COOKING a Valentine's day dinner for your beloved is a nerve racking endeavour. Just consider the difficulties which lie in wait, just think what can go wrong.
For a start, you have not only got to cook a wonderful meal, but you have to get all of the peripheral, vital, details correct. You have got to get the scents and the sensuality just so. You have got, to get the right wines to match the food this is especially important and you have to choose the right music (don't overlook Sinatra's A Swinging Affair, here). You have to tread somewhat cautiously, lest the object of your attentions is leery of garlic, or tremulous of the exotic in food.
And, then, you have to cook a meal which is impressive, but which looks like you threw it together in a few minutes talented, capable, cool, moi? In any event, it has to be managed as effortlessly as possible, because you have got to get your big hair in place and iron your shirt and whatnot.
And you have to plan it carefully too much of a blow out dinner may leave you with little energy for .. . for whatever else you might have in mind.
And, of course, it has got to be some what voluptuous, a little decadent, and sexy. So what follows is a pretty perfect dinner for Valentine's Day.
WE begin with a starter which is The snappy, flavourful and exciting.
fact that you can eat it with your fingers gives us just the right sort of tactility for a em . .. hands on sort of evening, perhaps? It's a clever, easy idea from Alastair Little's book, Food of the Sun. The recipe has been adapted to make two portions.
Filo Wrapped Asparagus and Parma Ham
1 clove garlic, chopped
50g/2oz butter
6 asparagus spears
25g (1oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
8 slices of Parma ham
6 sheets filo pastry (10" by 9")
Lemon to serve
Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8. Infuse the garlic in melted butter for about 10 minutes over a low heat and then 10 minutes off the heat, then strain and discard the garlic.
Brush a sheet of filo with the melted butter. Fold over. Sprinkle the half sheet with some cheese. Place a slice of the ham on one end and top with the asparagus. Roll up. Brush the roll with butter. Then repeat to make six rolls.
Bake the rolls in the oven for ten minutes until golden. Serve at room temperature, each roll cut in half on the diagonal, and served overlapping in a ring, garnished with lemon.
THE inspiration for this dish of Braised Duck with Olives came from a number of sources. Duck stuffed with olives is a classic dish, but it needs too much attention for this dinner. The idea of braising the duck, which allows you to prepare it beforehand, came from Dany Meyer and Michael Romano's Union Square Cafe Cookbook. from which we have created our own version. This is a yummy dish of real soul food, and even if you can only get a standard frozen duck, it will still be a knockout. The recipe is better cooked the day before, it will make three generous portions two for the night and. if things don't work out, a consoling supper for one the night after.
Braised Duck with Olives
1 small duck, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and pepper
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 slice smoked streaky bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
200g/7oz carrots, chopped
1 anchovy fillet
I dessert spoon flour
Half cup red wine cup black olives Pinch cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Half can tinned tomatoes
Portion the duck, removing any extra pieces of fat and season all over with salt and pepper. Leave for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Heat a large stove proof casserole or saucepan over a medium heat. Brown the portions of duck (do not add any fat to the pan) in batches, resting the cooked duck in a colander over a bowl while you cook the rest. Drain off almost all the resulting fat from the pan an4, fry the, bacon until crispy in what remains.
Next add the onion and garlic, frying until translucent. Add the carrots and the anchovy, tossing in the fat, and then stir in the flour. Cook for a few moments, then add the wine, the olives and one cup of water. Stir well, return the duck to the pan, then add the bay leaf, thyme. cayenne. vinegar and tomatoes chopping the tomatoes up into the sauce and stir well.
Bring to the boil and cook, covered, for 45 minutes. Then take off the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the duck is fork tender.
Allow to cool and then skim off as much fat as you can (if you cook the duck the day before, allow the braise to go completely cold and it will be easy to remove all the fat from the surface). Remove the herb leaves and stalks and, adjust the seasoning.
Serve with rigatoni, cooked and tossed in grated Parmesan.
WELL, by this stage of the evening, we may as well put our cards on the table.
Dessert is going to be Passion Fruit Pie. If this don't work, nothing will, especially if served with a cold glass of Sauternes or a viscous Aussie Muscat.
It's a revision of the classic Florida Key Lime pie, by that most irrepressible cook Steve Raichlen, and comes his book The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook (Workman).
Passion Fruit Pie
For the passion fruit curd
Three quarter cup passion fruit juice
Three quarter cup sugar
8 egg yolks
Half cup unsalted butter, cut into half inch pieces For the Pie
One and a half cups digestive biscuits, processed to crumbs in a food processor
Half cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
Passion fruit curd
Meringue topping
4 egg whites
Half teaspoon cream of tartar
Two thirds cup sugar
Make the passion fruit curd place the passion fruit juice, sugar, eggs and butter in a heavy non reactive saucepan and whisk to mix. Place the pan over medium heat and, whisking steadily, cook the mixture until thick and smooth, three to four minutes. Do not let it boil or it will curdle. Transfer the curd to a jug and place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface to prevent a skin from forming while it cools. (The curd will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.)
To assemble the pie Preheat the oven to 4()()T. Combine the biscuit crumbs, melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Use this mixture to line the bottom and sides of an eight inch pie pan, pressing with the back of a spoon to make a compact crust. Bake the crust until lightly browned, for eight to 10 minutes.
When the crust has cooled, spoon in the curd, smoothing the top with a wet spoon. Turn the oven up to 450T. In a mixer beat the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks, starting at slow speed, gradually increasing to medium, then high. Add the sugar and continue beating until the whites are firm and shiny but not dry. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (if you don't have one of these you can spoon over the meringue). Pipe rosettes of meringue all over the top of the pie.
Bake the pie until the top is nicely browned. for two to four minutes. Do not leave the kitchen while the pie bakes meringue burns easily. (The consistency of the meringue should be nice and crisp on top and spongy and soft within.) Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving. You can prepare it in advance, but refrigerate if you plan to wait more than an hour, and let it come to room temperature before serving.