What Is Red?

No one captures the essence of red in rhyming form better than Mary O'Neill's poem What Is Red? from Hailstones and Halibut Bones. (1961)

What Is Red?

Red is a sunset

Blazy and bright.

Red is feeling brave

With all you might.

Red is sunburn

Spot on your nose, 

Sometimes red

Is a red, red rose.

Red squiggles out

When you cut your hand.

Red is a brick and 

A rubber band.

Red is hotness

You get inside 

When you're embarrassed

And want to hide.

Fire- cracker, fire-engine

Fire-flicker red-

And when you're angry

Red runs through your head.

Red is an Indian

A Valentine heart,

The trimming on

A circus cart.

Red is lipstick,

Red is a shout,

Red is a signal

That says "Watch out!"

Red is a great big

Rubber ball.

Red is the giant-est

Color of all.

Red is a show-off

No doubt about it-

But can you imagine

Living without it?

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But how about a red meal? The following red recipes are just in time for your Valentine meal planning. The recipe selections will be spread out over 3 days. Day two there will be three main meal red recipe choices and on day three there will three red dessert recipe choices.

Cosmopolitan Raspberry Twist

recipe from food.com

Moisten two glass rims with a lime and place glass rim upside down on wax paper that has been sprinkled with superfine sugar 

Freeze 4 raspberries

Add the following ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice

4 oz. raspberry vodka

1 oz. triple sec

2 TB. fresh squeezed lime juice

3 oz. raspberry cranberry drink

Serve with lime slices and float 2 frozen raspberries in drink

Sweetheart Drink

Omit the vodka for a non-alcoholic drink 

Fill a tall glass with ice cubes or a cocktail shaker. Pour in vodka then all the juices and shake once. Pour into a martini glass

2 oz. vodka

3 oz. cranberry juice

1 oz. pineapple juice

1 oz. cherry juice

orange slice twisted

maraschino cherry

Strawberry Pretzel Cracker

recipe from Southern Living April, 2011

Cooking tip: Make up the mixture ahead but do not add to pretzel cracker till right before serving to avoid a soggy cracker  

• 2 cups finely chopped strawberries
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons minced shallot or red onion
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 36 pretzel crackers (Keebler Town House Flipside Original Pretzel Cracker)
• Stir together strawberries, basil, brown sugar, shallot, and pepper. Spread softened cream cheese onto pretzel crackers. Top with strawberry mixture.

Blood Orange Radicchio Salad

Cooking tip: May need to double the dressing ingredients for 6 salads

Ingredients:

•  5 medium blood oranges 
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 Tbs. white wine vinegar 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 medium (12-oz.) head radicchio, washed, cored, and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (about 5 loosely packed cups) 
• 1 medium (6-oz.) head butter lettuce,washed, cored, and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (about 4 loosely packed cups) 
• 3/4 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped 
• 1 small package of dried cranberries or 1-1/2 cup of Pomegranate seeds
• 1-1/2 oz. chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged goat cheese 

Directions:

Finely grate 1 tsp. of zest and then squeeze 2 Tbs. juice from one of the oranges. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the zest and juice with the olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Pulse a few times in blender.

Mix radicchio, lettuce with hazelnuts and dried cranberries. Toss lightly with dressing. 

Arrange on 6 salad plates with blood orange segments

Grate cheese on top