Loving Home

Valentine's Day is fast upon us, and if those all-important restaurant reservations aren't already made, alternative plans for romance are a must. Several places have takeout selections available, but those of us on the Chronicle Food staff are of the opinion that a delicious home-cooked meal can be the ultimate love offering. Food writers Claudia Alarcón, Barbara Chisholm, MM Pack, Kate Thornberry, Mick Vann, and I collaborated on the recipes for this romantic dinner, while Wes Marshall provided the expert wine pairings. Here's our Valentine to you. Make the most of it! – Virginia B. Wood

Appetizer

Quick Tuna and Oyster "Ceviche'

This seasoning blend is more a dressing that a true ceviche marinade, since both tuna and oysters can be eaten raw. If you like them chemically "cooked" more from the lime, increase the marinating time to two hours; you could even flash-blanch them very briefly in boiling salted water and then rapidly chill.

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons orange juice, preferably blood orange

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ oz. silver tequila

½ teaspoon finely minced garlic

2 tablespoons finely minced shallots

Pinch of sugar

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

6 oz. sushi-grade tuna, ½-inch cubes

12 each fresh oysters, small, Pacific Northwest (Olympia or Kumamoto) or Gulf

¼ cup diced jicama, 1/3-inch cubes

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 small poblano chile, roasted, peeled, cut into strips ¼-inch-by-2-inch strips

1 small ripe Hass avocado, seeded, ½-inch cubes

Mix the lime and orange juices, olive oil, tequila, garlic, shallots, sugar, salt, and pepper, and chill. Combine with the tuna and oysters and marinate 30 minutes, refrigerated. Drain and reserve the liquid mixture. Just before serving, carefully fold in the jicama, tomato, poblano, and avocado into the tuna and oyster mixture. Using some of the reserved liquid, lightly dress the top of the mixture. Serve immediately in a big martini glass or on a small plate.

Garnish with:

Cilantro leaves

Fine shreds of seeded dry ancho chile, or a hotter chile if desired

Flash-fried and drained yucca/cassava or plantain chips (cut with a mandolin) or red-colored shrimp crackers

Hearts cut from flat sections of red bell pepper, one-third of the interior flesh shaved off

– Mick Vann

Soup

Cream of Celery Root

Although available in most supermarkets, the knobby, gnarly celeriac (celery root) has never achieved wild popularity in the United States. It's common all over Europe, prized for its delicate celery flavor (without the bother of strings) and loaded with strengthening vitamins and minerals. This recipe, adapted from Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking, first published in England in 1960, is a lovely simple potage that will open your beloved's palate and heart. Can be made ahead and rewarmed. Recipe makes four servings: You'll have some left for the next day's lunch.

½-¾ pounds celery root, washed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch pieces

½ pound potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch pieces

1-2 cups milk

Salt and white pepper

1 tablespoon butter, preferably unsalted

Chopped celery leaves for garnish (optional)

Place the pieces of celery root and potato in a large pot filled with cold, salted water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook till vegetables are soft, 15-20 minutes. In a blender, puree the vegetables and a cup of the cooking liquid. Blend in enough milk to achieve the desired consistency and add salt and pepper to taste. Warm soup just before serving, swirl in the butter, and garnish with a sprinkle of celery leaves. – MM Pack

Salad

House Bibb With Raspberry Vinaigrette

In our mind, no meal fails to benefit with the addition of a salad, and most meals aren't even complete without one. Not as a flavorless wet stop between soup and entree, but as a crisp and tasty addition that foils the entrée. That's why we like our salad with our main course, not as a separate one. But, if you prefer your salad to fly solo, we'll allow it.

The salad we suggest for your Valentine's meal is a variation on the house salad we serve day in and day out to great acclaim. Here's what you'll need:

One head hydroponic Bibb lettuce (typically, we're Romaine or field greens kinda people, but Bibb seems more romantic, somehow, to us)

Handful toasted pecan pieces (if you're feeling more ambitious, you can candy the pecans; recipe below)

Handful Roquefort crumbles or blue cheese of your choice;

6 or so strawberries, sliced

Clean, spin dry, and tear lettuce. The beauty of hydroponic, besides its über freshness and delicate flavor, is that it grows in water, and therefore there's no dirt lurking among leaves. Place in large salad bowl and toss in other ingredients. Admire the beauty of the red berries against the pale-green backdrop with the white cheese providing accent. Toss with dressing.

