Love is everywhere today - the flowers, the wine, the chocolates, the dainty, thoughtful presents. You have them all in hand, no doubt.
Now, you will proceed with your loved one to the most expensive restaurant you can find. But really, is that the best you can do?
Couldn't you supply the nourishment for your passion yourself? And wouldn't it be best to do this in the privacy of your own home? Here, therefore, is a three-course dinner for two. It can be easily sourced and made today. You can make the ice-cream early, and make the chicken in the afternoon. Then, before dinner, prepare the scallops, make the straw cake, chill the wine and put on the romantic music.
Scallop seviche
Seviche is a classic starter, full of the citrussy sharpness and shellfishy sweetness we want to kick-start the evening. This simple recipe comes from Nathalie Hambro's Particular Delights. As with all the recipes that follow, the volumes here can be cut in half without difficulty, but this is the original recipe. Make sure the scallops are very fresh, and if you are very expert you can cut them into thin rings, rather than cubes. You must make this in the afternoon, as it is the action of the lime juice on the scallops which "cooks" the shellfish, and this takes time.
About 500g (1lb) scallops, without corals 6 limes or 4 lemons
150ml (quarter pint) fruity olive oil
3 blades giant chives or 2-3 spring onions
10 green peppercorns
Maldon sea salt crystals
Freshly ground black pepper
Rinse the scallops, removing the gritty stomach pouch. Drain, pat dry and cut cube-size with a very sharp knife. Squeeze the juice from the limes or lemons, cover the scallops with it and refrigerate for four hours or so. Drain well. Combine the oil, chopped chives or spring onions (reserving some of the green) and green peppercorns, and pour over the shellfish pieces. Season to taste, tossing lightly. Garnish by snipping over the reserved chives or green part of the spring onion.
Chicken in wine vinegar
This is a French bistro classic, featuring in countless of cookery books, and this base instruction is from Patricia Wells's Bistro Cooking. Half a bird is enough for two.
Use very good quality wine vinegar, and shield the impact with a lid as you pour. If you don't, you risk inflaming your nostrils somewhat, and on this day of all days you do want to be inflamed, but not by vinegar. Make this early.
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
60g (2oz) unsalted butter
1 chicken, cut into eight serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup best-quality red wine vinegar
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
In a deep-sided non-reactive, 12-inch (30cm) skillet, heat the oil with one tablespoon of the butter over high heat. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. When the fats are hot but not smoking, add some of the chicken and brown on one side until the skin turns an even, golden brown, about five minutes.
Regulate the heat to avoid scorching the skin. Turn the pieces and brown them on the other side, for an additional five minutes. Do not crowd the pan.
Cook the remaining chicken pieces in the same manner.
When all the chicken has been browned, remove it from the skillet and pour out the cooking fat. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the vinegar very slowly. (If the pan is hot, and you add it too rapidly, the fumes will chase you out the kitchen!) Over medium-high heat, reduce the vinegar roughly by half, turning the chicken from time to time to coat it with the vinegar, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Cover and simmer gently over medium-low heat until all the juices mingle nicely and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 more minutes.
(The chicken can and should be prepared ahead of time up to this point).
To prepare the chicken for serving, remove it from the sauce and place it on a warm serving platter. Cover and keep warm. Remove the warmed sauce from the heat and whisk in the remaining three tablespoons of butter. Adjust the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the chicken; sprinkle on the parsley. Serve, accompanied by a cheesy potato gratin.
Parsnip and potato straw cake
This is a more elegant accompaniment to the chicken than either a puree, and a lighter partner than a gratin. The "straw" of ingredients from a processor is more uniform, which aids the cooking.
4 small potatoes
4 small parsnips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Peel the potatoes and the parsnips, cutting out woody centres from the latter as they destroy the texture of the cake. Using the grating blade of a food processor, pass the potatoes and parsnips through, intermixing the two. Empty the contents into a tea towel, then bundle the towel up and squeeze out any excess moisture. Untie the towel, run your hands through the vegetables to separate them somewhat, and season with sea salt and ground pepper. Heat one tablespoon of butter and half a tablespoon of olive oil in an eight-inch frying pan, and when the butter begins to sizzle, gently pack in the contents. They should come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Drizzle half a tablespoon of the oil around the edges of the cake, and cook for five minutes over a medium heat.
Give the cake a shake so that it is not stuck to the bottom of the pan, then place a flat plate over the top of the pan and, using two hands, flip the pan over so that the cake falls out. The top of the cake should have the julienne of vegetables neatly crisped and colourful. Put the pan back on the heat, swirl around half a tablespoon of the oil, and gently slide the cake bake in, uncooked side to the heat. Form it into a neat cake shape, drizzle the last of the oil around the edges, cook for three minutes, then place the pan in a medium oven - about 180c - for about 10 minutes, when you should check it. It should be slightly puffy and risen. This is the best time to eat it.
Malted ice-cream okay
This stupendous, sexy icecream from The Conran Cookbook and quantities divide in half perfectly. Don't crush the Maltesers too much.
300 ml (half pint) double cream
300 ml (half pint) milk
6 free-range egg yolks
85g (3oz) malted milk powder
225g (8oz) good-quality milk chocolate, broken into pieces, at room temperature
20 Maltesers, coarsely crushed
Heat the cream and milk in a heavy-based saucepan until bubbles appear around the edge. Beat the egg yolks with the malted milk powder. Add to the hot cream and mix. Cook very gently, stirring constantly, until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted. Cool completely.
Pour into an ice-cream maker and freeze until softly set. Or freeze the mixture in a plastic container until half-set, then place in a food processor and whizz for one minute.
Tip the ice-cream into a chilled bowl and fold in the crushed Maltesers. Spoon into a plastic container and freeze until needed. Transfer the ice-cream to the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.