Planning a romantic valentines dinner

Planning a Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner

When was the last time you planned a romantic dinner together as a couple? With the holiday of love coming up shortly, a romantic dinner for this Valentine’s Day is a great way to enjoy your evening with your partner. When it comes to romance it is often the little gestures that create the best memories, and spending your evening wining and dining is a timeless Valentine’s Day tradition.

While cooking a meal for your partner can seem intimidating if you aren’t a well-practised chef, breaking down what you need to do into a few simple steps can help make sure your meal goes fantastically on the night.

Consider Your Partner’s Preferences

While a steak dinner is a classically romantic dish, if your partner has a favourite dish that they love, then learning to cook it for them can be a wonderful surprise. Whether they are enamoured with roast chicken or have a deep love for lamb cutlets, demonstrating that you have remembered their preferences and created something specifically for them can be a wonderfully romantic way to demonstrate your affection.

If you decide to serve a steak dinner you can add a bit of pizzazz to knock your partner’s socks off by creating a sauce for their steak. There are many to choose from, including blue cheese sauce, peppercorn sauce, chimichurri sauce - or a dip like aioli. If you aren’t sure which would be your partner’s favourite, asking family for their food preferences is a great way to get them involved. Often they will be delighted to give you a few cooking pointers that will set you on the right path to creating a delicious meal that your partner will love.

Keep it simple

Sometimes it is the simple pleasures that are the sweetest. When it comes to romance, especially on Valentine’s Day, it can be tempting to plan an elaborate celebration of your relationship. However, keeping things simple by taking the day off to spend together or having a romantic dinner together for two can display a greater depth of emotion. Finding time to spend together and enjoy each other’s company can be a way to deepen your relationship.

Finding a new recipe to try out on Valentine’s Day can be a good way to introduce something new to your repertoire, but if the dish is complicated it could end up more stressful than fun. Steak and wine are Valentine’s classics for a reason; steak and chips are delicious, simple to cook and easy to impress with.

Plan ahead

If you are planning to cook a special Valentine’s meal, then the chances are you are considering cooking a steak meal. A steak dinner is a wonderful meal to work with, as the combination of chips, salads and steak is not too complicated to prepare and tastes fantastic. Finding a recipe to follow a few days ahead of the event (when at a loss ask friends and family for tips) means you will be able to head out to your local grocers and butchers to pick up your ingredients.

Here are some cuts of steak to consider for your romantic evening:

• Hanger Steak – This steak is a cut taken from the lower belly of the animal, with a rich taste and tender meat when cooked correctly. Cut from the part of the meat that ‘hangs’ down from the belly, this steak is pack full of flavour with little muscle due to its position on the cow.
• Ribeye – The ribeye cut is taken from just above the ribs; as this part of the animal does little work this cut is very tender while still having a rich taste. This cut has streaks of fat that make their way through the meat which make this steak fantastically juicy when cooked. This steak is often easier to cook as the fat prevents the meat from cooking through quickly, so if you haven’t cooked many steaks before this may be a good one to try.
• Sirloin – The sirloin is a cut which is more affordable to most people buying for an ordinary dinner during the week. While this cut doesn’t have very much fat it does have a pleasant savoury flavour that stands up well on its own.
• T-bone - These steaks are often a favourite for those who are steak enthusiasts, as it contains both parts of the strip and tenderloin. These steaks are sold on the bone, which acts to deepen the flavour when cooked. These are a lot of fun to cook with, and the two different cuts of meat make the flavours of the finished product very interesting.
• Rump – The rump cut comes from the hindquarters of the cow. This cut is not a tender one as it is a part of the muscle that is used often, but it makes up for this with a very rich flavour. This steak does well when paired with a strong marinade, as the cut has a strong flavour that won’t be overpowered by the taste of the marinade.

Pitfalls to Avoid

While your Valentine’s Day meal will for the most part be a reflection of your tastes and preferences as a couple, there are a few tips on things to avoid when you want things to go smoothly.

• If you are intending to ramp up the charm during your dinner, then it can be best to avoid foods that are messy - like tomato sauce or anything with beetroots in. There’s nothing like a nice white shirt with a stain to bring down the romance!
• If you are considering serving a curry, or a side dish containing chilli, it may be worth asking your partner what their spice tolerance is. If you haven’t eaten spicy food together before, you may find them unable to eat what you have cooked.
• Anything with too much of a smell, such as garlic, blue cheese - or even durian fruit if you are an adventurous eater - should be crossed off the list. While garlic bread is delicious, strong smells are not a great way to help create a romantic mood.

If you are planning a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner for you and your partner, then contact us here at Ian Chatfield Butchers & Deli to discuss what we have available for you.  Our butchers have a lot of experience, and will be able to help you find the perfect cut for you.

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