Amy Reiley's Blog
February 10, 2016
Planning your Valentine's Day menu (advice for home cooks AND professional chefs)
As an authority on aphrodisiac foods, I'm asked the same question by both professional chefs and home cooks: what's the best thing to put on a Valentine's Day menu?
My advice is simple and perhaps a little surprising. First of all, I won't recommend any one dish or ingredient. The tastes of the individual diner are what need to be kept in mind. Oysters would always be on my romantic menu. They can be served simply on the half shell without the stress of cooking, their delicate, briny flavor and sensual textures can be a turn-on on their own. Best of all, they're a lean form of protein, perfect for giving the diner sustained energy for a long night of passion. (They're also a great source of zinc, which is essential for blood flow... if you get what I mean.) However, all too many diners have allergies and aversions to this sensual bivalve. So I always recommend, think of the diner first. If you're just planning a meal for two, think of ingredients that may have special meaning to you both. If you're planning a menu for many, try to offer a couple of options.
Do not weigh down your menu with heavy foods. What do most of us want to do after devouring a big steak? Take a giant nap. This is not the result we are working for on Valentine's Day. You want that satisfaction to occur in the bedroom, not at the dining table. Try to skip the beef, cream sauces and rich cocktails. Stick with seafood, pork, vegetarian dishes or, for something exotic, wild game. Champagne makes a great starter for the meal and end with coffee, an aphrodisiac that will give the diner a mood boost and burst of energy at just the right moment.
If you want to learn more about the world's most alluring aphrodisiac ingredients, check out the dictionary of aphrodisiac foods I created for EatSomethingSexy.com. If you want more recipe ideas, I recommend taking a look at my latest cookbook, Romancing the Stove.
My advice is simple and perhaps a little surprising. First of all, I won't recommend any one dish or ingredient. The tastes of the individual diner are what need to be kept in mind. Oysters would always be on my romantic menu. They can be served simply on the half shell without the stress of cooking, their delicate, briny flavor and sensual textures can be a turn-on on their own. Best of all, they're a lean form of protein, perfect for giving the diner sustained energy for a long night of passion. (They're also a great source of zinc, which is essential for blood flow... if you get what I mean.) However, all too many diners have allergies and aversions to this sensual bivalve. So I always recommend, think of the diner first. If you're just planning a meal for two, think of ingredients that may have special meaning to you both. If you're planning a menu for many, try to offer a couple of options.
Do not weigh down your menu with heavy foods. What do most of us want to do after devouring a big steak? Take a giant nap. This is not the result we are working for on Valentine's Day. You want that satisfaction to occur in the bedroom, not at the dining table. Try to skip the beef, cream sauces and rich cocktails. Stick with seafood, pork, vegetarian dishes or, for something exotic, wild game. Champagne makes a great starter for the meal and end with coffee, an aphrodisiac that will give the diner a mood boost and burst of energy at just the right moment.
If you want to learn more about the world's most alluring aphrodisiac ingredients, check out the dictionary of aphrodisiac foods I created for EatSomethingSexy.com. If you want more recipe ideas, I recommend taking a look at my latest cookbook, Romancing the Stove.
