Pack a dessert picnic – secretly. Don’t forget to use an actual picnic basket because there’s something innately romantic about a picnic basket for two. Throw the picnic basket, a picnic blanket and some dessert wine in your trunk. Put a single long-stemmed red rose on top of the basket. REMEMBER: it’s a SECRET!
On Valentine’s Day, more so than any other meal, your date is probably expecting dessert, so you’re going to have to be unyieldingly firm in denying dessert at the restaurant, even if it causes a small fight. After dinner, drive to a pre-determined, romantic picnic location, without explaining to your date where or why you’re going (your date might think you’re crazy). Get out of the car, and without saying a word open your trunk, then wait for your date to see what’s inside. Do whatever comes naturally from there…
While Valentine’s Day is often spent with just you and your sweetheart, I know plenty of couples who get together and cook with other couples for Valentine’s Day. Guys, coordinate with each other and make a spectacular meal for your ladies, they’re sure to love it.
I’m a big fan of this date for any day of the year, but especially for a nice, low-budget Valentine’s Day. It’s really about spending time with each other, and being spontaneous. Depending on your skill level, you might have to first spend some time looking through cookbooks and magazines to get some ideas – but do that together. Go to the grocery store, see what ingredients you can get fresh and in season, buy ingredients that you both agree on, and go home to cook whatever ingredients you’ve managed to find. It’s a great way to spend time together, and at the end of the day, you’ll have achieved something together as you share in eating the fruits of your labor.
Whether you’re a farmers’ market regular, or you’ve never been, it’s always an adventure to see what local and seasonal ingredients are available. Talk to the farmers there and see what suggestions they have for using their ingredients – they’ve usually got some great ideas. Who knows, you might even find a new favorite vegetable, perhaps an aphrodisiac…
Growing together as a couple creates strong bonds, and the intimacy created within those bonds is sexy. Make a point of making a new recipe, trying a new cooking technique, or learning how to prepare a new ingredient neither of you have worked with before. As you grow in your culinary abilities, you will grow together as a couple.
This acronym couldn’t be more appropriate for Valentine’s Day. If you’re thinking about making a dish for your date that requires more steps to prepare than the combined number of steps for all the meals you’ve made in your life, stop and ask yourself if you’re following the rule given to me by my culinary skills instructor at the Culinary Institute of America: “Keep it simple, student.”
Better to have an edible meal, simple and well-cooked, than ending up at a restaurant being told by your date that it was a very sweet idea. The idea does count, but successfully executing the idea counts more.
Maybe you remembered that your date told you 6 months ago that she really wanted to try lobster sometime; maybe you put down a tablecloth, and set the table like a 5-star restaurant; maybe you put a rose at her place at the table; maybe you print up a menu and write a hand-written personal note about how much your date means to you on the back. The details count for more than you might think, and can be more important than how well you can cook.
If you’re worried about your abilities in the kitchen, you can score just as many points by being thoughtful, and paying attention to the little details that will really make it a night to remember.
www.therelationchef.com/picnic
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Karen Coghlan, Chef Dan Moody. Chef Dan Moody said: Today, like every Sat in AZ, you can check out the @OTFM … in 2 wks go to a farmers' mkt for Valentine's http://bit.ly/RCVALENTINE [...]
Thanks for these great tips! Keep ‘em coming!
My boyfriend and I cook together all the time, and I totally agree with #5. It’s so great to cook new things together.