It’s the season of love—and when we say love, we mean love in all its forms: a committed partner, friends, family, neighbors, pets! It’s a day for everyone, and as the saying goes, love saves the day.
Along those lines . . . if you’re saving the day, why not do it with food? Whether you’re cooking something up for the Valentine’s Bake Sale at the senior center or planning a romantic dinner—or both—these love-inspired foods will make you the holiday hero.
Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
A cute jam-filled heart printed inside a cookie? It couldn’t be simpler or more adorable. We love this recipe from Catherine Zhang. She uses cherry jam, but our favorite is strawberry! Or make your own jam. Did you know that that’s an unexpected food you can make in a Panasonic breadmaker? It gives great results with no sticky stovetop mess—and then you can make amazing, aromatic bread all year round, too.
Rice Hearts—Savory
A cute heart-shaped mold for cooked rice adds a nice touch to a holiday dinner at home, either as a cute side or its own snack. These Heart Sausage Rice Balls might not be the sweet fare one usually associates with the holiday, but you would definitely get points for ingenuity! Get the perfect texture for your medium-grain rice with a dedicated rice cooker so you can set it and forget it, no stove-watching required.
Rice Hearts– Sweet
You can follow up your savory meal with the classic sweet treat! Use the classic recipe that calls for puffed rice cereal and use the same heart-shaped mold as you did for the cooked rice. Adorn with red and pink candy-covered chocolate paillettes or your choice of sweet or sour candy.
Custom Heart Pizza
This meal will win hearts and stomachs with its homemade goodness. Use your breadmaker to make custom pizza dough then bake it in a heart-shaped (or regular) aluminum pan. This is a great meal for customizing toppings, so why not try our Roasted Veggies and Gorgonzola Gluten-free Pizza? You can bake it to perfection in your HomeChef 4-in-1 Multi-Oven on the Convection Bake setting, and if there’s any left over, it will heat up perfectly on the Broil setting.
Lovely Dumplings
Ok, so this food does not exactly lend itself to a heart shape . . . but the recipient of these dumplings will definitely feel the love. These savory, juicy dumplings are so easy to make (recipe here) in our HomeChef 7-in-1 Oven on the Steam setting. The only challenge is making sure you make enough!
