‘Brie’ mine
Valentine\\\\\\\'s Day at home can be just as romantic
While you can’t put a price on love, its cost can be a bit steeper this year.
To save a little dough, Greene County Career & Technology culinary arts instructor Dan Wagner suggested cooking something that “your spouse really likes” this Valentine’s Day.
In his case, that means a vodka pasta with clarified butter, a favorite of his wife’s.
Another choice she loves is filet mignon and lobster tail. That should also be a popular pick with men out gathering the ingredients for a Valentine’s Day dinner, Wagner said. Knowing those shoppers are coming, grocery stores will often give front-and-center placement to a precut filet mignon with a lobster tail for added convenience.
Appetizers could look like a nice wedge salad, or a stuffed mushroom with crab and lobster, Wagner said.
To further complement the meal, Wagner suggested finding the right table setting, and of course, flowers.
“You’re going to put those roses out … on the table (and) you’re going to look for that dessert with cupcakes or the chocolate-covered strawberries,” Wagner said.
A sample of what that dessert might look like comes from Mon Valley Career and Technology Center, where culinary arts instructor Julia Harhai’s students made two kinds of chocolate cupcakes with a ganache drizzle: one topped with chocolate-covered strawberries, and one with buckeyes.
“Even though it’s pretty simple stuff, it looks elegant, and would elevate somebody’s at-home Valentine’s Day dinner,” she said.
Total cooking time will vary depending on the cook’s skill level, but would probably take somewhere between half an hour to an hour, Harhai said.
For an appetizer, Harhai offered a grilled romaine salad with Parmesan cheese and ranch dressing.
“People don’t think that they can grill lettuce, but it’s actually very good,” she said.
Romaine works especially well, since it will still hold its shape even once it’s cut in half and placed on the grill.
People can also select a bottle from a local winery, Wagner said.
Along with supporting a local business, there’s an added benefit, Wagner said: If you describe your meal, they’ll recommend the best wine to pair with it.
It’s not just the cost that might make people skip a Valentine’s Day meal out this year, Wagner said: it falls on a Saturday, traditionally the busiest night of the week for restaurants.
If they decide they need to go out, he said, they can risk superstition and have their Valentine’s Day meal on Friday the 13th.
But it’d probably be safer — and ultimately more memorable — to stay home.