At her family Valentine’s breakfast bash, Kathryn Tortorici decorates her Birmingham, Alabama, kitchen table with fun items she collects all year just for the occasion. “Everything must be something unexpected,” she says. Another special touch: Tortorici uses cookie cutters to cut different shapes from strawberry toaster pastries to create sweet tidbits for her children. There might be other heart-shaped foods, too, like these little baked ham and cheese sandwiches.

HEART-SHAPED CHEESE BITES WITH HAM

1 loaf day-old white bread, sliced

1 pound thick-sliced honey ham

2 (5-ounce) jars cheese spread

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut two hearts out of each slice of bread, making sure not to get any of the crust. Cut the ham slices with the cookie cutter.

Combine the cheese and butter in a bowl. The mixture should be about the consistency of cake icing. Add the pepper.

Spread about half of the cheese mixture on half of the bread pieces. Add a slice of ham on top of the cheese mixture. Top with the remaining bread pieces. Spread the remaining cheese mixture on the tops and sides of the hearts.

Arrange the hearts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Freeze for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly brown.

Makes 20 pieces