iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app

Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors
Marcus Samuelsson

GET UPDATES FROM Marcus Samuelsson
 

The Perfect Valentine's Day Menu

Posted: 02/09/2012 11:49 am

Ah, Valentine's Day! Besides your anniversary, it's the single most romantic day of the year. Although I believe affection and romance should be shown all year around, it's always smart to have a good plan up your sleeve for Valentine's Day. While my wife Maya and I enjoy eating out at times and trying new restaurants, to me the ultimate romantic dinner is the home-cooked one. Cooking dinner for your beloved not only shows way more of an effort than making a reservation or picking up take out, it also gives you the perfect opportunity to show off your skills in the kitchen.

One great way to interact with your date is to prepare the dinner with them. Making meals from scratch is a great way to bond, and when the food is ready the meal will feel even more satisfying. Have fun and experiment with your meal; even if you cook their favorite meal, jazz it up with a new ingredient or an ethnic spice to really heat things up.

If you're looking for what to cook on that perfect Valentine's Day dinner, check out the gallery I put together with Food Republic below for the best V-Day menu items. These dishes are all foolproof ways straight into your lover's heart (through their stomach of course!)

Be sure to read up on more tips for the perfect Valentine's Day dinner from Food Republic. They have tips from how to eat on Valentine's Day to terrible ideas to avoid for Valentine's Day and even a primer on aphrodisiacs.

Valentine's Day Gift Guide For Your Food Freak

Terrible Ideas for Valentine's Day

Cooking for a Date

How to Eat and Drink on Valentine's Day

Mixing Food and Sex in the Bedroom

Do Aphrodisiacs Really Work?

Appetizer: Swiss Cheese Fondue
1  of  13
PLAY
FULLSCREEN
ZOOM
SHARE THIS SLIDE 
Although it may sound cliché to eat fondue on Valentine’s Day, this recipe will blow any cheesy idea you had for fondue out the window! So hit your local cheese shop hard and look for this variety of different cheeses to start heating up your night.

Recipe: Swiss Cheese Fondue
RATE IT!   |  
VOTE
CURRENT TOP 5 PICK YOUR OWN TOP 5
USERS WHO VOTED
NEW! CREATE YOUR OWN SLIDESHOW

 
 
 

Follow Marcus Samuelsson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarcusCooks

 
 
  • Comments
  • 16
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Mike009
10:03 AM on 02/12/2012
I wish an excellent Valentine's Day for all couples of all over the world.
photo
Joyce70
Verba volant, scripta manent
08:16 AM on 02/12/2012
Marcus ( what a lovely first name!),
You should have entitled your article: " Guys, here is The Perfect Valentine's Day Menu to cook for your lover".;-)) Isn't it ladies?
Well, if you have no talent to cook, here is a suggestion: take your lover to a nice restaurant, not necessarily expensive or famous. She will appreciate. And you will not be disappointed.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Blastrocat
Genetically mutated housecat
11:06 AM on 02/10/2012
If you are Marcus Samuelson the best meal is a home-cooked one... the rest of us should definitely eat out. But NEVER on Valentines day... what a fiasco.
09:13 AM on 02/10/2012
I can identify with all of the comments below for sure, and although I do enjoy cooking a meal with my honey sometimes, the dishes suggested here are really involved and look downright stressful to prepare... not at all romantic!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Payd Troll
keep your tea
08:08 AM on 02/10/2012
marcus i'm well into my 50's and thanks to you and some of the other chefs on television, i am finally trying to do some real cooking for the first time in my life. i actually enjoy it, so thank you.
07:17 AM on 02/10/2012
I used to enjoy cooking dinner for my ex. He would never muster up a greater compliment than "It's O.K." And I generally had to ask how was dinner to get that. And then he left me to clean up all the dishes alone.

Romance.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Cat Magic
08:12 AM on 02/10/2012
lol that is why he is an EX!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
conscioushope
"There is no darkness but ignorance." Shakespeare
03:09 PM on 02/10/2012
Lucky you! You are far better off without the chump!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
goodgravy
04:27 AM on 02/10/2012
i show my amazing cooking skills to my honey 7 nights a week. it's not sexy. it's not romantic. it's a lot of work. i sho as hell ain't cooking on VD.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
kevinbr38
Give Me A Pig Foot....
07:19 AM on 02/10/2012
I heard that!!
03:58 AM on 02/12/2012
I am sure the author of this "inspiring" article will cook with his sweetheart on VD....NOT.

he "probably" will show off and dine in the most fancy restaurant with his luve, and have a good laugh at us suckers cooking at home !
03:24 AM on 02/10/2012
Yeah, as soon as I get home from work, after picking up the kids, I'll clean up the kitchen from breakfast, take a shower, spruce myself up, oh then put the kids in the tub and tuck them in...then we can get all cozy and make some dinner....... SERIOUSLY?
I want to go out to a nice restaurant and have someone WAIT ON ME for a change.
Sorry, not going for the romantic din din we cook together.....as 'we' all know who will go to the store, buy the food, put it in the fridge, and clean up afterwards....in REAL life that is........
01:02 AM on 02/10/2012
aphrodisiacs, eh. isnt that food that gives you stiffy ? romantic...
04:55 PM on 02/09/2012
I meant duck breast...
04:54 PM on 02/09/2012
I made the sauce and served it with duch breast. It turned out amazing. Thank you for a really great recipe!