We often pack our salads with a garlic wallop of Sisters Sass, but Valentine's calls for more restraint. May we suggest this slightly sweet but completely tasty dressing from Terry Conlan at Lake Austin Spa?:

Raspberry Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons raspberry vinegar

1½ teaspoons frozen raspberry juice concentrate or cranberry/raspberry concentrate (really!)

1½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk all together.

Candied Pecans

1 egg white

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Cup or so of pecans

Whisk first five ingredients together and add pecans. Toss well to coat. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and spread pecans in single layer. Bake in 275-degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring pecans every 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, and crumble mixture.

– Barbara Chisholm

Entrée

Cherry Pan-Roasted Duck Breasts

Duck breasts are perfect for a Valentine's dinner for two; ever so slightly exotic, they have an aura of romance. Divinely succulent and aromatic, yet quick and easy to prepare!

2 skin-on duck breasts

4 tablespoons cherry preserves

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons red wine

1 medium sweet potato

A few sprigs of cilantro

You will need two medium-sized frying pans. Preheat oven to 350. Using a sharp knife, score the duck skin (fat) with diagonal parallel slashes a half inch apart to make a diamond pattern, being careful not to pierce through to the flesh. Season with salt and pepper. Heat one of the skillets over medium heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down, reduce heat to low and slowly render the fat until only a thin crisp layer of skin remains (about 15 minutes). Lift the duck breasts out of the pan and place them in the other skillet, skin side up. Set aside briefly.

Slice the sweet potato into quarter-inch-thick discs. Raise the heat under the rendered fat in the first skillet. Arrange the sweet potato slices in the pan and fry until lightly browned; turn over and fry on the other side. As they near doneness, place the skillet containing the duck breasts into the oven and set the timer for five minutes (medium-rare) to 10 minutes (well-done) according to your preference.

When the sweet potato discs feel soft when you poke them with a fork, remove them from the oil and place them on your dinner plates. Pour off all but three tablespoons of the duck fat. Over medium heat, add the cherry preserves, honey, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and wine. Let it reduce a bit, it will bubble and froth. About this time, the timer will be going off. Take the duck out of the oven and place one breast on each plate with the potato. Pour the cherry glaze over each, and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves.

– Kate Thornberry

Side

Braised Spinach and Arugula

This is a very popular side dish at my house, because it is quick, easy, and delicious. This is the best time of the year to find fresh, locally grown greens, so take advantage. The spinach adds body and mildness, while the arugula – in addition to being an ancient aphrodisiac – will provide a touch of bitterness to balance the sweetness of the duck. However, you can use the combination of fresh greens of your choice.

½ lb. fresh spinach, well washed

½ lb. fresh arugula

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup water or broth

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot and add garlic, cooking over moderate heat and stirring until pale golden: about 30 seconds. Add greens and water and simmer, partially covering and stirring occasionally, until tender and bright green, about five to six minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

– Claudia Alarcón

Dessert

Chocolate Fondue

Fondue is experiencing a renaissance of late, and a warm pot of voluptuous melted chocolate is easy to make ahead of time and thoroughly seductive to share. Choose the best-quality chocolate and liqueur you can afford, according to your particular taste, and then let your imagination run wild when it comes to picking a few items for dipping: fresh berries; seedless grapes or Clementine segments; candied fruit peel, apricots, and orange slices; pretzels; shortbread cookies; graham crackers; freshly made marshmallows from Whole Foods; pound cake cubes; caramels; salty nut brittles; or popcorn.

8 oz. fine chocolate, chopped (bittersweet, milk, or white)

¾ cup heavy cream, scalded (for bittersweet or milk chocolate)

½ cup heavy cream, scalded (if using white chocolate)

4-6 tablespoons liqueur (Kahlua,Framboise,

Grand Marnier, etc.)

Put chopped chocolate in a nonreactive bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Set aside for three minutes and then whisk until smooth. Whisk in liqueur. Pour chocolate into fondue pot and keep warm over a the lowest possible flame if serving immediately. The ganache can be made ahead and reheated just in time for service over the very low flame of your fondue pot. Use picks or skewers to dip items in the warm chocolate and feed them to your sweet baboo. The Whole Foods specialty department has just the right small, inexpensive fondue set for enjoying this recipe with a candle for heat.

– Virginia B. Wood

Which Wines?

There is really only one wine to go with the Quick Tuna and Oyster "Ceviche." Once you've added the tequila, lime juice, and orange juice, you need the palate-cleansing abilities of Champagne. Plus, there's a reason people mix OJ and Champagne in mimosas: They go well together. Go for the Gruet Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine ($14), or, if you feel like splurging, the Austin Wine Merchant has some of my favorite bubbly, Bollinger, on sale for $40.

