5 Tips for the perfect Valentine’s or Galentine’s night dinner
If you’re not a fan of going ‘out out’ for Valentines day, and prefer to celebrate with your partner or friends at home. Whilst I’m not a fan of these commercialised ‘hallmark’ celebrations days, the advice below works just as well for a special date night anytime of the year, not just February 14th.
However you choose to celebrate or not, I hope you find the tips useful.
1. Set the mood
A white tablecloth may not sound like much, but it’s a great way to elevate your boring kitchen table to something a little more special. Candles and tealights are another great way to set a romantic mood; try having one or two on the table, with some others dotted around the room.
Choose your music is an essential part of creating the right ambiance. If you have your own favourite tunes play them or find a great playlist on Spotify, Apple Music or even YouTube. If you’re celebrating with friends then get those party tunes going, no need to cry into your wine ‘Bridget Jones’ style.
2. Plan your menu
I would suggest keeping things simple, rather than getting stressed trying to recreate a gastronomic masterpiece you’ve never made before. No need to put that stress on yourself, it’s meant to be a way to enjoy time together after all.
Crostini and bruschetta are great options for starters and easy to put together. Here are a few ideas.
If you’re a meat eater then a well cooked steaked is hard to bet. I’m a fan of a tagliata served on rocket with tomatoes and a side of rosemary roasted potatoes or oven chips. (How to cook tagliata.)
If you’re a pasta lover and time doesn’t allow making your own filled pasta, then you can pre-order some really good quality homemade pasta from Pasta Evangelists or Lina Stores
3. Don’t forget desserts
It just wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without chocolate. As well as being a delicious way to end your meal, chocolate is widely considered to be a natural aphrodisiac. There’s something so romantic about sharing desserts with your loved one, so why not indulge in something a little bit extravagant and serve with two spoons? A rich and indulgent chocolate mousse or a chocolate brownie, or a classic Tiramisú. All 3 can be prepared the day before.
4. Fizz and wine
Bubbles are the ultimate celebratory drink, and the perfect way to toast to your love or to say cheers to your friends. There are plenty of affordable prosecco’s on the market, if you want to try something a little different look out for a Franciacorta which is made the same way as Champagne.
For the rest of the meal, you may wish to move on to a still wine; but which wine you choose will depend on your menu. If you’ve chosen to serve pasta as your main course, a dry white wine is the ideal accompaniment. However, if the central component to your main dish is beef, you should opt for a red wine to match those deeper flavours.
For those non drinkers, thankfully you can now find a good selection of 0% alcohol or fancy non alcoholic beverages in the drinks aisle of supermarkets. One of my go to is a ginger beer, or a Elderflower presse.
5. Prep and cook together
I know this might sound like a recipe for disaster but give it a try. If one of you is a more confident cook than the other, divide up the tasks. There’s always, prepping to do, washing and weighing ingredients, chopping or simply rummaging in the cupboard in search of the missing ingredient. Pour yourselves a drink and share the moment together. Just keep an eye on what’s cooking.
Most importantly enjoy what you’ve made together with love.
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