Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 12, Episode 7 - Sweethearts Day - full transcript

[Molly] Every day

is Valentine's Day
at our house,

and we're celebrating
with fast, fun recipes

and plenty of sweets...

Nick is one lucky guy.

...like my rich

chocolate chocolate
halva walnut cookies.

packaged up
as edible valentines,

then, a dinner
of hearty salmon rice bowls

with chili crisp and mayo.

This is a dream.



Velvety, roasted red pepper
white bean dip.

Putting some extra love
into it.

And buttery salted chocolate
chunk cherry cobbler,

served with vanilla ice cream
for dessert.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Oh, yum!

Yay!

Hey!

This is me, Molly Yeh.

This is my husband, Nick.

This is our growing family.

And this is our home,

our farm on the North Dakota-

Minnesota border,



the place where I eat,
sleep, and breathe food.

It's Valentine's Day,

and in our house,
real romance is having

15 uninterrupted minutes
at the end of the day

15 uninterrupted minutes
at the end of the day

to do dishes and talk
about rising gas prices,

so I'm putting together
an easy, delicious meal

that'll allow us more time
at the end of the day.

To do dishes and talk
about gas prices. [chuckles]

But first,
an edible valentine.

I am filling up our cookie jar

with chocolate chocolate
halva walnut cookies,

which are chewy,
and dark, and nutty.

It's basically
a ton of good stuff

held together
by some cookie dough.

It's so good.

I'm starting
with my cookie dough.

I'm starting
with my cookie dough.

I'll melt together one cup
of dark chocolate chips

with a stick of butter
in my double boiler,

and this is a heat safe bowl

sitting
over some simmering water.

It's important to do this
with chocolate,

so that you don't heat up
the chocolate

too quickly and too much.

That could cause it
to seize up,

and then you won't get
that smooth, glossy meltiness.

One of my favorite jobs
at our house

is keeping
our cookie jar filled.

We have it right near
Nick's coffee station,

so after lunch,

he sticks his hand
into the cookie jar

and grabs whatever is in there

and grabs whatever is in there

to take out
back to the farm with him.

Roger, his dad, also likes
to use the cookie jar,

but I know that he's visited

if the lid isn't fully
put back on. [chuckles]

So, I'm always on the hunt
for good cookie jar cookies,

which means
a cookie that can last

for a good few days
at room temperature,

and these fit the bill
because they're big,

they lock in
a lot of moisture,

and they honestly get
a little chewier and better

after a day or two.

This is looking good.
I'll remove it from the heat.

This is looking good.
I'll remove it from the heat.

While I'm over here,
I'll mix in my sugar.

I'll do half a cup
of granulated sugar,

and half a cup of brown sugar.

Gotta have brown sugar
in a chocolate chip cookie.

That molasses flavor
is signature, and also,

it helps the cookie
stay chewy.

Now that
the sugars are mixed in,

I'll set this aside,

and allow it to cool briefly

while I mix up
my dry ingredients.

I'll combine a cup
of all-purpose flour

with half a cup
of Dutch-process cocoa powder.

It's darker
and smoother in flavor

than your standard
unsweetened cocoa powder.

than your standard
unsweetened cocoa powder.

A teaspoon of baking powder

will help the cookies puff up
as they bake.

And, a teaspoon
of kosher salt.

I'll combine this,

and crack in two eggs
into my cooled wet mixture,

whisking after each.

Second egg.

And a good splash
of vanilla extract.

Since chocolate is
such a bold, dark flavor,

I find that it takes
some extra vanilla

to stand up to it.

Okay.
This is smooth and glossy.

And now, the mix-ins.

I'll start
with eight ounces of halva

that I've coarsely chopped.

Halva is

this completely addictive,
nutty, crumbly, sesame candy.

I'll add half of it
into the dough,

and then, add the other half
sprinkled on top of the dough

after I scoop the cookies.

after I scoop the cookies.

And then,
eight ounces of walnuts.

These have been toasted
and coarsely chopped,

and it's a lot of walnuts.

Nick and I both like
a high ratio

of stuff to dough
in our cookies.

We also like walnuts,
because they're heart healthy,

and a frequent
conversation topic

between us is
how we can age with grace.

It's so embarrassing.

And now, my white chocolate.

I've got six ounces,
coarsely chopped.

That'll be
such a pretty contrast

That'll be
such a pretty contrast

against the dark chocolate
base of the cookie.

I'll fold this in.

And this is a flavor trio,

the halva, and the walnut,
and the chocolate,

that I have been
obsessing over recently.

It's sweet,
it's crunchy, it's nutty,

They just go well together.

Now that
these are incorporated,

I'll dump in
my dry ingredients

and fold this all together

until I can no longer see
any dry bits

of the dry ingredients.

That is
a rich-looking cookie dough.

