Ingredients

• 1 Box frozen puff pastry
• Flour for dusting your work surface
• 1 Cup Nutella
• 1 Egg for an egg wash
• Sanding sugar (optional)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• Unfold a sheet of pastry and roll out on a floured surface to seal any cracks or folds in the pastry.
• Spread half of the Nutella on the sheet. Less is more in this case. The first time I made them I used too much spread.
• Beginning at the longest end, roll into a tight roll.
• Cut the roll lengthwise and then twist together to form a ‘braid.’
• Repeat the process with the second sheet of pastry.
• Place on a lined cookie sheet.
• Brush the twists with the egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
• Let cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy!

In this case, Mark Bittman's Bouillabaisse from The New York Times fits the bill. It's delicious and I highly recommend this dish for the ones you love this Valentine's Day.

Ingredients

• Good olive oil, as needed
• 4 to 8 thick slices good bread
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
• 1 carrot, trimmed and chopped
• 1 medium new potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped
• ¼ teaspoon saffron, optional
• 3 cups lobster or fish stock
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are O.K.) 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 to 1 ½ pounds chopped boneless fish and shellfish, preferably a variety
• 8 littleneck clams
• 8 mussels
• 2 sea scallops
• 2 tablespoons Pernod or other pastis, optional 
• Chopped fennel fronds, for garnish 
• Chopped basil or parsley, for garnish 
• Rouille, optional

Method

• Heat oven to 400 degrees; brush bread liberally with olive oil, and bake on a sheet, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Add enough olive oil to a Dutch oven, deep skillet or shallow pot to make a thick layer (don't skimp) on the bottom. In it, cook onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, fennel and saffron until glossy. Add stock and tomato and bring to a moderate boil; cook until thick and stewy rather than soupy. Season to taste; it should be so delicious that you don’t even care whether you add fish.
• Lower heat to a simmer, and, as you add fish, adjust heat so that the liquid continues to bubble gently. Add fish in order of how long they will take to cook. Monkfish, striped bass and squid are fish that might require more than a few minutes, so add them first. About five minutes later add clams and mussels, holding back any fish that has been cooked or will cook in a flash. When mollusks open, add remaining fish. Cut scallops into quarters and place in the bottom of 4 bowls.
• Add pastis if you're using it; taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle hot soup and fish over the scallops, distributing clams and mussels evenly. Garnish and serve with croutons and rouille, if you're using.

Tip: To make rouille, add 1/2 cup finely minced roasted, peeled and seeded red bell pepper, 2 cloves finely minced garlic and cayenne to taste to either homemade or store-bought mayonnaise.

We asked our beer expert and proprietor of St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe in Brooklyn, Heather Burns, what we should pair with our bouillabaisse. Heather explained that the perfect pairing for such a naturally flavorful seafood stew should complement and not overpower or compete with the flavors. A light, crisp pilsner would be a perfect, refreshing beer to enjoy.  She recommends the Von Trapp Bohemian Pils, a Czech-style Pilsner made in Stowe, VT and named after the Von Trapp family chronicled in one of her favorite childhood films, The Sound of Music. It’s everything you want in a pilsner: light-bodied, perfect for everyday drinking with the traditional German hops and comforting “biscuity” malts- a real crowd pleaser! 

If you find yourself in Brooklyn, stop in and say hello to Heather at St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe!

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 c. dried tart cherries
• 1 T butter
• 2 c. canola oil for frying
• 12 wonton wrappers
• 1 3-oz. bar bittersweet chocolated cut into six pieces
• Powdered sugar for garnish

Method

Phase 1

• For sauce, in a small saucepan heat red wine to boiling.
• Reduce heat and boil gently for 3-4 minutes. The wine should be reduce to about 1/3 cup.
• Add 1 tablespoon sugar and cook 1 minute.
• Add dried cherries and cook for 2 minutes more.
• Removed from heat and whisk in butter.
• Cover to keep warm.

Phase 2

• Heat oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350F.
• Lightly brush edges of a wonton wrapper with some of the beaten egg.
• Place 1 piece of chocolate in center and place another wonton wrapper on top.
• Press edges to seal.
• Repeat until you have 6 pillows.

Phase 3

• Cook filled wontons, one at a time, in the hot oil for about 1 minute, or until golden brown. Turn frequently to brown evenly.
• Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serve these delicious pillows with the cherry sauce. If you’re feeling particularly naughty, add a little ice cream.

Feeds 4

Ingredients

• 3 oz XV Olive oil
• 1 cup whole peeled garlic
• 1 diced Vidalia onion
• 1 cup dry with wine
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 16 peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 (1.5#) Live lobsters
• 1 tsp crushed dries red chile peppers
• 1/4 oz fresh chopped oregano
• 1/4 oz fresh chopped basil
• 1/4 oz fresh chopped Italian Parsley
• 1# Rigatoni

Method

• Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until golden brown and tender
• Add white wine and reduce the liquid by 1/2
• add chopped tomatoes
• add 2 cups cold water
• add half of your fresh chopped hers and simmer
• Place one live lobster in the mixture and cover- cook lobster for 3-4 minutes and remove- repeat the process until all of your lobsters have been par cooked
• Remove the lobster meat from the shells and mix with raw shrimp
• Sprinkle the lobster and shrimp with half of the dried chiles. The other half of the chiles, add to your sauce
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta until al dente
• In a separate sauté pan- heat olive oil and sear the shrimp and lobster until golden brown and then add to your sauce
• Mix in cooked pasta and serve

Vegans- remove the lobster and shrimp and you are golden.

Some things to add to your meal:

• Fresh Squeezed lime
• Olive Bread that has been warmed in your oven
• Ice water- you are going to need it- the pasta is spicy
• I chilled bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc