How to wine and dine a loved one of Valentine’s Day
From preparing aphrodisiac entrees to get your partner in the mood to making memorable desserts that promise to warm hearts, here’s some expert advice on how to make a heart-y meal to remember.
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With this Friday being Valentine’s Day, we asked the experts for their ultimate tips to wining and dining a loved one.
From preparing aphrodisiac entrees to get your partner in the mood to making memorable desserts that promise to warm hearts, and even finding the perfect wine to ensure romance blossoms, a night of intimacy is destined to ensue with this culinary advice.
WHY COOK?
“I always think that the truest expression of love is to feed someone,” says Melbourne dessert king Darren Purchese, of Burch & Purchese.
“Sweets in particular are decadent, luxurious and a little bit naughty.”
Chef at SK Steak and Oyster in Brisbane, Kelvin Andrews, agrees and says starting with champagne and ending in chocolate is his go-to move.
“Cooking for a loved one is a kind gesture,” he says.
“It’s all about being together as a couple, being present and appreciating one another’s company.”
DON’T BE A HERO
Choosing what to cook is where many romantics often get overwhelmed, before deciding it’s all too hard and not to bother. But Andrews says you don’t need to be a masterchef and put on a multi-course feast to impress.
“Keep it simple,” he says. “Buy the best produce you can get your hands on and don’t mess it up.”
He suggests starting with oysters as they’re “always a romantic winner”.
“Shucking oysters is a great skill to have, however if you’re not confident, ask your local fishmonger to open them for you,” he says. “(It’s) best to pre-order and advise when you will collect to ensure they are the freshest possible.”
He likes to follow the oysters with “a nice piece of fish”, like coral trout, and says baking it in the oven is the easiest method for the home cook and almost foolproof.
Andrews says to take a 300g fillet of fish, place it in the centre of a large sheet of greaseproof paper, season with salt and pepper, add a good splash of olive oil and generous squeeze of lemon juice. Gather the edges of the paper to form a sealed bag and pop into an
oven preheated to 180C for 13 minutes.
“It makes its own beautiful sauce in the bag when it steams,” he says. “Just remove the fish from the bag and pour sauce over the top. Simple.”
Purchese also begs romantics to keep it simple and not over extend themselves.
“The more you have to do, the more (that) can go wrong, plus you want to spend precious time with your loved one, not slavingin the kitchen,” he says.
He recommends choosing something that can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the fridge, such as a simple chocolate mousse, layered in a glass with berries, crushed biscuit or meringue.
Cheese and charcuterie boards that require no actual cooking are also suggestions of Purchese and Andrews, with Andrews lovingthe Section 28 Mont Priscilla fromage from the Adelaide Hills.
“It’s a firm cheese with a creamy texture and it’s my favourite Australian cheese at the moment,” he says.
SEXY SUPPERS
If it’s a little time between the sheets you fancy this Valentine’s Day, cellar director at Cellarmasters, Christine Ricketts, recommends teaming one of the great aphrodisiacs, wine, with aphrodisiac foods, like asparagus, oysters, chilli, rocket saladand chocolate.
“Asparagus, maybe with a risotto, pairs well with a dry riesling from Eden or Clare Valley. Oysters go well with Champagne, and a spicy dish with chilli and the peppery flavours of rocket are balanced well by a dry rosé. For dessert, match chocolatewith tawny port,” Ricketts says.
DON’T BE SELFISH
While you want to eliminate the stress in the kitchen as much as possible by making simple dishes, Purchese says it’s also crucial to keep your partner in mind when menu planning.
“Don’t cook what you love to eat, cook what they love to eat,” he says. “If they love a lemon tart, then make that. Even if you are not totally comfortable, it still says that you are thoughtful and considerate.”
And when choosing wines to match, Ricketts says you can even use a little science to make the right selection.
“Studies suggest scents of lavender, caramel, butter and vanilla entice men, so if you’re trying to woo him, you can find lavender flavours in grenache, vanilla notes in GSM and vanilla and caramel aromas in tawny port,” she says.
“Women are said to prefer musky, licoricey, earthy and cherry smells, so impress her with a Tassie pinot noir with its characteristically delicate, earthy aromas or a montepulciano with dark, ripe cherry fruit flavours.”
SAY IT WITH CHAMPAGNE
Wine is great, but obviously the ultimate romantic drink has to be Champagne, right?
“It is more expensive than sparkling wine, but this is a special occasion that calls for a celebratory wine like champagne,” Ricketts says. “Champagne also pairs perfectly with oysters, a well-known aphrodisiac.
“As a bonus, some claim the scents of dry champagnes, particularly a blanc de blancs — that is a champagne made with onlychardonnay grapes — replicate the delicate aromas of female pheromones, so it can be an enticing scent.”
