Sweet & Salty Popcorn Bark Valentines

The highlight of your weekend may have been Buffalo Chicken Dip or Katy Perry & her dancing shark friends, but the best part of mine was working. No, I haven't lost {what's left of} my sleep-deprived mind these days. My "job" on Saturday was to attend an event where I was forced to watch an award-winning pastry chef prepare desserts while nibbling samples of various Valentine's Day themed treats. It's hard life, I know.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I have a love related question for you: How do you show love to your spouse or significant other?

Is it by bringing home a bouquet of flowers? Taking out the trash without being asked {HINT, HINT!}? Showering him or her with hugs and kisses? Turning a blind eye to that second serving of ice cream at the end of a long day?

In our house a whole lot of stock is put in food... it's the way we celebrate, commiserate, and most importantly, show love. It's what gets us to sit around for more than 5 seconds without a phone or computer glued to our fingertips, and talk. It's what we both get excited about planning when we're inviting people into our home.

When Steve is being thoughtful, he'll pick up half & half if I'm running low to make sure I have some for my coffee in the morning. When he's being sweet, he'll bring home my favorite bottle of wine. When he's trying to get in my pants, he'll surprise me with a pint of my favorite ice cream. {Ha!}

Basically, our love language is food.

Steve gets to reap the benefits of my blogging pretty often when boxes of food arrive at our doorstep for me to work with or review. A few weeks ago I found him happily snacking on G.H. Cretors Popcorn that was sent to me...before I got to use it for a recipe. {Bad, Steve!} He is much more of a savory fan than a sweet tooth {think bread, pretzels, pasta... etc.}, so it made perfect sense that he was drawn to the popcorn like a moth to flame. Luckily, I stopped him before he could gobble it all up and had enough left for a homemade Valentine treat for both the salty and sweet lovers in your life!

Candy bark in general is a fun and easy way to make homemade gifts because you can add just about anything that you desire to make it tasty and festive. This bark gets it's a savory note from G.H. Cretors Organic Simply Salted Popcorn and some tart chewiness from dried cherries. Using heart shaped cookie cutters as molds, they turn out to be the perfect little goody to wrap up and give as a Valentine's treat.

Then again, if your sweetheart is anything like mine, the bag of popcorn alone would suffice! A big thanks to my friends at G.H. Cretors for sending over a yummy treat that we both enjoyed. :)

Disclosure: I was sent a box of G.H. Cretors Popcorn for review. All opinions here are my own. 

Sweet & Salty Popcorn Bark Valentines
Adapted from a G. H. Cretors recipe

Special tools: Heart shaped cookie cutters
1/2 lb. dark chocolate chips or bars, melted -- set some aside for drizzling
2 cups G.H. Cretors Organic Simply Salted Popcorn
1/4 cup dried cherries
{Optional} White chocolate or pink candy melts, Festive sprinkles

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2. Place heart cookie cutters on parchment or silicone mat. Pour a few tablespoons of melted chocolate into each one, spreading with a spoon or spatula to evenly distribute.*

3. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with popcorn and dried cherries, pressing down lightly to ensure they stick. Place in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden.

4. Remove from freezer and carefully pop the set chocolate hearts out of the cookie cutters. {You may need to wait a minute or two so they're easier to separate from the cookie cutters.} Repeat as needed with remaining chocolate and cookie cutters.

5. Once hearts are set, drizzle reserved melted chocolate on top. This would also be the time to apply any sprinkles or drizzle with melted colored candy melts, etc.

5. Return to the freezer until they're completely set. Once they're ready, you can wrap them up in cellophane bags and tie with ribbon or baker's twine to give as a sweet treat!

*I made mine about 1/8 inch thick, but you can make them as thick as you'd like -- simply add more chocolate to each cookie cutter mold. The yield will vary based on how big your heart cookie cutters are and how thick you make them.

Don't Overthink It

I have been eating dried cherries like they're going out of style. Just eating them by the handful. In between meals... for dessert... when I should be eating something of greater nutritional value. Basically, whenever I remember they're in the pantry.

I figure it could be worse. I could be popping happy pills M&M's instead. At least the cherries were fresh fruit once upon a time. Unfortunately, though, somewhere between springing forth from the Earth as a delicious, edible marvel and their arrival in my local grocery store, they were defiled by tons of sugar. {I know they have "no sugar added" dried fruit, but the particular ones I've been eating are not... which may be why they are so addictive.} So much for a "healthy" snack.

Since I still had the better part of a full bag staring at me when I opened the cupboards this morning, I decided that I needed to do something with them -- fast. Of course, my first instinct is always to bake something sweet and delicious. But that would sort of defeat the purpose of diffusing the whole sugar situation since... duh... I'd most likely be adding more sugar to a baked good. Back to the drawing board!

Incidentally, have you ever thought about how you come up with ideas? Probably not. Most people don't sit around thinking about how they think. I have a feeling that you and I don't have the same mental processes when we're trying to come up with something, mostly because I'd like to think that you are not nearly as crazy distractable as I am.

Just for kicks, I thought I'd give you a little peek at how I came up with an alternative plan for my dried cherries. It was surprisingly direct. For the most part, anyway:

"Hmm... cherries... make me think of sweet... sweet and sour... sour... like vinegar... balsamic vinegar... Where does this balsamic come from?:::looking at bottle::: Is it Italian? Oh my gosh, I really want to go to Italy. I wonder if there are any good travel deals right now... But first, a plan for dinner. So, balsamic.. like my vinaigrette for salad... which is so good with crumbled goat cheese. Oohh, yum, crumbled goat cheese. Do I have any in the fridge right now? I'm kinda hungry... No, focus! Ok... cherries, balsamic, goat cheese, and... protein, protein... Chicken. Yes! Chicken stuffed with dried cherries, and goat cheese, and balsamic glaze. Mmm. Is it dinner time yet??"

I exhaust myself. But I did come up with a meal that earned the hubby seal of approval: No leftovers. At all. Like, not even one little chicken particle.

I served the rollatini alongside a roasted butternut squash mash {that I may have to share the non-recipe for very soon. It was good.}, and the combination tasted a bit like Thanksgiving. In July. And I liked it.

Anyway, I hope this recipe will take some of the "think work" out of your dinner plans. :) Enjoy!

Cherry & Goat Cheese Chicken Rollatini with Cherry-Balsamic Glaze
A Kitchen Prep Original, Glaze Inspired by This Recipe

You'll Need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup cherry preserves {I used Simply Fruit Black Cherry}
• Olive Oil
• Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, let dried cherries sit in balsamic vinegar for about 10 minutes.

2. Season chicken breast halves lightly with salt. Carefully spoon crumbled goat cheese onto each piece {About 1/8 cup on each}.

3. With a fork or slotted spoon, remove cherries from balsamic vinegar and distribute evenly among chicken breast halves. Reserve vinegar for glaze.

4. Carefully roll up each chicken breast and secure with toothpicks {or if you're like me and realize you're out of toothpicks at this integral moment, lay them seam side down so the stuffing doesn't fall out}.

5. Add chicken rolls to pan with olive oil, seam side down, and sear until lightly browned on all sides. Transfer to oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

6. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add balsamic vinegar and whisk in 1/4 cup of cherry preserves. Allow to come to a low boil, whisking every few minutes, then reduce to a simmer until it has reduced and thickened.

7. Remove chicken from oven. Spoon balsamic glaze over top of the rollatinis. Serve hot.