Again, the Champagne would do nicely with the Bibb Salad (Champagne goes with everything), but I'd be tempted to put an extra glass on the table along with a bottle of full-throttle zinfandel, say, Rosenblum's Rock Pile ($25) or St. Francis Old Vines ($14). The food and wine would fight a little, given the red berry character of the wine and the red berries in the salad, but it would be great fun to taste the quarrel and see which wins.

With Cream of Celery Root Soup, you could always follow up with the Champagne from the ceviche, but if you view Valentine's Day as a sensual time, go for a third wine, an Alsatian Gewurztraminer. With lovely aromas of roses and lychees, it will add interest to the subtle soup. Ask your salesperson for a bone-dry version. I'm partial to Hugel's ($17), but if you're up for spending some serious money, order a bottle of Domaine Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl ($75) and be prepared for sensory overload. Avoid American versions of Gewurztraminer for this recipe. Most are either too cloying or underpowered.

In fact, for this most sensual of holidays, I recommend getting a bottle of each – Champagne, Gewurztraminer – and zinfandel and allowing yourself the luxury of being able to taste different wines with each of the courses.

Both the Gewurztraminer and the zinfandel would lend a needed fruitiness to the bitter greens in the Braised Spinach and Arugula. Zinfandel also marries perfectly with garlic in the recipe.

Any of the three wines will match up nicely with the sweet richness of the Cherry Pan-Roasted Duck Breasts, but, given the dramatic use of cherry preserves and hoisin sauce, two very strong flavors, I'd go mostly for the zinfandel.

Finally, for the Chocolate Fondue dessert, all three wines make terrific matches. If I were dipping a strawberry or a Clementine, I'd drink a little Champagne, as in strawberries and Champagne or mimosas; with pound cake, I'd try the aromatic Gewurztraminer to give a floral aroma to enhance the cake; dipping a pretzel, I'd try the Zinfandel to bring out a piquant sour cherry flavor.

The point is, any of these wines would work. If you want to pick a single inexpensive wine, go for the Gruet. It will match everything. But it is Valentine's Day, after all. Splurge a little!

– Wes Marshall

Aphrodisiacs: A Guide

The first aphrodisiacs were chosen for their similarity or resemblance to seeds or genitalia, and, later on, the list grew to include foods that satisfied culinary gratification, or exhibited a libidinous chemical reaction in the body. Below are some of the many foods considered to stimulate the sexual senses.

– M.V.

Almond: A symbol of excitement and fertility throughout the ages. The aroma is thought to induce passion and sexual zeal in women. Marzipan (almond paste) molded into suggestive shapes for a special after-dinner treat, perhaps?

Avocado: The Aztecs called the avocado tree ahuacuatl, which translated means "testicle tree." The ancients thought the fruit hanging in pairs on the tree resembled the male's testicles, and the fruit has a sensual texture and high nutritive value.

Bananas: The banana flower and fruit each have a distinct phallic shape and a creamy, lush texture. A principal enzyme found within, bromelain, enhances male performance.

Celery: It is known to contain androsterone, a male hormone that stimulates sexual arousal in females. All other phallic vegetables like carrot, parsnip, fennel, garlic, and onion are reputed to be good for libido.

Chiles: With a roughly phallic shape, stimulating heat, and endorphin-producing capsaicin, the chili pepper can also create a sweaty sheen, while providing a blast of vitamins and nutrition.

Chocolate: Chocolate has chemicals thought to effect neurotransmitters in the brain and a substance related to caffeine called theobromine. Chocolate contains both a relaxing sedative, which lowers inhibitions, and a stimulant to increase activity and the desire for physical contact. It was actually banned from monasteries in the past.

Figs: An open fig is thought to resemble the female sex organs, is loaded with seeds, and was traditionally thought of as a sexual stimulant. Seasonal harvests were celebrated by ancient Greeks in frenzied copulation rituals!

Oysters: With a resistant shell, a very suggestive appearance, tantalizing scent, and luscious texture, oysters have long been considered an aphrodisiac (the Romans wrote of oysters inducing "wanton ways" in women in the second century).

Pine Nuts: From medieval times on, nuts, especially pine nuts, have been used as an aphrodisiac. They are rich in zinc, which is a key mineral necessary to maintain male potency, and one that stimulates the production of testosterone.