Breakfast in bed for your Valentine? Why not?

Try a delicious dessert or breakfast in bed to make your Valentine’s Day a delight

Valentine’s Day is synonymous with many things, including chocolate. Many Northwest Arkansas sweethearts exchange chocolate on Valentine’s Day, making chocolate confections as essential to a successful holiday as flowers and romance.

Men and women all over the Ozarks who want to make this Valentine’s Day extra special can forgo store-bought chocolates in favor of homemade confections. The following recipe for “Swiss Mountain Ice Cream” from Maxine Clark’s “Chocolate: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Chocolate Lovers” is a great way to end a romantic holiday dinner.

Swiss Mountain Ice Cream Makes about 2 quarts Ingredients:

• White Chocolate Sauce (see below)

• 2 cups whole milk

• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

• 14 ounces premium milk chocolate

(over 32% cocoa solids), chopped

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence

• 1 & 1/2 cups whipping or heavy cream,

chilled

• 6 & 1/2 ounces white nougat, roughly

chopped

• 1 ice cream maker (optional)

• 1 freezer-proof tray or container

• 1 mountain-shaped mold (optional)

Directions:

Put the milk, condensed milk, sugar, and cocoa in a pan, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the chocolate and let melt, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely, then add the vanilla essence and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Stir the cream into the mixture, then churn-freeze in an ice cream maker in two batches. This will take 20 to 30 minutes. It will increase in volume as it thickens and freezes. Stop churning when thick and smooth, add the nougat, and churn to mix, then transfer to a chilled freezerproof tray, cover, and freeze. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, put the mixture in a freezer-proof tray or container and freeze until it is frozen around the edges. Mash well with a fork and return to the freezer. Continue mashing with a fork and freezing the mixture until thick and smooth, about 2 hours. Stir in the nougat. At this stage, you can pack it into a mold and return to the freezer.

If the ice cream is in a mold, remove from the freezer and dip briefly in hot water to melt the outside. Invert onto a chilled plate, lifting off the mold. If the ice cream is in a container, transfer to the refrigerator to soften for 20 minutes before serving in scoops. Drizzle with White Chocolate Sauce and serve.

White Chocolate Sauce Makes about 21/2 cups Ingredients:

• 1 cup light or heavy cream

• 6 tablespoons milk

• 8 ounces white chocolate (over 25%

cocoa butter), chopped

Directions:

Put the cream and milk in a small pan and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white chocolate and stir until completely melted. Serve warm.

If reheating, do so over gentle heat. Do not allow to boil or the sauce can thicken and seize.

Serving breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day is a romantic way to begin this day that has become synonymous with affection and romance. Of course, pouring a bowl of cereal and bringing it upstairs won’t have the same impact as whipping up a homemade breakfast. Those who want to impress their sweethearts this Valentine’s Day and start the day off right can prepare the following recipe for “Strawberry-Glazed French Toast with Sweetened Sour Cream” courtesy of Betty Rosbottom’s “Sunday Brunch.”

Strawberry-Glazed French Toast with Sweetened Sour Cream Serves 4 Ingredients:

• 8 1-inch-thick bread slices, cut from a

country or peasant loaf (see note 1) • 2 cups half-and-half

• 4 egg yolks • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, plus 1/2

teaspoon

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup strawberry jam or preserves

(see note 2)

Directions:

1. Arrange a rack at center position and preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until dry and very lightly browned, about 8 minutes per side. Watch carefully so that the bread does not burn. Remove the bread from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 200 F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, egg yolks, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into a shallow pan (a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish works well). Add the toasted bread slices and soak them 4 minutes per side. Remove to a large plate or platter.

3. Place a large, heavy frying pan over low to medium heat. Add about 2 teaspoons of the butter, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan lightly. When melted, add enough bread slices to fit comfortably in a single layer. Cook slowly until the slices are golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a baking sheet and place in the warm oven. Repeat, adding more butter to the pan as needed until all the bread slices have been sautéed.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, granulated sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

5. When ready to serve, spread each toast with a thin coating of strawberry jam and top with a dollop of sweetened sour cream. Note 1: The best bread for this dish is an unsliced loaf of goodquality peasant or country bread, preferably one without an extra-hard crust. One that is rectangular, rather than round, is more convenient, but either will do. Then slice the bread into 1-inch-thick slices. If your loaf is large and the slices seem large, cut them in half.

Note 2: You can try other jams, preserves or marmalades. Cherry, raspberry or peach preserves and orange marmalade are other possibilities.