"romance" news and stories

In a Valentine's Day survey from OpenTable.com, 66 percent of respondents say French and Italian are the two most romantic cuisines in the world.

There's no denying that dinner in a cozy bistro or a homey trattoria sets a certain mood, but my personal pick for most romantic cuisine might just have to be Moroccan - rich lamb dishes spiced with cinnamon, shared platters of fruit-and nut-studded couscous, desserts scented with rosewater and mint, slices of oranges splashed with perfume-y orange flower water, steaming hot tea from intricately carved silver pots. Especially if you get to lounge on embroidered cushions on the floor. But a big tray of sushi and other Japanese tidbits à deux would be a close second - a tangle of seaweed salad, a spill of jewel-like salmon roe, slippery mouthfuls of briney sea urchin. Of course, if you really want to seduce me, you'd fry me a chicken and bake a coconut cake!

What do you think is the most romantic cuisine?

In this week's Modern Love column in the New York Times, Suzanne Finnamore writes about how she and her husband fell in love - and out of love - over the course of many sumptuous homemade meals.

She seduces him by delivering tubs of her cabbage and rice soup with Gruyere croutons to his office. Even when she didn't have time to cook, would pass off fancy takeout as her own creations. He debones chickens for her, and brings her coffee and pastries in bed. Love. Sigh.

But before too long they're eating hurried family dinners, using bottle salad dressing (oh horrors!) and pre-cut chicken parts. By the end they're each eating Thai takeout alone over the computer and fighting over who gets to go to the store for more butter and who has to stay home with the baby. He whines about the ratio of vermouth to vodka in the martinis she still fixes for him. She stops buying his favorite cheese. Divorce. The End.

Ignoring the rather desperate-seeming act of bringing a new boyfriend soup at work, and the bald fakery of pretending you made the deli takeout, it's kind of a cute article. Kind of. I'm not quite sure if the author is trying to show that bad food helped end the relationship (surely even the most gourmet of busy new parents resort to quick frozen chicken dinners) or that bad food was simply a sign that neither of them cared anymore.

Have you ever gone over the top trying to seduce someone with your culinary skills? What kind of dishes did you make? Did you regret not being able to keep up the high level cookery after your relationship settled into a routine? Or do you and your significant other still enjoy osso bucco and chocolate-hazelnut tarts every Saturday night?

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. It's the holiday dedicated to love and all things romance. The stores are full of flowers, cards...and chocolate! While there is good chocolate to be had from the store, wouldn't it be nice to present your sweetie with something more from the heart, something homemade?

It's really not difficult. It takes a little time and a little bit of patience. It also takes some good quality chocolate and a candy mold. If you have these things, you too can make can make some home made chocolate treats for your special someone.

I am going to guide you through the process step by step. We'll talk about candy molds, chocolate qualities and how to temper it, as well as some fillings and some ways to finish the candies. It's a fun project and a nice thing to surprise your baby with. Click the hearts to keep reading in order to find out all about making your own confectionary masterpiece.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, my least favorite holiday (if you can call a day created by greeting card companies a "holiday"). And it's not just because I don't have a honey to share it with. I've always hated it.

But I do know that you're supposed to take a bath or a shower that day. Well, you should take a bath or shower every day, but on Valentine's Day in particular you don't want to smell. Don't take an ordinary bath though, take a chocolate bath. A hot springs spa/resort in Japan offers such a bath. The water in the tub is mixed with cacao and fragrance, then liquid chocolate is poured over the people in the tub.

But I'm confused by the picture. If this is for Valentine's Day, I assume it's for couples. What's with all the people in the tub? Is this the family version?

Related:

Yunessun Spa for food lovers

With only a few days left until Valentine's, we thought that it would be fun to take a look at the role that food can play in our relationships with a little series leading into February 14th. Only one day left in the countdown, now!

If you're looking for a recipe for romance, are you more likely to plan for dinner at home, or to make a reservation at your favorite romantic restaurant? There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. Eating at home will give you control over the food and the atmosphere, both of which can be tailored to your, or your significant other's, tastes. The drawbacks are that you have to do all of the prep work yourself, as well as the cleanup, and you're limited by what you have to work with, which could mean mismatched serving pieces and no espresso after dinner.

In a restaurant, you won't get the kind of privacy that you can enjoy at home and you are limited in your menu options - especially on Valentine's Day when many places offer prix fixe dinners. On the positive side, you are free to focus all of your attention on your dining partner, rather than on cooking and cleanup.

Restaurants are a done deal, but if you do decide to dine in, there are a couple of alternatives to you doing all the cooking and serving. For example, you could consider hiring a personal chef to work for the night, effectively bringing the restaurant home. Alternatively, you could cook with your partner, which will keep you together, engaged and making a very special meal.