Valentine's Menu

Please be Mine



Last year Valentine's Day was the big event on my About.com web site, Cooking for Two. The week before I had more hits than either the week before Thanksgiving or the week before Christmas. Not too surprising I suppose, even childless couples are more likely to spend those two holidays with family, but Valentine's Day is made for two. In the hope that this year will prove to be the same I've devoted a good deal of attention to it and I figured, while I was at it, that I'd provide a V'day menu here as well.

Because the Saint Valentine on whom the holiday is probably based (there were actually two or three Saint Valentines) was likely Turkish, I thought an Eastern Mediterranean menu would be appropriate, beginning with Fried Chick Peas.

Fried Chick Peas: I first had these in Italy and developed my recipe based on that experience, but chick peas are beloved throughout the eastern medierranean and I've since learned that similar recipes are popular in Turkey and Lebanon (and likely other areas). You can make these up in advance as they're good even a day later, but they're so quick and easy I prefer making them just before eating them. Note: They would be delicious with a dry sparkling wine.

Veal with Feta Cheese Sauce: I developed this recipe one night after cooking a cooking glass on Veal with Artichokes. I had a couple of veal scalopini left over but was out of marinated artichokes, so I tried making a feta cheese sauce. It was excellent, particularly served over pasta. This would be equally good made with chicken cutlets if you don't eat or can't find veal.

Glazed Carrots: Tese carrots are first steamed, and then glazed in butter, lemon juice, and mint. It's a very Mediterranean flavor combination and, you might consider adding a pinch of cumin or ground coriander to the pan. Besides, the bright orange carrots and green mint are gorgeous on a plate and you want to think about plating on special occasions.

Green Beans with Anchovies: This recipe is actually an adaptation of an Italian recipe for broccoli raab. But it works beautifully for green beans as well and because the umami in the anchovies enhances the other savory flavors on the plate as well as the beans they make a great general addition to the meal. And if beans don't appeal, the raab is really excellent and for that matter so is spinach.

Key Lime Mousse: This light, refreshing mousse would make an excellent ending to this meal. After the salt of the feta, and savor of the pancetta and anchovies a cool, refreshing, creamy mousse is hard to beat. If you can't find key limes, Persian limes also work. A tip on juicing key limes, cut them in half and then use a garlic press to squeeze out the juice.