No one You should go to a Valentine’s Day dinner restaurant this year, but that doesn’t mean you should resign yourself to eating polystyrene shells or greasy pizza boxes. (Eating pizza straight out of the box is a hack – just not a hack for romance.) Whether you’re setting the table or calling it, treating the evening like a party for two will ensure you have a special, attentive tone. .
Basically, if it’s a move you’re going out for dinner, you should take it out for the dinner you’re serving on February 14th. The party aims to impress people with how mature and caring you are, which is an atmosphere that should be extended to Valentine’s Day, who is – more than likely – the person you have been with almost a whole year. Attention to detail can be a language of love and can make a meal at home feel different, even if you haven’t left that house in over 11 months.
Set the Table
If you have “nice” food, use it. If you have children, drive them away for the evening so you don’t have to worry about them breaking the beautiful plates (ask them to watch a movie or put them to bed early). However, do not use plates that are so nice that you cannot put them in the dishwasher or plates that are so nice that you feel worried about eating them. After all, it should be fun.
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Once you have chosen your plates, you can focus on the rest of the meal. Setting up rugs, cloth napkins and – yes – candles are all things that make the table feel more intentional and attentive. I also recommend seat cards, even if there are only two seats at the table. Write your Valentine’s name on a cute greeting card or – better yet – on a clementine (get the type with leaves still attached if you can), place it in front of the chair and watch her face light up to the adorable, edible detail.
Heat the plates and cool your glasses
If you are going to go through cooking to cook a beautiful rare steak or to mix a perfectly chilled and diluted martini, you might as well take the extra step of serving them in or on a plate that will not adversely affect them. temperature in one way or another. Only for plates that will be prepared with hot food put them in a low temperature oven (the smallest will go) on a baking sheet for a few minutes just before serving. (This is also a good brunch move – few things destroy a hot egg like a cold plate.)
If you are serving a salad, put the salad plates in the fridge (for 20 minutes) from the freezer (if you are in a hurry) to keep your greens cool and clear. It may not be necessary, depending on how warm you keep your house, but it is useful if the plates are fresh and warm from the dishwasher.
If you are serving cocktails, white wine or even Diet Coke, put some fancy glasses in the freezer while you prepare the meal. This is a very pleasant move – some might say “crucial” – a move if you sip martinis, which are at their maximum when frozen.
Learn some fantastic plating tricks
I didn’t expect bold plating to be one of the things I missed during this pandemic, but it is – I miss the white plates with the negative space and the carefully placed gaskets. People really do eat with your eyes first And while sculpting the mashed potatoes may feel bad right now, it feels thoughtful on the plate. If you don’t feel comfortable with that amount of bourgeois decadence, at least finish your ship with a squeeze of lemon, a good drop of olive oil or sprinkle some fresh herbs and crispy stuff,.
Don’t forget the butter (and the beautiful salt)
A large amount of butter at room temperature is what separates my favorite restaurants that serve bread from the rest. If a waiter brings me butter that is covered with some kind of flake salt, I’m theirs for the night and I’ll follow them to hell, or at least the more expensive pages in the wine menu. It’s a strong move, it’s what I say and you can harness its power by establishing good butter (which is different from your daily butter), beautiful salt (Maldon or something similar) and a pepper mill full of whole peppercorns.
If your meal or valentine requires spices, pickles or sauce, be sure to set it all before the meal is served so that no one leaves the table, and clean bottles and lids of those spices before exposing them. You can also transfer them in nice bowls with small teaspoons, but cleaning the bottle with hot sauce should be enough.
Discuss the division of labor beforehand
If you present the table as a “gift”, then cleaning the dirt you make in the kitchen should be part of it. One of the best things about going out on Valentine’s Day is that you don’t have to clean anything, so don’t prevent an unexpected chore from your partner or wife.
If the meal is a combined effort, divide the workforce before February 14th. Decide who makes the main, who prepares the dessert and who takes care of the drink program, the mood music and the cleaning ahead of time so you don’t end up arguing on an evening that should be romantic. Do this even if you receive food. Throwing the plastic container in the dishwasher after dinner is not as great as cleaning the grease from a cast iron skillet, but it is still a request and you may want to ask for other activities after dinner.