Mascarpone, a rich Italian cream cheese, is a perfect Valentine gift for someone who has no interest in a box of chocolates. Just for the occasion, The Mozzarella Company swirled this one with a few pecan pralines. Add it to your cheese plate, or split it for dessert after a romantic dinner for two. No bread needed—it’s like cheesecake.
February 2007 |
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Marketplace / Gift-FinderThe Best Savory Valentine GiftsValentine’s Gifts For Him...Or For Any Sweeties Who Don’t Like Sweets
Some people—we envy them—simply are not tempted by sugar. You can’t delight them with a big, red satin heart-shaped box bursting with bonbons. They just prefer the savory to the sweet. How can you dazzle such a valentine? With our selection of gourmet delights, so tantalizing that even if you have a sweet tooth yourself, you’ll be willing to set the chocolate aside and dive right in! You could buy them all and serve a complete dinner from appetizer through dessert—and we’ve listed them in that order. And there’s more! Click on over to our best Valentine gifts that aren’t chocolate candy to pick out gifts for your honeys who do like sugar. If you need a sugar-free treat, click here. Each of these is a great gift by itself—or combine them for
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Tsar Nicoulai: Truffled Caviar The team at Tsar Nicoulai has found a way to combine two popular luxury foods into something delicious for just $80 a pound. Instead of sturgeon caviar, they infuse whitefish roe with truffle flavor, and the result is simply wonderful. If you’d like variety, there are beet-saffron, ginger and wasabi flavors as well. Serve them on thin slices of radish and cucumber for a low-calorie feast. There’s also red saffron-beet caviar. Click here for our review.
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Make your cheese course full of “heart” with a selection of heart-shaped goat’s milk or sheep’s milk cheeses. Read our full review of heart-shaped cheeses.
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More heart-shaped foods, from steak to heart-shaped crackers for heart-shaped cheeses. See our full list of heart-shaped foods.
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The Little Pearl: Caviar for a Year When we first tasted The Little Pearl’s caviars, we were impressed by how easy it was to enjoy such a special indulgence each month at an affordable price. We immediately signed up for the Caviar Club, and look forward to a different variety each month. You might want to start with something special for Valentine’s Dinner, and give the Club as “the gift that keeps on giving.” Read our full review of Little Pearl Caviar, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.
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David Burke: Goat Cheese Or Smoked Salmon PopsDavid Burke gives us a new way to enjoy scrumptious smoked salmon or tangy goat cheese: in the form of gourmet “lollipops.” For the smoked salmon pops, Atlantic smoked salmon and cream cheese are whipped into a mousse with capers and scallions, wrapped in a slice of smoked salmon and served on a stick. Goat cheese is mixed with mascarpone, sundried tomatoes and seasonings, then coated with toasted almonds and pistachios. These pops, with champagne, would make the perfect hors d’oeuvre. Get some of the cheesecake pops for dessert. Read our full review of David Burke’s Gourmet Pops.
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Alfonso Gourmet Pasta: Heart-Shaped RavioliIf Alfonso isn’t the king of pasta, he certainly is a member of the royal family. When you look at the incredible ravioli he makes, you may be tempted by the oval-shaped Kalamata Olive Ravioli, the Butternut Squash Ravioli, the Duck Ravioli or the Shrimp Scampi Ravioli. Order those too, and enjoy them the day after Valentine’s Day.
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Vino de Milo: Gourmet Wine SaucesThe right color to proclaim “Be My Valentine,” these are among the best tomato-based sauces we’ve found. Each is made with different seasonings and a different wine—hence “vino” de Milo. Use them to make pasta dishes, tagines, hors d’oeuvres and more; recipes are on the website and in a booklet included with the gift sets. Made without sugar, these sauces are very low in calories and high, high, high on taste. The gift box selections and dinner kits are great; there's even a “Love Kit,” perfect for Valentine's Day. With a box of Barilla pasta from the supermarket, you can turn out dishes as delicious as any restaurant just by boiling water and opening the jar. Read our full review of Vino de Milo sauces.
Serve Vino de Milo sauces with a beautiful pasta shape and a great-tasting pasta like Barilla, Italy’s #1 pasta:
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AT RIGHT: Tsar Nicoulai’s beet-saffron whitefish caviar. Spoon it into miniature potato halves or baked potatoes with sour cream; serve it on crunchy radish and cucumber halves; or use it to garnish fish filets and seafood. It’s colorful, tasty and low-calorie. |
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