Valentine’s Day dinner at home should be a labor of love.
“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it … and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied … and it is all one.”
— M.F.K. Fisher, “The Art of Eating”
Cooking and feeding other people is an intimate act — for most, it’s a labor of love. Dinner at home for Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be labor intensive though, or all your love will be used up sweating over the stove. Let’s make it easy to nourish the people we care about most.
Celebrating at home is more special than eating out, in my opinion. In the restaurant industry, Valentine’s Day is often called “amateur night,” when people who don’t typically go out suddenly appear in droves. Instead, set your dining table, light some candles, fill the stemware and sit down together.
For my family of five, who range in age from 9 to 44 (sorry, honey), our Valentine’s dinner will be something I’d make any other weeknight, save the appetizer and dessert. But I might just set the table with a little more care, add some flowers and open an extra-good bottle of wine.
For starters, set out a simple platter of goat cheese with warm rosemary oil. The fragrant, herb-rich olive oil melts the cheese a little, and softens it. Serve with crackers, apple and pear slices. For dinner, something simple that doesn’t require too much clean up. My weeknight bolognese can be cooked on the stove top, in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. It’s loaded with vegetables, so all you need on the side is a big green salad. I serve it over gluten-free fusilli for my family and typically have mine over a plate of garlicky wilted greens.
For dessert? Gluten-free flourless chocolate cake, eaten while still slightly warm and gooey, is an indulgent treat.
Warm Chévre with Rosemary Oil
Serve this easy appetizer for special occasions or impromptu gatherings. Garnish with pomegranate seeds for a bright pop of color.
¼ cup good-quality extra-virgin
olive oil 3 sprigs fresh rosemary 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 ounces plain chèvre 2 teaspoons kosher or Maldon sea salt
Instructions: In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil and add the rosemary. Stir until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté, being careful not to brown the garlic, about 30 seconds. Set the rosemary oil aside to cool.
Place the chèvre on a small plate or platter. Drizzle the warm olive oil over the chèvre and place the herbs on the side as a garnish. Sprinkle with a little coarse salt. Serve with crackers, baguette slices and cut apple and pear.
Weeknight Bolognese Sauce
Serves 6 I typically serve this easy, vegetable-rich sauce over gluten-free fusilli. To make the recipe Whole 30 compliant, omit the Parmesan rind and make sure your crushed tomatoes have no added sugar. Serve over wilted greens, spiralized zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
2-3 tablespoons olive oil ½ yellow onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 yellow squash, chopped 1 zucchini, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 1 28-ounce can of organic crushed
tomatoes 2 pounds ground beef (I prefer grass-fed) 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1-inch piece of Parmesan rind
Instructions: In a large, high-sided sauté pan, warm half the olive oil and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and let simmer until warm.
Transfer the vegetable mixture to a food processor and purée well. Set aside.
In the same pan you used to sauté the vegetables, pour a drizzle of oil and allow it to heat up. Add the beef to the pan, breaking up with a wooden spoon, and sprinkle with salt. After the meat starts to brown, use a potato masher or pastry blender to break up the meat into smaller pieces.
After the beef loses it’s raw red color, add the vegetable mixture back to the pan. Stir to combine, tucking the Parmesan rind into the sauce.
Cover and simmer on low until ready to serve.
Gluten-free Flourless Chocolate Cake
Makes about 10 slices
Don’t be tempted to substitute unsweetened chocolate or milk chocolate in this recipe. Look for goodquality bittersweet chocolate (around 65 percent) such as Scharffen Berger, Guittard or Valhrona. 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
finely chopped ¾ cup unsalted butter, cubed 5 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 5 tablespoons coconut flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan.
Over low heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the chocolate and butter until smooth. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
Beat eggs and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed (or using a hand mixer on high speed) until well-blended and starting to thicken. Sift flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and fold in. Pour in the cooled chocolate mixture and fold in.
Fill the prepared pan with the chocolate cake batter and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out almost clean. Best served slightly warm and dusted with powdered sugar.
Marcia Smart is a food writer and cooking instructor in Houston. Follow her on Instagram: @smartinthekitchen. Her website is smartinthekitchen.com.