So, let me grab
some baking sheets,

So, let me grab
some baking sheets,

and I'll do
heaping-size scoops of this,

so about the size of plums,

to get big, honking cookies.

It's not complete
with just the scoop.

It needs its toppings.

I'll stick in a couple of my
reserve chocolate chunks,

some halva.

Some of the halva
within the dough

will disintegrate
into the dough,

which is fine for flavor,
but I want to make sure

to get
some halva texture, too.

And lastly,
a pinch of flaky salt.

I'll keep on scooping these,
and then stick them

in the freezer for two hours,
so that they can firm up,

and then I'll bake them
at 350 degrees

and then I'll bake them
at 350 degrees

for about 20 minutes,
until the top is crackly

and the cookies are just set.

I'm getting excited.

These cookies
are baked and cooled.

They're looking
rustically beautiful

and now, I've just got to
fill up the jar.

Oh yeah, these will be
just big enough for Nick.

Oh yeah, these will be
just big enough for Nick.

Wow.

I'm smelling the halva.

It kind of gets toasted
in the oven.

[vocalizing] Do, do, do, do.
Oh, no!

They're not all gonna fit.

Whatever will I do?

Yeah, this is how
I like to eat a cookie.

You break it open in half.

Oh, yeah!
Look at all that stuff!

These look great.

Mmm!

Mmm, mmm!

It's chewy.

There's that crunch
from the walnuts.

This is a good valentine.

Nick is one lucky guy.
[chuckles]

Coming up,

why celebrate Valentine's Day
with one dessert,

when you can have two?

It's Valentine's Day,

which is as good
of an excuse as any

to eat
a double dose of chocolate...

Not that you need an excuse.

...so I'm baking up

my chocolate chunk
cherry cobbler,

which has
a saucy, tart cherry filling,

and a big,
buttery, cakey topping,

that channels some major
chocolate chip cookie energy.

It's so good,

and it's really easy.

I just toss together
the filling,

I just toss together
the filling,

dollop all over with batter,

bake, and serve
with vanilla ice cream.

To get started on the filling,
I'll make a slurry,

which will help thicken it up

so that it's saucy,
and not too liquidy,

and I'm using the juices
from my thawed cherries.

I only want
about a third of a cup,

so I'll eyeball that
into my big bowl here.

You could use fresh cherries
with this, and if you do that,

just sub this liquid
for either water,

or cherry juice,
or even orange juice.

I'll whisk in
one tablespoon of corn starch.

Make sure all
of the bits are dissolved.

I'll fold in my cherries.
I've got four cups of them.

And sweeten
with half a cup of sugar,

which will be a nice balance
to the tart cherries.

Brighten this up
with the zest of half a lemon.

I love a cobbler,
because you've got

crisp texture on top,
and then you get

the cakey, fluffy
cobber texture,

and then you've got
that part where

the filling meets
the cobbler topping.

Mmm.

And, two tablespoons
of the lemon juice,

about the juice
of half a juicy lemon.

A teensy splash
of almond extract enhances

A teensy splash
of almond extract enhances

the natural flavor
of cherries.

And a good pinch of salt,

to bring out
all these flavors.

I'll combine this.

So, our first Valentine's Day,
back when

we still lived in New York,

our order got messed up
at the restaurant.

It took hours.

It was a complete disaster,
but in reality,

Nick and I had so much fun,

'cause we just got to
hang out and talk,

and it was great.

That's the mushiest
I'm getting today.

I just like
hanging out with him!

Even
in terrible circumstances,

he makes everything fun.

Okay, that's it.

Here's my pie plate.

It's buttered,
and I've got it on a sheet pan

just to catch any drips
of this juicy filling

that could overflow.

I'll pour this right in.

So, for the topping now,
I'll get that going

with two cups
of all-purpose flour.

This is essentially

pretty much
all the same ingredients

as a chocolate chip cookie,
but in different ratios,

to get more
of a fluffy, cakelike texture.

A quarter cup each
of granulated sugar

and brown sugar,

and a tablespoon
of baking powder,

which will help this get
super puffy,

and a half teaspoon of salt.

and a half teaspoon of salt.

I'll combine this.

I'll grab my cold ingredients.

I've got a stick
of cold, cubed butter,

and half a cup
of cold heavy cream.

I'll incorporate this butter
until it's roughly

the size of peas,

but a few bigger bits
are totally okay.

You could do this
in a food processor,

but I'm doing it by hand,

putting
some extra love into it.

I figure I have

another, maybe,
couple of decades

to convince him to retire
down to Florida with me.

I feel like that's when
Nick is gonna hit his stride,

I feel like that's when
Nick is gonna hit his stride,

when he's 80.

He's an inner 80-year-old.

I kind of am, too.

We're boring, [sighs]

but we're bored together.

I'm trying to work quickly,
so that the butter stays cold,

because that will yield

more of a fluffy,
cakelike texture.

