Valentine Hearts - COEUR À LA CRÈME

1 pound cream cheese
1 stick vanilla bean
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 quart heavy cream, whipped


Beat together cream cheese, vanilla bean seeds and sugar. Whip cream separately and fold in. Pour into **pierced heart molds lined with wet cheese cloth. **Try putting a double paper towel under doubled cheese cloths if the molds are not pierced. Allow molds to drain in the refrigerator over night.

SAUCE
¼ cup dry sherry
3/4 cup currant jelly
1½ cups sliced* fresh strawberries soaked in
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
orange peel *

Cook sherry and jelly slowly until jelly is dissolved. When cool, add the rest of the ingredients.
NOTE: Leave the leaves on several strawberries. * Slice a strawberry in half from the stem down to the tip. Using the tip of a sharp tipped knife, make several small slices from 1/4 inch down from the hull to the tip. Fan strawberry out decoratively on the heart(s). Add finely julienned orange peel strips for additional glamour.
© NANCY BOOKMAN HOFFMAN
February 28, 1993, February 10, 2008
RECIPES\COEUR.DES