure, and focusing on a dinner that's fun, suggested Jamie Thompson, event coordinator at Catering by Michael's in Morton Grove, Ill.

One of the first dishes Thompson recommended was fondue: cheese fondue for dipping appetizers, chocolate fondue for dipping fruit and plain cake. It's easy, it's cozy and any sturdy saucepan can take the place of the fondue pot.

"You huddle close around the pan, which makes it romantic," said Thompson. Plus, she added, kids love dipping too.

For the main dish, skip the filet and dress up flank steak. It's about a third of the price, said butcher Jerry Roberts of Jerry's Quality Meats in Skokie, Ill.

"Flank steak can be great, as long as you get a little creative with it," Roberts said. We took his advice and found a heart-healthy recipe that spices things up with a chili rub.

Cutting the steak properly, slicing against the grain on an angle (about 45 degrees), ensures an elegant presentation, Roberts advised.

You also can get creative with humble meatloaf, with the help of a cookie cutter and a squeeze jar holding seasoned ketchup; this is a dish that will especially appeal to younger valentines and holiday-leery guys.

That's the idea: dishes that can work for two, or more than two. However many are at the table, it's time to put a lovely meal back where it belongs: celebrating love, in all its forms, without breaking the bank _ or giving you heartburn _ in the process.

Food as art: When serving food, "think of the plate as your canvas," said Eden Rosenbush, chef and owner of Big Red Oven in Chicago. The food should fill the plate, but neither hide it nor expose too much of it. And keep things in proportion: "Let the shapes and color and textures speak for themselves," she said.

Use what you have _ and rarely use: "Take out the good china, use your crystal, take out the wedding gifts you've never touched," recommended Jamie Thompson, event coordinator at Catering by Michael's in Morton Grove, Ill. "It's not just about the cooking. It's setting a nice table with things you already have at home, but doing something a little different."

Use what you have _ in a different way: If you have over-the-top, mismatched or heirloom serving platters, consider using them as individual dinner plates, suggested Rosenbush. Another idea, she said, is to put small appetizer plates to work for supper: At a recent event she set three appetizer plates side by side for a single place setting, with a different food on each.

Thrifty shopping: If you still want something new, consider the recycle-centric thrift shop, where the inventory is wildly unpredictable _ which is part of the fun. At Goodwill, we didn't find plates but we did find a big, red, plastic bowl for $2.

Dessert in seconds: Place a scoop of blood orange sorbet (lemon would work too) in a wine glass, then fill the glass with Spanish cava or other sparkling wine, suggested Rosenbush. "It's like an adult slushie."

Paper panache: Rosenbush loves the single sheets of wrapping and scrapbooking paper found at art, stationery and craft stores. She suggested cutting strips and taping them together to create a self-styled table runner, or using individual sheets as place mats. Which led us to a kid-friendly spinoff: You also could create a table runner by taping together cards from an inexpensive box of children's valentines.

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Think outside the dining room: Last year, Thompson and her husband celebrated their first Valentine's with a low-key "carpet picnic." They spread out a blanket in the living room and enjoyed a picnic supper in front of the fireplace and watched a movie on TV.

Let your hearts speak: Buy a bag of conversation heart candies and scatter them over the table, suggested food stylist Corrine Kozlak, or load them into a bowl for a cute centerpiece. (You can dip those into the chocolate fondue too.)

Flower power: Rosenbush suggested buying a single long-stemmed orchid or other single stem with a lot of buds. Just before setting the table, she said, cut each bud and scatter them around the place settings or tuck into a napkin ring. "Less truly is more in this case," she said.

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CHILI-RUBBED FLANK STEAK WITH BARBECUED ONIONS

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

You think a meal with four servings isn't romantic? Those of us who cook all the time think leftovers are extremely romantic. But the thing is, this main dish also will feed four friends or a family who love each other _ so actually, you might need to double the recipe to get another meal out of it. This easy entree is adapted from "Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes."

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 red onions, thinly sliced

Ľ cup ketchup

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 teaspoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder

1Ľ teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Freshly ground pepper

1 flank steak, 1 pound, trimmed

1 to 2 zucchini, cut on the diagonal

1. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat; add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, water, vinegar and 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar; simmer until flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, ˝ teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl; rub the spice mixture on the steak. Place the steak on a broiler pan; arrange zucchini around the steak. Sprinkle with remaining ˝ teaspoon of the salt; broil 5 inches from heat until steak reaches desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side medium.

3. Slice the steak across the grain into thin slices. Serve with the onions and zucchini.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 254 calories, 41 percent of calories from fat, 11 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 43 mg cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrates, 24 g protein, 798 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

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WE LOVE MEATLOAF

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

We've adapted this meatloaf recipe from "The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook" into a valentine-friendly dish by using a cookie cutter to create heart-shaped servings. (Quantity will vary, depending on the size of your cutter.) We also created a flavored ketchup-based sauce in the test kitchen to decorate each heart. Jars of red pepper paste, sometimes blended with eggplant (which is fine here), are sold in the Eastern European aisles of many supermarkets as well as specialty stores such as Trader Joe's. But you could stick with plain ketchup too.

