"romantic" news and stories

What type of meal do you have in mind for Valentine's Day? A) A casual but intimate dinner, B) A picnic in the park, C) Breakfast in bed, or D), A pull-out-all-the-stops roses and candlelit romantic dinner. How would you describe your culinary skills? A) I use my oven for storage, B) I'm no Thomas Keller but I know the basics, or C), Looks out, Mario Batali - I can slice, saute and flambe like a pro!

Answer these and four other quick questions, and Epicurious will provide you with your very own romantic menu, perfect for Valentine's Day or any other time you want to use the quickest route to someone's heart.

According to the quiz, I should be making a "Spicy Seafood Supper" this Valentine's Day - Lobster salad with spicy lemon dressing, red snapper with spicy soy glaze on sauteed vegetables and sweet potatoes, and warm chocolate raspberry pudding cake. I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't turn up his nose at that.

Source

Though it looks like a bucket (ok - the bottom is a bucket), this setup from Eva Solo is a miniature tabletop grill that is styled after the much larger barrel-type hibachi grills. The handle on the base makes it easy to carry around, so it is entirely portable, and the teak base protects your outdoor furniture from the heat. Inside, there is an easy to clean removable compartment to hold charcoal. This little grill would make a romantic and intimate dinner for two barbecue lovers on a hot summer night. Granted, the power of a full-sized grill is hard to resist, but so is the appeal of grilling while sitting side-by-side.

 

 

Source

Diet is a word that you don't really want to hear on Valentine's Day, especially since the word you probably want to hear is chocolate. Unfortunately, millions of people are either actively dieting or simply watching their weight - and they neither want to eat all those extra calories and fat grams at a meal, nor do they want to refuse them. After all, they've only lost weight, not their taste buds. Dieters have learned how to cope at restaurants, but if you are inclined to cook for your sweetheart, you will have to customize your dinner menu to their requirements. Fortunately, this isn't as difficult as it seems. Try one of these menus for your special evening, one lower in fat and one lower in carbs. Both include an appetizer, side dish, a main course and a dessert, all of which should go over in a big way with your Valentine - without making them any bigger.

Because frosting cookies, even for a special occasion like Valentine's Day, sometimes to require more of a time commitment than we are able to make, it is nice to have a simple decorating stick up your sleeve. Or in this case, in your kitchen drawer. All you need to make these heartbreakers is a heart shaped cookie cutter and a knife. After punching out the heart shape, simply use a small, sharp knife to cut a zig zag line into the cookie. Pull the edges slightly apart so the line doesn't seal itself up during baking. You can roll them in sugar, as I did here, or simple leave them plain.

I picked out a package of pork chops for dinner tonight, and I was walking home from Trader Joe's, I got to thinking: are pork chops romantic?

I'm making a nice meal for my husband and I to eat after the boys go to sleep, so it will be just a touch romantic. And I like to think of pork chops as in this photo from the Saveur recipe I'll be following: entwined, bone-to-bone, in the carnivorous equivalent to entwining your arms when you perform the all-time most cheesy possible champagne toast.

But pork, it's pig, and pigs - they're not so romantic. But then, neither are cows, or strange-looking red shellfish with pointy claws. Can a hunk of meat be romantic? And if so, which one is worthiest of your special ménage à deux?