Treat Valentine’s Day Like a Dinner for Two
No one should go to a restaurant for Valentine’s Day dinner this year , but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with Styrofoam take-out clamshells or greasy pizza boxes. (Eating pizza straight out of the box is a trick, but not romance.) Whether you’re cooking or calling her on the phone, treating the evening like a dinner party for two will give you that special, thoughtful tone. …
Basically, if you choose to do this at a dinner party, you should skip it for the dinner you serve on February 14th. Dinner is all about impressing people with how mature and considerate you are, and that vibe should be extended to your Valentine, which is more than likely the person you’ve been with almost consistently for a whole year. Attention to detail can be the language of love and can make homemade food different , even if you haven’t left your home in over 11 months.
Set the table
If you have “good” meals, use them. If you have children, send them out for the evening so you don’t have to worry about them breaking pretty plates (ask them to watch a movie or go to bed early). However, don’t use dishes that are so good that they can’t be washed in the dishwasher, or dishes that are so good that you can’t wait to eat them. It should be fun, after all.
Once you have your plates selected, you can focus on the rest of the table. Rugs, napkins, and – yes, candles – all add to the smarter, smarter meals. I also recommend placing cards even if there are only two seats at the table. Write your valentine’s name on a cute little card, or better yet, a clementine (take one with leaves still attached if you can), place it in front of a chair and watch their faces light up with the delicious edible detail.
Warm up plates and cool glasses
If you’re going to work hard to make a beautiful medium-rare steak or mix perfectly chilled and watered-down martinis, you can also take the extra step of serving them in or on the bowl without negatively affecting their meals. temperature anyway. For plates to be garnished with hot dishes, simply place them in the low-temperature oven (lowest) on a baking sheet for a couple of minutes just before serving. (This is also a good brunch move – there is little that spoils a hot egg like a cold plate.)
If serving salad, place the salad plates in the refrigerator (20 minutes) with the freezer (if you’re in a hurry) to keep the greens cool and fresh. This may not be necessary depending on how warm you keep in the house, but it is helpful if your dishes are fresh and warm from the dishwasher.
If you will be serving cocktails, white wine, or even Diet Coke, put some fancy glasses in the freezer while you cook. This is an especially enjoyable – some might say “decisive” – move if you sip on martinis, which are best when they are icy.
Learn a few freaky coated tricks
I didn’t expect artful plating to be one of the things I missed during this pandemic, but it is – I miss the perfectly white plates with their negative space and neatly placed side dishes. People do eat primarily with their eyes , and while mashed potatoes may seem silly at the moment, on a plate it seems brooding. If you don’t like that amount of bourgeois decadence, at least top off the dish with a little lemon, a little good olive oil, or sprinkle with fresh herbs and a crispy crust .
Don’t forget the butter (and good salt)
A plentiful supply of room temperature butter is what sets my favorite bread restaurants apart from the rest. If the waiter brings me butter sprinkled with some kind of salt, I will take them overnight and follow them to hell, or at least to the more expensive pages of the wine list. It’s a powerful trick, that’s what I’m saying, and you can harness its power by adding good oil (which is different from your regular oil ), good salt (Maldon or something similar), and a pepper mill full of whole peppercorns. …
If your food or valentine requires any condiments, marinades, or gravy, be sure to prepare the whole thing before dinner is served so that no one has to leave the table, and clear the bottles and caps of those condiments before spilling them out. … You can also put them in cute little bowls with cute little serving spoons, but just empty the hot sauce bottle.
Discuss the division of labor in advance
If you are presenting food as a “gift,” then cleaning up the mess you make in the kitchen should be part of it. One of the best things about going out for Valentine’s Day is that you don’t have to clean up anything, so don’t impose unexpected jobs on your partner or spouse.
If you are eating together, split the work by February 14th. Decide who prepares the essentials, who prepares the dessert, and who is in charge of the drinks program, mood music, and cleaning ahead of time so you don’t fight on an evening that should be romantic. Do this even if you are taking out. Throwing a plastic take-out container in the dishwasher after dinner isn’t as difficult as rinsing grease from a cast iron skillet, but it’s still a request and you can ask for other after-dinner activities instead.