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I think it was about five years ago that my husband and I stopped going out to dinner on Valentine's Day. I remember it pretty clearly. It was when we still lived in DC and we decided to try a new place in Georgetown. The meal, however, like many restaurant Valentine's Day meals turn out to be, was a bust.
It was a prix fixe meal, which automatically turns me off. This is not to be confused with a tasting menu, I should add. Tasting menus are meals planned from start to finish by the chef so that the meal is an experience. The courses are ordered in a way that's the most pleasing to the palette. Prix fixe meals, on the other hand, are the meal deals that you often get when it's a holiday and the restaurant will be serving a lot of people at once. And as described, this restaurant, which shall remain anonymous, served up mass amounts of cheap food to get you in and out as fast as possible. The fish was dry and the dessert tasteless. So in a nutshell you have my opinion on why it's never a good idea to go out to dinner when everyone else decides to go out as well.
This is precisely the reason why I like to cook at home. Why not consider having all your friends over, single or not, for V-day? You can most certainly come up with a better meal than you could get at any crowded restaurant. You can control your ingredients and use the best tasting seasonal foods and you can save some major cash. And here's how:
1. Start the meal off with a beautiful local salad.
If you're looking for an interesting way to put greens together, consider Emeril's "Green House" Greens with Local Prosciutto, Sheep's Milk Cheese and Pickled Mushrooms. This salad combines interesting local treats with innovative, yet simple cooking techniques like pickling mushrooms. The addition of eatable flowers make this a romantic and seductive way to start off the meal.
Cost: $26
2. A luscious ravioli is sure to please meat eaters and vegetarians alike.
The name of the dish says it all: Emeril's Constant Bliss Ravioli with Wild Mushrooms. I really like this dish for a number of reasons besides the fact that it's delicious. First of all, it can feed both a veg and a meat eater. And the dish still looks elegant because of the eclectic variety of mushrooms that are included. While making your own pasta may be a bit more trying, it really adds a special touch to the evening. It's also really inexpensive to make your own pasta.
Cost: $33
3. For dessert, indulge in Kelly Rossiter's Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel.
Kelly says to go with a lighter chocolate for the inside so as not to overpower the caramel flavor. And go with a darker chocolate for the coating. You can make these up to a week in advance, but don't leave it to the last minute, because they need to sit overnight.
Cost $40
Total: $99