Okay. This looks good.

I'll toss in my chocolate now.

This is six ounces
of semisweet chocolate

that I've coarsely chopped.

that I've coarsely chopped.

I'll reserve
a little bit of it

to sprinkle on
on top,

and then,
I'll bring this together

into a dough
with my cold heavy cream.

I'll add an egg,

and some vanilla,

beat it up,

and pour it right in,

and fold it together.

Gotta have two desserts
on Valentine's Day.

The cookies
in the cookie jar,

that's an anytime dessert.
[chuckles]

This one will be
our dinner dessert.

It's pretty crumbly.

It's pretty crumbly.

It'll be most efficient
to get in here with my hands

to bring this dough together.

Want to make sure that

all of the floury bits
are incorporated.

My nose thinks I'm making
chocolate chip cookies.

I want to keep it
pretty shaggy.

I don't want to overmix this

and develop that gluten
to get that gummy texture.

That's one way to ruin
Valentine's Day. [chuckles]

I'll scoop it
into big, rustic balls

on top of this.

It won't fully cover
the filling at this point,

but as it bakes,

it'll expand and get fluffy.

So, I'll get eight scoops
around the perimeter,

So, I'll get eight scoops
around the perimeter,

and one scoop in the center.

It's making me happy already.

And you could bake this
in any shape dish.

A square dish is fine, too,

but it's
that super cheesy saying,

"Draw a circle
instead of a heart,

'cause it has no end."

[rimshot]

Thank you. I'm here all day.

In fact, I live here.

[chuckles]

That's looking great.

I'll poke in
my remaining chocolate.

Cobblers have gotta have a
crunchy top, so I'll sprinkle this

with some more
granulated sugar, too.

It'll help the top brown,

give you
that textural experience,

and of course,
provide more sweetness.

This looks great already.

I'll stick it in the oven
at 375 degrees

for 40 minutes,
and then tent it with foil,

and let it go
for another 10 minutes

until the filling is bubbly

and the topping
is fully cooked.

Oh, yeah!

That's gonna be good.

I think I hear
those cherries bubbling.

I think I hear
those cherries bubbling.

The suspense is real.

Hubba hubba!

I love seeing all
the chocolate chunks on top.

I'll be serving this
with vanilla ice cream later,

but I'm sneaking a taste.

All the way to the bottom,
to get the layers.

[whispering] Oh, yeah.

Mmm-mmm!

[in normal voice]
That's awesome.

The combination
of the tart, saucy cherries

The combination
of the tart, saucy cherries

and the sweet, cakey topping
is a match for the ages.

I can feel the love
with this one.

Next, the secret to making your
everyday salmon rice bowl sparkle.

Nick's favorite food
in the whole, wide world

is salmon and broccoli,

so for Valentine's Day,

I'm giving the guy
what he wants,

and making
my salmon rice bowls

with crispy roasted broccoli.

They are so dang satisfying,

especially when finished
with a squiggle of mayo

and plops of chili crisp,

and this could not be
easier to make.

I'll start
with my favorite part,

I'll start
with my favorite part,

the sushi rice.

I've got two cups of it
that I've rinsed well

to eliminate
any excess starches,

and I'll combine it in my pot

with two and a half cups
of water.

I love sushi rice

because it's a little sweet,
a little sour,

and kind of sticky. Mmm!

That sourness comes
from unseasoned rice vinegar.

I'll drizzle in
three tablespoons.

Two tablespoons of sugar,
for that important sweetness,

and then,
two teaspoons of kosher salt.

I'll stir this all together,
and bring it to a boil,

and then,
reduce to a simmer,

and cover,
and cook for 17 minutes,

and cover,
and cook for 17 minutes,

until the water has absorbed
into the rice.

This is how I make
sushi rice all the time.

I just pile all
of the ingredients in at once,

and then, they absorb
as the rice cooks.

And in that time,
I'll start going

on my broccoli and salmon.

So, the rest of this
comes together

on one sheet pan.
It's easy peasy.

I've got florets

from two heads
of broccoli here,

and I like
really crispy broccoli.

Spread the broccoli out,

so that
it doesn't clump together,

and steam.

I'll add
a few good glugs of olive oil,

I'll add
a few good glugs of olive oil,

then sprinkle with a couple
of pinches of kosher salt,

and toss these together,
to ensure that

the oil fully coats
those little floret bits.

Those are
Bernie's favorite bits.

The broccoli is fully coated.

I'll get it into the oven
at 450 degrees

for about 10 minutes
on the bottom rack,

which will help it get
extra crispy.

And then, while that roasts,
I'll prep my salmon.

I have four six-ounce
skinless filets here,

that have been coming
to room temperature,

which is important to ensure
even cooking throughout.

which is important to ensure
even cooking throughout.