Her pick, though, is a rose champagne, suggesting the Moet & Chandon Brut Rosé NV ($76 a bottle at Cellarmasters).
“It is slightly more expensive than a standard NV champagne because it’s rarer and more difficult to produce,” she says.
However, if you’re on a budget, she instead suggests trying the Black Wattle Rosé Cuvée ($17.50 a bottle at Cellarmasters) — a pink sparkling wine with flavours of cherries and spice.
SWEET SUCCESS
When it comes to dessert, Valentine’s Day is not the time for trying that souffle you’ve always wanted to make, Purchese says.
“In reality, unless you’re a pro, you’ll be sweating whisking up those egg whites and stressing during cooking,” he says.
“Nothing ruins a romantic moment like a failed dessert so don’t try to be a hero in the kitchen.”
Instead, he suggests keeping it easy with chocolate, revealing his biggest Valentine’s Day sellers at B & P are his “Love Bites” with ruby chocolate, brownie pieces and raspberry in a ball, and his salted caramel “Love” chocolates.
“Anything chocolate and you are already onto a winner,” Purchese says. “It can be tricky to work with though if you’re notused to cooking, so keep it simple. Try melting a mix of some luscious dark and milk chocolate together in the microwave andserving it as a dip with beautiful seasonal berries, peach pieces or even mango chunks.”
PULLING OFF PERFECTION
So you’ve got the menu sorted, you know what wine you’re picking up from the bottle shop, and your masterchef ambitions have been tamed, so what else do you need to do to make sure cooking for your loved one is a hit?
“It’s the small touches that count: flowers on the table, polished glasses, a chocolate offered with after dinner coffee, oh, and taking care of clean up in a discreet manner are all ways of making your partner feel like they are the centre ofyour universe,” Purchese says.
While Ricketts advises to make sure your wine is at the right temperature.
“You should always chill your reds in Australia, especially in spring and summer,” she says.
“The ideal temperature to serve red wines is 15-18C, which is quite a bit cooler than the standard room temperature of 21C.”
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Ricketts says full-bodied wines like shiraz and cabernet sauvignon can benefit from 10-15 minutes in the fridge, while lightto medium-bodied reds such as pinot noir and sangiovese can be chilled for about 20 minutes before serving.
“We tend to over-chill our white wines, which can flatten some of the flavours — so pay attention to the variety before poppingit in the fridge,” she says.
“Most chardonnays should only be chilled for half an hour — if served too cold, the oak flavours tend to get amplified whilethe fruit flavours get dulled. Sauvignon blanc, semillon, pinot gris/grigio and verdelho should ideally spend an hour in thefridge, while riesling needs 1½ hours.”
As for champagne or sparkling wine, get that in the fridge at least two hours ahead of time.
“Opening a bottle of lukewarm bubbles can actually be dangerous because the pressure within a bottle is more likely to buildwhen warm, so the cork can explode and even cause injury. And that’s not the type of fireworks you want on Valentine’s Day,” Ricketts says.
Finally, while it should go without saying, she reminds us to never serve a bottle of wine that’s been open for days or weeks.
“You don’t have to be a wine expert to taste the oxidation in the wine,” she says.
STUFF IT, WE’LL GO OUT
If your culinary skills are simply not up to scratch and you decide to enjoy this Friday at a restaurant, Andrews offers the following advice: “Go to a restaurant that you know or love, avoid set menus, order straight away and don’t over order — keep it light and decadent,” he says. “(Also) don’t propose on Valentine’s day — too cliche.”
DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Recipe by Burch & Purchese owner Darren Purchese from his cookbook Lamingtons and Lemon Tart ($49.99, Hardie Grant)
INGREDIENTS
330ml cream
60ml milk
15g caster sugar
1 vanilla pods, seeds scraped
3 egg yolks
200g dark chocolate, chopped
1g gelatine gold leaves
METHOD
1. Boil 80ml of the cream with the milk, sugar and scraped vanilla pod seeds.
2. Whisk the remaining 250ml cream to soft peak.
3. Pour one third of the cream/milk mixture onto the egg yolks and whisk well together.
4. Pour this back into the pan with the remaining cream/milk and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon.
5. Place the pan back onto a low to medium heat and stir constantly while cooking the custard to 82C.
6. Strain the custard through a sieve onto the chocolate and add the soaked gelatine. Whisk well together to form a smoothandshiny chocolate cream.
7. Use a spatula to gently fold one third of the chocolate cream into the whipped cream and incorporate it well. Then transferall of this mix back into the bowl with the remaining whipped cream and mix well to obtain a smooth chocolate mousse mixture.
8. This mousse is ready to make your own romantic layered chocolate mousse dessert.
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