A Valentine Menu for Your Heart's Desire. Part 1 Two Hearts Salad

First Course: Two Hearts Salad
Who can deny that food is a sensual experience? We tell stories over food; we bond over food and we romance over food. And so, we’ve decided to do this “super series” Valentine’s Day Menu for you with 5 Episodes released to give you enough time to prepare your own feast.
The Menu
• Two Hearts Salad Featuring Artichoke Hearts and Hearts of Palm
• Bacon-Wrapped Cornish Game Hens with Maple Balsamic Glaze
• Roasted Baby Rosemary Potatoes
• Steamed Spinach with Crumbled Blue Cheese
• Chocolate Lava Cake
Two Hearts Salad
This salad is fast and easy and it can actually be prepared on the spot or even a bit ahead of time and refrigerated.
What you will need:
A nice salad bowl
Serving plate
For the salad:
1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts
1 14 oz. can of hearts of palm sliced
1 8-10 oz. package of fresh grape or cherry tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Dried ground lime
Chopped fresh chives
Pine nuts
Enoki mushrooms
Step 1.
In another episode, we will tackle making fresh artichoke hearts at home but for now, we will use high-quality canned. You can add the tomatoes, pine nuts, and chives in the quantities you like but not too much to overpower the hearts.
• Slice your chives into small bits
• Slice the cherry tomatoes in half
• Slice the hearts of palm into 1/8-1/4 inch slices
• In a large salad or mixing bowl combine the artichoke hearts with the sliced hearts of palm.
• Add the sliced cherry tomatoes
• Add ¼ cup of olive oil and gently toss after all you don't want to break any hearts on Valentine's day!
Step 2.
• Place the tossed salad onto a serving plate.
• Top with chives to taste
• Top with pine nuts to taste
• Top with Enoki mushrooms
• Optional: Taste it first/. Then if you like you can top with a small amount of vinaigrette but be careful not to overwhelm the flavor mélange. You can salt and pepper as well.
Step 3. ENJOY!