Family-Friendly Recipe for Valentine’s Day!

By now, restaurants, flower boutiques, and your favorite local bakery should all be fully booked for the next week. No more reservations. No more orders. Not when Valentine’s Day is in two days! Not going to happen…unless you’re a celebrity or just a VVVIP.

But let’s take a second and step back from all of cupid’s activities and really examine what February 14^th is truly about. Sure, it’s a day to express your affection and profess your love to that special someone but it’s also a day to show appreciation towards people who mean something to you. Your kids, your parents, and friends should be celebrated as well.

There are many family-friendly activities you can do this year, but nothing beats getting your hands wet and messy from making a home-made meal. Enjoy this quick V-Day inspired dish you can do with your gal pals or with your kids while laughing and making priceless memories along the way.

**Note: The blog here on out is taken from Gretchen McKay’s post.

The entrée is a special-occasion pasta dish that shines the light on seafood. No worries if you don’t have a pasta machine: the heart-shaped ravioli is cut from a wonton wrapper, and then filled with a savory mix of lobster, shrimp and mascarpone cheese. Getting a good seal on the ravioli takes some practice (you don’t want the filling to leak out during cooking), but it’s easier than you might think. The ravioli is served with a fragrant tomato cream sauce that’s ready in minutes.

Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli 

For this entrée, the filling is a mixture of lobster, shrimp and mascarpone cheese but you also could stuff them with ricotta and spinach, or a mix of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, or simply sausage. Be sure not to overcook the ravioli, and remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon instead of dumping them into a strainer — they could both result in a leaking ravioli.

For sauce:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced (about ⅓cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can (15-ounce) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15-ounce) plum tomatoes, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste, divided
• Pinch or two of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup light or heavy cream
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• Handful fresh parsley or basil, chopped

For filling:

• 2 teaspons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 small lobster tails, broiled and chopped into very small chunks
• ¾ pound cooked medium shrimp, chopped into very small chunks
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
• ¼ cup mascarpone cheese, softened
• 40 wonton wrappers

Directions: 

1. Make sauce: Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, until they begin to soften and caramelize.  Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
2. Stir and cook over low heat for 20 minutes,  stirring occasionally. Using the back of a fork or a potato masher, break up any large chunks of tomato. Stir in cream. Add Parmesan cheese and parsley/basil, plus salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve.
3. While sauce is cooking, make ravioli filling. Heat olive oil in saute pan, then add garlic and shallot. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add lobster tails, shrimp, lemon juice and parsley. Toss until coated, then allow to cool in pan. Add mascarpone cheese, and toss gently to mix.
4. Set a pot of salted water to boil.
5. To make the heart-shaped ravioli, cut wontons using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Spoon 1 tablespoon of filling in center of ravioli, and spread with back of a spoon, leaving a ¼-inch border of dough. Wet edges of dough with water, then place another heart-shaped wonton on top. Carefully press edges down, making sure there are no air bubbles. Crimp edge with a fork. Repeat with remaining wontons and filling. (You will have more filling than needed.)
6. Place filled ravioli onto a sheet pan, ready to boil or to be frozen for later use.
7. Once dumplings are assembled, drop them 4 at a time into boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes (they’ll float to the top) then remove with a slotted spoon.
8. Serve with tomato cream sauce and extra Parmesan, if desired.

Serves 4 to 6.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Source: https://www.post-gazette.com/life/recipes/2018/02/07/Valentines-Day-heart-shaped-food-family-dinner-menu-love-recipe/stories/201802070001