The Ultimate Valentine: a Meal from the Heart

I received a request for a romatic dinner for two from a reader and developed the following menu.
There are two things to keep in mind:

1) plan and cook ahead of time if you can. Something that involves a lot of last minute primping will take you away from the main event, your Valentine.
2) Lay off heavy garlic, onions, or gas producing foods like beans, cabbage, broccoli. If you must (because onions and garlic are almost indispensable)
make sure to put after dinner mints on the table.

I often like to start with a salad because it's cool, light, teases the appetite rather than satisfies, and because it's a simple thing to have prepared in advance and toss at the last minute. Here's a killer recipe for fennel and clementine salad:

The Salad: Fennel and Clementines

3 T vinegar
6-8 T olive oil
salt and pepper
3 clementines
1 bulb fennel

In the same bowl in which you plan to serve the salad, make a simple vinaigrette, whisking one part vinegar to two parts oil, then salt and pepper to taste. Finally, zest and whisk in two of your clementines.

Cut the stalks off a bulb of fennel, reserving the fronds, and slice the bulb paper thin if you can. Lay the slices on the vinaigrette in the serving bowl.

Peel two or three clementines (tiny, succulent oranges usually sold in wooden crates at the store) and slice each into three parts, so that the slice, when lain flat, looks like a daisy. Keep these on a small plate and put the whole salad in the fridge until you're ready to toss the salad.

To serve, toss the fennel with the vinaigrette, then roughly chop the fronts and scatter. Finally, arrange the clemetine flowers around the salad bowl--the sharp, juicy orange against the pale mint green of the fennel is stunning.
The salad is so fresh, you could also serve it after the main course.

Main Course: Roast Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Fingerling Potatoes

Roast chicken, made at home, is always richer and more tender than you are likely to find in restaurants, and it's so easy and affordable that there's no reason not to make it a staple. Roast it on the bone (instead of buying skinless, boneless), and buy a whole or half chicken with thigh and breast meat, because it's not only cheaper and better tasting, but it forces the eater to pick it up with his fingers, work his mouth around the joints rooting around for last morsels. I think food tastes better when passed from hand to mouth.

4-6 pieces of chicken, bone in, dark and light meat
1 sack of cherry tomatoes
20 or so small fingerling potatoes
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup white wine or dry vermouth (optional)
1 handful parsley, chopped fine (for dusting at the last minute)
other herbs, like tarragon or thyme, work very well, too
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Before handling raw chicken, set everything out so you don't have to touch things with salmonella hands--have a big wad of paper towels handy for patting the chicken dry after washing. In a roasting pan or casserole dish, drizzle olive oil over the chicken and rub evenly. Wash hands, then salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Chop an onion into big wedges and toss with olive oil. Place the garlic cloves in their shells around the chicken. If you have room in the pan, put the tomatoes in, or just put a few in for flavor and roast the others in a separate pan. The potatoes get their own pan. Olive oil, salt and pepper them.

Put the whole lot in the oven for about 45 minutes, just enough time to have cocktails and chat before dinner. It is also a good idea to let the chicken sit for 10 minutes before serving. This allows it to cool to a palatable temperature and the juices to distribute themselves. Serve the chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes on a big plate and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with a light red wine or the white wine you used to cook the chicken.

Dessert
Simple is best--buy a pint of darkest chocolate and serve with tart fruit, like strawberries or rasberries, maybe a sprig of mint; pistachio ice cream with chopped pistachios on top; or just make strong coffee with butter cookies or biscotti on the side.

The most important element of dinner is YOU, so don't let yourself stress out--gaffes make a meal memorable. If it burns, scrape it off, if it's ruined, order take out. Be cheerful and generous, don't drink too much--but eat well.