St. Valentine’s Day takes its name from a third-century Christian martyr. The day coincidentally fell during Lupercalia, an ancient Roman fertility festival celebrated on February 15th, which cupid was said to have arranged and of course attended. So the two became intertwined, and a valentine has since been regarded as one’s sweetheart.
Love can be defined as the most intense feeling one can have for another. This love feast for two is designed to enhance those feelings.
Love Knotted Salmon With Lovage Sauce
THE FIRST COURSE
The first course pairs the delicate flavor of salmon and the pleasant lemon celery appeal of the herb lovage. The braiding of the salmon symbolizes a knot tied in a pledge of love and constancy, while lovage was known to the Greeks as an aphrodisiac.
8 ounces - Salmon fillets, skinned, boned
1 - Lemon
2 tablespoons - Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup - Heavy cream
2 tablespoons - Lovage, minced
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Butterfly the salmon filet and cut it into six equal strips.
Place the braids on a baking sheet and season with the lemon and salt and pepper.
Bake the braids for 7-10 minutes.
While the salmon is cooking, reduce the heavy cream to half, and add the lovage.
Pool the sauce on two plates and place the salmon atop the sauce.
Garnish as desired.
Composed Salad Of Roses Hearts & Love Apples
THE SECOND COURSE
A love feast without roses, hearts, and love apples would be incomplete. Rose geranium leaves are used presuming no pesticides or fertilizers have been near the leaves. I’ve also used two different vegetable hearts implying two hearts are better than one. Love apple is a historic name for tomato.
6 - Artichoke hearts, halved
6 - Hearts of palm, sliced on the bias
1 - Green pepper, julienned
8 wedges - Tomatoes
Black olives, sliced as desired
1 ounce - Italian dressing
2 cups - Baby greens
½ cup - Rose geranium leaves
Marinate the hearts of palm and artichoke hearts, green peppers, tomato wedges, and black olives in the Italian dressing for three hours before serving.
Drain the dressing off of vegetables, and reserve liquid.
Divide the greens between two plates.
Arrange the marinated vegetables on the greens in an attractive manner.
Drizzle the desired amount of the reserved dressing on the greens.
Garnish the salad with rose geranium leaves.
Love Birds Of Chicken Breast Supreme With Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Sauce THE THIRD COURSE
Love birds earn their name from the affection shown to their mates. The chicken breasts interlocking on this entrée plate represent two lovers embracing arm in arm. Rosemary has always been associated with fidelity, so it has always been figured in weddings. It has been told that Anne of Cleves the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, wore a wreath of rosemary at her wedding. One of the universal claims for garlic is that it is one of the world’s most powerful aphrodisiacs. Thomas Nash wrote in his English novel Jack Wilton “Garlic makes a man wink, drink, and stink.”
4, 4 ounce - Chicken breast, boned supreme style
2 sprigs - Rosemary
¼ cup - Olive oil
4 cloves - Garlic, peeled, roasted
1 cup - Demi-glace
(A chicken breast supreme or also known as an airline chicken breast is a boneless chicken breast with the first wing bone attached. If you are unfamiliar with how to do it, ask your butcher to do it for you.)
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet.
Dip the sprigs of rosemary in the olive oil and baste both sides of the chicken breasts using the rosemary as your basting brush. Repeat the process four times throughout the cooking.
Cook the chicken for twenty minutes basting it every five minutes.
Place the garlic and the brown sauce on medium heat and simmer until the garlic flavor has infused into the sauce.
Ladle the sauce on the two plates. Place the breast on the sauce in the center of the plate with the bones interlocking.
Garnish with the rosemary basting brush and serve with desired starch and vegetable.
Cupids Chocolate Mousse With Honey & Mint
DESSERT
Cupid in Roman mythology is the god of love who arranges meetings between lovers. Little could top off a love feast or Cupid-arranged meeting better than the combination of chocolate, honey, and mint- three ingredients closely associated with romance.
In a Greek myth, Menthe was a beautiful daughter of a river god. Pluto saw her dabbling in a stream and became enamored. It is told that Persephone became jealous and promptly changed Menthe into a mint plant, to be trampled underfoot forever.
In ancient Egypt, marriage contracts stipulated that the groom supply a certain amount of honey per year for the bride. In ancient Hindu wedding ceremonies, the bride’s forehead, lips, eyelids, and earlobes were anointed with honey- stimulating erotic powers were attributed to the substance. And to this day in Morocco, the bridegroom retires alone to eat honey before moving to the nuptial couch.
Regarding chocolate, Madame de Pompadour used it in many of her aphrodisiac potions with which she tried to get some cooperation from King Louis XV.
For The Mousse:
6 ounces - Bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
½ cup - Milk
1/8 cup - Honey
2 - Eggs, separated
1/8 cup - Sugar
½ cup - Heavy cream
4 - Mint sprigs, rinsed
Combine chocolate and milk over warm moderate heat.
Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Remove from stove and beat in egg yolks and honey.
In a separate bowl beat egg whites until stiff.
Gradually beat in the sugar.
Whip the heavy cream to stiff.
Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg whites until well blended.
Fold in the whipped cream, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.
For The Mint Sauce:
1 cup - Half and half
¼ cup - Sugar
2 - Egg yolks
½ tablespoon - Vanilla
1 ounce - Crème de menthe
Combine the cream and half the sugar in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Blend the remaining sugar and egg yolks and combine until smooth.
Temper the egg mix with a little of the hot cream mixture.
Put all of the egg mix in the cream mix and cook until the sauce is smooth and coats the back of a spoon.
Strain the sauce into a clean container.
Flambe` the crème de menthe and add it to the cream mixture along with the vanilla.
Dessert Assembly:
Ladle the mint sauce into the bottom of two glasses.
Pipe the chocolate mousse from a pastry bag fitted with a star tip on top of the mint sauce.
Garnish with mint sprigs.
I hope this love feast helps you prepare for one of those encounters Cupid has in mind for you. So adorn your love locks, set your favorite table, and enjoy!