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Dear Helena,
I'm making dinner for my girlfriend this Valentine's Day. I want to make something that will be delicious, but will also create the right romantic atmosphere. What do you suggest?
—Master Chef & Seducer
Dear Master Chef,
Festive meals usually include rich, extravagant foods that we don't eat every day, like fine cuts of meat, butter, cheese, and chocolate, not to mention plenty of alcohol. That's fine if it's Thanksgiving or Christmas and you can undo the top button on your pants and veg out afterward. But on Valentine's Day, after-dinner activities are more, er, athletically demanding. So you need to plan a menu that will leave your girlfriend feeling energized. This isn't manipulation; it's simple good manners.
In order to figure out what to serve, we need to first understand what is wrong with the traditional meal. The dinner on offer at the Addison at the Grand Del Mar in San Diego may be more elaborate than most, but the ingredients—meat, cheese, chocolate—are typical Valentine's Day fare. The menu weaves its way through smoked pork agnolotti, squab rôti, and a cheese course before ending in a chocolate tart with homemade marshmallows. Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist, is unimpressed: "Heavy foods that are more slowly digested, like meat, are going to impair your friskiness. ... A large meal that is high in carbs will put you to sleep, instead of putting you in the mood."
So what should you serve? Jessica Crandall, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recommends combining "good" carbs and proteins "for better endurance later on." If you want to avoid feeling bloated and tired, then the protein serving size should be "no bigger than your cell phone." "Good carbs," she explains, comprise fruits, vegetables, and, of course, whole grains.
This probably all sounds a bit too healthful. A carefully measured portion of poached chicken breast will make your girlfriend feel like she's at a weight-loss spa. You want to cook a meal that will make her feel like you really made an effort.
So what can you serve that is celebratory but won't weigh you down? Fish is ideal. Ronna Welsh, owner of Purple Kale Kitchenworks, a cooking school in Brooklyn, suggests skate wings. She recommends that instead of serving depressing brown rice you choose a whole grain like polenta, finished with a really good extra-virgin olive oil instead of butter. (Fish with polenta is a traditional Venetian dish.) On the side? A watercress salad, says Welsh.
As for dessert, Crandall suggests chocolate-dipped strawberries, which are easy to make yourself. "Chocolate has caffeine and chemicals that will make you a little bit more alert," explains Dr. Jampolis, and will "offset the more sedating effects of alcohol." (Apparently, all dietitians love chocolate-covered strawberries.) And the meal must of course include alcohol, though in moderation. If you want to maintain energy levels, "no more than a glass for women, two for men," says Jampolis.
If this menu still seems too punitive, then do as Crandall suggests and "engage in activity beforehand." Then you can eat and drink as much as you want.
Have some mead with your dinner - is definitely an aphrodisiac in my house, and also the reason for the term 'honeymoon'.
The most complete and intelligent treatise on this subject is a 1998 minor masterpiece by Isabel Allende entitled "Aphrodite: A Memoir of The Senses." Her suggestion is that any food that is fresh, fragrant, tasty, visually appealing and lovingly prepared can be aphrodisiac. She suggests that aphrodisiac foods should have the same qualities that are appealing in a lover. Her other bit of...+READ
The most complete and intelligent treatise on this subject is a 1998 minor masterpiece by Isabel Allende entitled "Aphrodite: A Memoir of The Senses." Her suggestion is that any food that is fresh, fragrant, tasty, visually appealing and lovingly prepared can be aphrodisiac. She suggests that aphrodisiac foods should have the same qualities that are appealing in a lover. Her other bit of indispensable advice is that aphrodisiacs always work best when their intended effects are explained ahead of time.
I generally agree with Helena that lighter, healthier fare leaves diners in much better shape for post-dinner activities. I personally think that sushi makes for a perfect Valentine's Day dinner (despite the fact that the most jaded among us might find it passe). Sushi, is light, flavorful, artistic, visually appealing and still somewhat exotic.
For Valentine's Day I suggest enjoying sushi in the privacy of one's dwelling, either as take out, or even better yet, prepared from scratch together at home (it's not really that difficult, and it's a lot of fun to prepare together). Dinner should be enjoyed seated on the floor (japanese style) at a low table. Dinner attire should be simple silk kimonos with absolutely nothing on underneath. The sushi should be served with plenty of sake. Be careful where the wasabi ends up.-COLLAPSE
Yesterday we started with champagne and a salad, and retired to the next room while the main course cooked, finished dinner with big smiles, happy all around. Why wait till after dinner?
Helena is overthinking this. The letter writer wants to make dinner for his/her girlfriend. Simply make one or more of her favorite dishes if possible. Nothing creates a better atmosphere and mood at dinner than eating food you like.
I propose we call it "bumpin' pretties" as now I'm thinking about ugly people having sex. D:
How about a small steak and some sauteed mushrooms? Tasty and light enough so you won't be weighed down bumpin' uglies later on that night. :D
Nothing is sexier than being dictated by society on when to have sex.
Skate are listed on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch List as "AVOID"
"Skates have been severely overfished and most are caught with bottom trawls, which result in high levels of accidental catch and substantial damage to the seafloor."
Nothing says love like eating an overfished species.
I think I will skate right past this suggestion!
You know what's even sexier than chomping on skate? Cleaning skate. Nothing says lovin' like two inches of gooey sea slime.
skate wings are a bitch to make. but they are cheap!
I've always heard the rumour that eating a whole bunch of oysters is supposed to make one more romantically charged, any thing to that? I mean, even if it doesn't, dude, oysters are delicious!
Nothing says sexy like chomping on skate wings across a candlelit table. Yik.
"Meat is going to impair your friskiness?" Such nonsense.