A Family Valentine's Day Dinner

We are having some family come over for dinner on Valentine's Day.  The perfect way for me to show them that I love them is to cook for them.  One other way for me to show them I love them is to actually spend time with them and enjoy their company instead of  cooking and cleaning the kitchen the whole day and night.  So I decided to make a dinner where I could make most of it before hand to make it    bit easier on me.  I made an awesome Tomato Basil Sauce today which I can keep in the fridge until Sunday.That will be served over some store bought ravioli.   The morning before they come I am going to make a  huge roating pan filled with Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes that I will roast in the oven while they are here.  Also, the morning before they come I am going to make an Italian Layered Salad with  a home-made Balsamic Vinegarette.  For a special Valentine's Day "touch" I made a home-made loaf of Italian Bread that is formed in the shape of a heart!  For dessert I am  making an awesome White Chocolate  & Lemon Mousse Trifle!  You don't want to miss this special Valentine's Day menu!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

HEART SHAPED " EGG IN A HOLE" 

When I was growing up I would sleep over at my Grandma & Grandpa's a lot with my brother's and sister.  We just loved everything my Grandma made for us.  For some reason her bologna sandwich's were so much better when she made them and we ate them at her house for lunch.  She turned chicken broth and simple noodles into an italian lunch time soup called "pastina" that I serve my daughters now.  Our most favorite breakfast that she made for us was simple eggs and toast.  She did not however just put a piece of toast and an egg on a plate...nope...not Grandma!  She made things that she called "Eggs & Toast" where she would generously butter a slice of toast, break it up into pieces into a bowl, chop up a "runny" poached egg on top, sprinkle it with salt and pepper....and ta-dah....yummy, yummy!  Our other favorite egg & toast breakfast she made us was called "Egg In A Hole".  She would take a piece of toast and butter each side of it.  She then would tear out a circle from the middle.  The toast would be placed in a fry pan.  An egg would be broken into the cut out hole off the toast and the pan would be covered.  We then would be served an "Egg In A Hole".  It is now coming up upon Valentine's Day and I came across a picture in an In Style magazine.  It was a picture of an "Egg In A Hole", but for Valentine's Day the hole was cut out with a heart shaped cookie cutter.  This just brought back memories of my childhood at my Grandma's.  This year for Valentine's Day I am going to make a "Heart Shaped Egg In A Hole" for my kids and husband.  They will love it and I know it will make them feel special!