Thoughts on Valentine’s Day, from a home cook foodie.

Tradition dictates that you take your significant other to a fancy restaurant on Valentine’s Day, but I’m here to point out the flaws in this notion. First, ask yourself this, is it romantic to say “I love you so much that’d pay a lot of money for you.” If you’re smart, you’ll realize that you’d NEVER say that out loud, unless you’re into “renting” girlfriends. So what does say love? I think cooking a dinner for a loved one says so much more. It says you’re willing to do something you don’t do often or something outside of your comfort zone or even that you’re willing to learn how to do something for them, or best yet, it says all of the above.
I think there are three distinct approaches to making a dinner for someone. First approach is figure out what their favorite food or ingredients are and make a meal based on that. Second approach is to stay in your safety zone and make something you’re good at. You have to be careful with this approach, since your tastes may not match theirs and the whole point of cooking for someone is to make it about them. Third approach is to make something fancy that has a high level of difficulty and/or has expensive ingredients.
If you’re going to take the bait, think through what you’re going to do. I suggest making three things; an appetizer or salad, a main course and a dessert. If you don’t have great kitchen skills, stick with the salad and make something simple like cookies for dessert. The great thing about salads and cookies is that they can be made way in advance and free you up to concentrate on the main course. I have a very bad habit of overdoing anything I do and I ask anyone out there to heed my warning, keep it within your abilities; a main course should basically be two items or even one if you do a pasta type meal.
It may be too late for you this year, but keep this notion in mind for birthdays, sweetest day, Valentine’s Day and anniversaries. A few other subtle touches can go a long way during your romantic dinner. Turn off the Olympics or the NBA All-star game and turn on some quiet music, jazz or classical gives you the most romantic bang for your buck. Dim the lights if you can and use candles. Enjoy.