2 eggs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, finely chopped

ľ cup rolled oats

˝ cup tomato sauce

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Italian herb blend

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound each: lean ground round, ground pork

Sweetheart sauce:

˝ cup ketchup

Ľ cup red pepper paste

2 teaspoons honey or brown sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the eggs, garlic, onion, oats, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, herb blend, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl; add the beef and pork. Mix well with your hands.

2. Place a 1-inch-high heart mold on a foil-lined baking sheet. Press some of the meatloaf mixture into the mold to fill; lift the mold off. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a heart registers 165 degrees, about 20 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack; let stand 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, for the sauce, stir together the ketchup, red pepper paste and honey in a small bowl; spoon mixture into a piping bag, plastic squeeze bottle or heavy-duty sealable sandwich bag (when you're ready, just snip a corner to pipe the mixture). Pipe borders or other garnishes on and around each heart; pass extra sauce at the table.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 372 calories, 41 percent of calories from fat, 17 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 160 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 33 g protein, 982 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

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BE STILL, MY BEET-ING HEART SALAD

Prep: 10 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Cranberry juice adds a sweet-tangy flavor to the vinaigrette we created for a salad with whatever red mix-ins you prefer. Canned, sliced beets are soft enough to create heart shapes with a stainless-steel cookie cutter, or even free-form hearts with a paring knife. If your cutter is really sharp, you can make bell pepper hearts too. You'll have dressing left over; store in the refrigerator. Developed in the Tribune test kitchen.

Ľ cup red or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons cranberry juice

1 tablespoon honey or sugar or to taste

Ľ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 bag (10 ounces) mixed salad greens

Ľ cup chopped walnuts

Cherry tomatoes, radishes, chopped red bell pepper

8 canned beet slices, cut in heart shapes, if desired

1. Combine the vinegar, cranberry juice, honey, salt and pepper to taste in a blender; pulse to combine. With blender on low speed, slowly add the oil until emulsified.

2. Place the salad greens in a large bowl (heart-shaped if you've got one!); add walnuts and additional red-hued vegetables. Place heart-shaped beets on top. Pass vinaigrette at the table.

Nutrition information

Per serving (with 1 tablespoon of dressing): 145 calories, 87 percent of calories from fat, 14 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 188 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

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CHOCOLATE FONDUE

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 8 minutes

Makes: 1 Ľ cups

This super easy fondue can be made from any type of chocolate. It's adapted from a recipe by Jamie Thompson of Catering by Michael's in Morton Grove. For dippers, Thompson suggests strawberries, pineapple, banana, angel food cake or poundcake, sugar cookies or even pretzels.

˝ pound semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons raspberry- or coffee-flavored liqueur, optional

Fruit or plain cake

Heat the cream in a heavy saucepan over low heat until warm, about 8 minutes; do not let cream boil. Slowly add chocolate pieces, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture becomes smooth. Stir in liqueur. Serve with choice of dippers.

Nutrition information

Per dunk (about ˝ teaspoon): 16 calories, 68 percent of calories from fat, 1 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 1 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

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POACHED PEARS

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 15-40 minutes

Cool: 30 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

In this recipe Eden Rosenbush, chef and caterer of Big Red Oven, uses Hogue Cellars Late Harvest Riesling for its flavor and reasonable price (about $10). Rosenbush reduces the poaching liquid into a syrup, but you could warm a jar of hot fudge or caramel sauce instead. Serve with biscotti, shortbread or madeleine cookies.

2 cups water

1 Ľ cups late harvest Riesling or other sweet wine

˝ cup clover honey, or other mild honey

8 whole black peppercorns

3 cinnamon sticks

1 whole clove

Ľ teaspoon ground nutmeg

˝ vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, see note

4 pears, preferably Bartlett, peeled, cored, halved

1. Cut a piece of parchment paper to match the size of a large saucepan; cut a small hole in the center of the round to let steam escape. Combine the water, wine and honey in a saucepan; add the peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, clove and nutmeg. Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean with the back of a paring knife; add seeds and bean to the poaching liquid.

2. Add pear halves to poaching liquid; place parchment round on top of pears. Poach pears over medium-low heat at barely a simmer until they are easily pierced with a paring knife, 15-25 minutes, depending on ripeness of the fruit. Remove pears from heat; let cool in poaching liquid 30 minutes. (This can be done one day ahead; refrigerate pears in the liquid in an airtight container. Take pears from fridge 20 minutes prior to serving.)

3. Place 2 cups of the poaching liquid in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until thickened and sauce coats back of a spoon, about 25 minutes. Place one pear half, cut side down, on a plate; cut the remaining half into thin slices and fan on top or next to the plated pear. Drizzle with poaching syrup.

Note: If you don't have a vanilla bean, just add Ľ teaspoon vanilla extract when you add the spices.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 227 calories, 1 percent of calories from fat, 0.2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 60 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 3 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.