Cooking for Two on Valentine's Day

There are many holidays that are meant to be a celebration of family, friends, and memories. Valentine's day is a holiday that is meant to be a celebration of love. While that love can relate to family and friends it is quite often interpreted as a celebration of romantic love. While it would be nice if we could all go out and enjoy dinner together each Valentine's Day at our favorite restaurant that is not always even a remote possibility. After all, someone has to prepare and serve the foods, put on the productions we see, and drive us to and from those locations or any number of other important features. There is also, of course, the little matter of the fact that for many of us, Valentine's Day falls exactly one day prior to payday.

Don't despair however cooking for two can be done and can be a lot of fun if you pour your heart and soul into the meal planning and preparations. It is even more fun if you do it together. I am talking about the cooking and subsequent clean up. Great Valentine's Day favorites include dishes that we don't eat every day such as steak and lobster, streak and shrimp, well steak and pretty much anything but also include foods that are believed to be aphrodisiacs such as oysters, truffles, chocolate (ever wonder why the stores fill with boxes of chocolate around Valentine's Day?), and asparagus.

If this isn't your style or you just want a nice romantic dinner you might want to brush up on your seafood recipes such as shrimp scampi, roasted salmon, lasagna, chicken alfredo, and countless other favorites that you and the love of your life may share. If nothing else seems appealing go through his personal list of favorites and cook something that is a personal favorite for him. Even if it's chicken and dumplings he'll appreciate the effort and that you put his favorite on the table. It's almost always the thought that counts and he or she will appreciate the thought.

Dessert is also very important when it comes to preparing the perfect Valentine's Day feast. While you do not want anything so heavy that you can't move afterwards (you'll definitely want to be able to move) a light dessert of chocolate soufflé, or cheesecake is an excellent ending to a beautiful meal. Be prepared to do a little moving around afterwards rather swinging on the front porch or dancing in the den to get the blood flowing and work off those extra calories. Of course both of these things can be a great prelude to other romantic activities that work off some serious calories.

In addition to cooking your favorite meal for two for your Valentine's Day celebration of love you will also want to set the mood for the evening with a nice setting. Get out the formal table clothe, the good China, the formal silver, and light a few candles in the room. Have champagne on ice and some romantic music playing in the CD player. If you have a fireplace be sure to light a fire so that there is a warm glow in the room. You want your dinner to be an event rather than just another meal in the life.

Perhaps the most important thing about making your Valentine's Day cooking worthy of a romantic event is to send the little ones off to a sitter or home with the grandparents for an evening. There is little to make the preparation and enjoyment of a meal much more enjoyable than being able to do both without constant interruptions from those children you adore. It is good to have time alone and important for sanity and for relationship building with the person you are supposed to be sharing your life with. One night out of the year certainly isn't a bad idea when it comes to building a better romantic life with your mate.

Author: [ c o o k i n g . z z l . o r g ]

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