Valentine's Day Cookbook Giveaway: The Newlywed Cookbook

By: Kirsten Vala

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here's a book all about cooking for (and with) your sweetie. For newlyweds and happy couples of all kinds, The Newlywed Cookbook by Food Network Kitchens veteran Sarah Copeland is a delicious guide to nurturing your love with great meals, day after day. I caught up with Sarah by phone to ask her a few questions about her new cookbook.

How did you get the idea for this cookbook?

I always wanted to write a cookbook; I didn't have an exact idea, I just knew I wanted to make it a garden-to-table or farm-to-table lifestyle easier for people instead of an ambitious change-your-whole-life thing. I met my editor at a workshop, and I must have talked a lot about my husband – I was just married and totally in love. He called me a few months later and said, "We have an idea for a book, and I think you might be our author." So it's a book all about my real life. When I actually sat down to write it, it literally poured out onto the page.

Can you describe your cooking style?

It's really rustic. I'm a gardener, so I cook whatever I pull out of the ground or find at the market – I love it when food has roots and dirt on it. Of course I clean it, but I don't want to go too much further. So it's a very breezy style of cooking – it's delicious and so satisfying, but it doesn't take long and it doesn't take tremendous skill. It's more about getting to the table to spend time with the person you love versus spending all your time in the kitchen preparing the meal.

You include a whole chapter on date nights. What's the key to a good date night dinner?

The key to a good date night dinner is creating it together because it's loving and you're grateful to each other; and then there's less pressure on one person. And if you think of date night as a regular thing and not just a once-in-a-blue-moon event, it removes the feeling that it has to be an over-the-top meal. It can be fancy, but it doesn't have to be.

How do you hope people use this cookbook?

For me it's a work of art because it's so personal to create the book and all the photography, the prop styling, the food styling and all the love that went into it. But I want people to take it into their home and scribble in it, get chocolate splatters on it and really use it. That's the most important thing. This is the recipe for a very long-term, healthful life with the one you love.

Give a few of Sarah's recipes a try:

We’re giving away one copy of The Newlywed Cookbook to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling us what you're cooking for Valentine's Day.

So, tell us, what are you cooking for Valentine's Day?

You must include your email address in the “Email” field when submitting your comment so we can communicate back with you if you’re the winner. (But do not post your email address into the actual body of the comment.) We’re giving one copy away to one very lucky, randomly selected commenter.

You may only comment once to be considered, and you don’t have to purchase anything to win; a purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Odds depend on total number of entries. Void where prohibited. Only open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states, D.C. or Puerto Rico, and you must be at least 18 years of age to win. All entries (comments) must be entered between 2:00 p.m. ET on February 8 and 5:00 p.m. ET on February 10. Subject to full Official Rules. By leaving a comment on the blog, you acknowledge your acceptance to the Official Rules. ARV of prize: $35.00. Sponsor: Scripps Networks, LLC, d/b/a/ Cooking Channel, 75 9th Ave., New York, NY 10011.

Browse 50 chocolate desserts and more Valentine's Day recipes from Cooking Channel.

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