I'll drizzle it
with olive oil,

and I'm keeping it simple

by seasoning
just with some kosher salt.

It's quite on brand
that salmon and broccoli,

two of the healthiest foods,

are also
Nick's favorite foods,

because he's
a total health nut.

I think that's why
we go well together,

'cause opposites attract.

I bake cake all day.

But his enthusiasm for this
has made me love it, too,

so he's a good,
healthy influence on me.

I'll get the broccoli out.

It's starting to look good.
It's not done yet, though.

I'll actually just scooch it
to the side,

to make room for the salmon.

I'll lift up
the foil wings here,

and nestle it in,
and fold up this foil,

so that it can catch
any juices from the salmon,

and then,
stick this back in the oven

for another 10 minutes,

so that
the fish can cook through,

and the broccoli can get
even crispier.

And in that time,
I'll get the heat

off of the rice,
but keep the lid on,

so that it can steam
for about 10 minutes,

so it'll all be ready
at the same time.

so it'll all be ready
at the same time.

Dinner is smelling good.

The broccoli is crisp,

the salmon is cooked,

the rice is steamed.

I'll fluff up the rice.

It looks nice and sticky.

Hmm.

Mmm!

Good sweetness level
on that, too.

And I'll plate up my bowls.

I'll start with a bed of rice.

I use a shallow bowl,
so you can see everything.

Top it with a piece of salmon,

and I like to break it up
into chunks,

to catch the mayo
and chili crisp,

and also,
to make it more spoonable.

And pile on the broccoli,

and a good drizzle of mayo

to bring everything together
with creaminess.

I'm using Japanese mayo.
It's sweeter and richer.

And, some plops
of chili crisp.

There's chilis,
of course, in it,

but also,
tons of aromatics,

like garlic,
and scallions, and ginger.

When you add the chili crisp,
that is an instant party.

You gotta dig to the bottom
for the good stuff.

You gotta dig to the bottom
for the good stuff.

And you might be able
to find this

in the Asian section
of your local grocery store,

or definitely online.

A little flaky salt.

Then, I'll finish
with some scallions.

Oh, this is a dream!

I want to taste
this immediately.

Mmm-mmm!

Mmm!

That salmon is so flaky.

This is my ideal dinner.

It's gonna be even better
with my ideal dinner date.

Still to come,

a flavor marriage
of roasted red peppers

and white beans
is a match made in heaven.

For a simple,
yet super satisfying

snack time situation,
I'm making

my roasted red pepper
white bean dip,

which is creamy,
and bright, and red,

the color of Valentine's Day.

I'm starting with
some cannellini beans,

out of the can,

and a roasted red pepper.

I've drained these,
and I'm patting them dry.

I love cannellini beans
for their creaminess.

Also, sometimes
Nick farms white beans,

so these are a nod to him.

so these are a nod to him.

I'll toss this
into my food processor.

The hardest part
about this recipe is

cleaning out
the food processor.

Good thing I married
a great dishes-doer.

I'll pop in two tablespoons
of white miso,

which is salty, and has
great umami dimension.

Spice things up
with some sambal oelek,

which is
an Indonesian chili paste

that's nice and bright,
and not too spicy.

A little sweetness
with some honey.

A clove of garlic.

Beans and garlic.

I love them together.

I'll zest in some ginger,

I'll zest in some ginger,

which will add
some nice zinginess.

Well, I guess
when we first started dating,

his go-to snack would be
opening up a can of beans,

and rinsing them,
dumping them into a bowl,

and that was it.

He wouldn't do
anything to them.

He would just eat plain beans,

so,

thank goodness
for me entering his life.

[chuckles]

I'll zest in a lime,

so you're getting that acidity
as well as some sweetness,

and also,
squeeze in the juice.

Bean dip is one of my favorite
pantry snacks, or meals.

Bean dip is one of my favorite
pantry snacks, or meals.

I love to make bean dip,
and then put it

on the bottom of a bowl,
and top it with a salad.

It's, like,
one of my favorite lunches.

I'll blend this
until it's combined,

and then continue blending it
as I drizzle in

a third of a cup
of olive oil.

That'll make it nice and rich.

That looks smooth, and great.

That looks smooth, and great.

I'm gonna plate this up.

The rule
on Valentine's Day is

your dippers have gotta be

heavy on the red,
and the pink, and the purple,

so that's what I've got here.

I'll pile my dip
into the bowl.

Now I'll dress this up

with a drizzle
of olive oil on top,

and this adds
richness, and flavor.

It also prevents the top
from drying out.

And finish
with a sprinkle of flaky salt.

Ta-da!

I'm gonna dunk one of these.

Mmm!

All those flavors
working here so well!

That is creamy, and beany,

and it's bright.

Nick is gonna love it.

All right.

Let's eat,

and talk about
some gas prices. [chuckles]

Every day is Valentine's Day.