How to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home

January 25, 2021

It’s that time of year again when long stem roses, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, and naughty lingerie adverts encourage us to shower our loved ones with a little something special… although we’re pretty sure buying a pair of bright red pants probably wasn’t exactly what Saint Valentine had in mind. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the above traditions, but as we are living in unique times why not try something a little unique to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home, whether that be with a friend, lover or over Zoom!

Darling, let’s be decadent…

Normally on Valentine’s Day people flock to 5-star restaurants for something devilishly decadent and usually terribly expensive, but don’t worry you can still be ‘extra’ from home. If you’re the type that loves to be OTT, (but can barely boil water) you can still have a knock out night with a one-stop-shop, we promise. Take your lovesick heart to Waitrose and get a jar of black caviar, some smoked salmon, cream cheese and a box of blini pancakes to create a super easy no-cook starter. For your main two whole frozen lobsters and some microwaved sides. Then get a bottle of champagne or two, and a box of chocolate truffles to finish. Now all you need to do is boil a pot of water and pop those lobsters in for 2-3 minutes just until warmed through. Warm-up your sides and melt some butter for claw meat dipping, and ‘Voila’ dinner is served! (Top tip: Use kitchen scissors to open the tail, and the back of a big knife to crack those crazy big claws.)

Who doesn’t love a saucy tart? 

Lemon tart that is. Wait, what did you think we were talking about?! Don’t worry a homemade lemon tart is as sweet as it is easy, and you can make the recipe together as a little Valentine’s day activity. We made some minor modifications to the Simple Homemade Lemon Tart Recipe from the Happy Foods Tube, which we think you will really love. In our humble opinion there is nothing better than a beautiful lemon tart drizzled in our saucy Raspberry and Gin Prosecco Mixer, and for a perfect pairing why not add a splash to some bubbly to celebrate your baking skills. Who knows, baking on Valentine’s Day could become a lovely tradition for many years to come. 

For the pastry:

1 cup Plain Flour (130 grams)

1 stick Unsalted Butter (110 grams)

4 tablespoons Icing Sugar

For the lemon filling:

¼ cup Whipping Cream

¼ cup Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg

Lemon Juice (from 1 large lemon – at least 1/3 cup)

Instructions 

1. Mix flour, melted butter and icing sugar in a bowl until you get soft dough.
2. Press this soft dough into the base of your cake tin and up the sides. Pierce the dough several times with a fork.
3. Bake it blind for 20 minutes at 375°F/190°C.(If you don’t have baking beans you can just use a piece of baking paper and fill it with dried rice or dried lentils.) 
4. Take it out & let it cool down. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F/150°C.
5. In a bowl, whisk caster sugar, egg, cream and lemon juice. Carefully pour into the cooled pastry case.
6. Return to the oven and bake for a further 35–40 minutes or until the filling is set.
7. Take out, let cool down completely before removing it from the tin.
8. Dust with icing sugar and top with fresh raspberries and a generous drizzle of Drunken Berries Raspberry and Gin Prosecco Mixer.
9. Enjoy!

Say something that shocks me with only three words.

No. Phone. Night… but what if, and follow us here, what if it actually worked? Maybe even a whole day AND night without your phone. ‘Gasp! Who dares say such a thing?!’ Think of the novelty of it, just you and your love spending a whole day unplugged and pretending to be somewhere cut off from the rest of the world. Make a delicious breakfast, go for a long country walk, play dreamy 1940’s music while you drink wine and make dinner together, and then spend the rest of the night cuddled up playing scrabble with nothing but ‘Fireplace’ playing on Netflix. In other words, the perfect Valentine’s Day at home. It’s so crazy it might just work.

The colour of love

Celebrating love isn’t only for lovers, it can be a wonderful family affair too. Start the day with your little ones by making heart-shaped pancakes covered in strawberries, chocolate chips, and whipped cream. Once the family is properly sugared up, declare a Valentine’s dress-up day where everyone needs to be wearing pink, red, or white. When your crew is properly clad whip out the face paint and the heart sequins, and sparkle up those little cheeks. Spend the day listening to love songs, making Valentine’s cards for Nan and Grandad, and telling your babies how much you love them. 

Everyone deserves a little indulgence now and then.

We know that not everyone is a white teddy bear cuddling, heart-shaped chocolate-eating, sonnet writing type of person, you may not even be a Valentine’s day person at all. So what?! You still deserve to feel fabulous on February 14th. Now crank up some Lizzo, order sushi for delivery, buy a bottle of bubbles, and get your besties on Zoom for a fantastic anti-valentines day do. We recommend using our Blackberry and Brandy Prosecco Mixer to take your prosecco party up a notch, or even just add it to a gin and soda for something a bit swish. Trust us, you definitely deserve it.

Sung in the timeless voice of Jackie DeShannon ‘What the world needs now is love sweet love.’ So why not reach out to your love, your friends, your family, your little ones, and spread some love and kindness around this Valentine’s Day. ‘It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.’ Happy Valentine’s day, from our hearts to yours.