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Channel Your Inner Aphrodite This Valentine's Day

Create a memorable meal for your loved one this Valentine's Day using these suggestions, recipes and local ingredients.

As Valentine's Day approaches, aphrodisiacs come to mind. The word comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Aphrodisiacs are thought to stimulate and pique your love's interest and arouse them. The most common type of aphrodisiac is ingested: food, alcohol, love potions and medicines. The stores in Town and Country and Manchester have all of the ingredients and components to create a memorable Valentine's Day.

Feeding a loved one is instinctual. Food is an efficient method of communication and a great way to express emotions. Food allows you make a loved one feel content, cared for, desired and satiated. Movies have been made relaying this phenomenon: Like Water for Chocolate, Babette's Feast and to a certain extent Eat, Pray, Love, not to mention 9 1/2 Weeks. The wide theme being that food can express and communicate feelings between two people. All of these movies are available at the Blockbuster in Manchester, and would make great date movies for staying in.

This Valentine's Day, consider staying in from the cold and creating a luscious meal for that special person in your life while making your environment relaxing and welcoming. A meal is not just the food, it is an experience. Orchestrating a romantic environment can be a feast for the senses, including soft fabrics, the scent of fresh flowers, a colorful place setting or candlelight, as well as the sensations and flavors of the dinner you are preparing. 

To prepare for your evening, set the scene. A great place to start is Bed, Bath and Beyond in Manchester. Look for satiny or silky tablecloths, candles and heart-shaped ramekins for your dessert. If you prefer to save your pennies, use a white sheet to set the table and use tea lights instead. Use your imagination to create the mood you want.
 
To start, serve a glass of champagne or sparkling wine to break the ice.

There are many foods that are seen as aphrodisiacs. The first course, a salad, contains basil which is said to stimulate sex drive and assist in fertility, as well as having a general calming and relaxing effect on the body.

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Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Salad
 
Ingredients:
2 large tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thickness (In winter months, hot house or hydroponic tomatoes have a better flavor and texture.)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thickness
6-8 leaves fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

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  1. Arrange the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil alternating in a circle.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sliced warm French bread would be a great accompaniment to this salad. It is baked fresh at Walmart in Manchester and Whole Foods in Town and Country. For a tangy, almost spicy tomato, try Campari tomatoes, available at Schnucks in Town and Country and Manchester. Campari tomatoes are smaller, so you will have to improvise on the design of your plate.

The second course contains mustard, which is believed to boost desire and stimulate sexual glands. Asparagus is considered an aphrodisiac because of its shape. Its effectiveness is questionable, but it's a great finger food to feed your date.
 
Filet Mignon for Two, Mustard and Peppercorn Sauce
serve with steamed asparagus and baked potato

Ingredients:    
     1 teaspoon mustard seeds
     1 teaspoon black peppercorns
     1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
     1/4 cup dry Madeira wine
     2 tablespoons olive oil
     Two 8-ounce filet mignons
      
Method:

  1. Crush mustard seeds and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or briefly in a spice grinder.
  2. Whisk in mustard, Madeira wine and olive oil.
  3. Spread all over meat, cover and marinate at room temperature for one hour and a half.
  4. Preheat saute pan, add meat and cook about five minutes on each side until medium(135-145 degrees Fahrenheit), cook longer if medium-well or well is desired.

Serve with Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec, available at in Town and Country.
 
The dessert contains chocolate, almond liquor, and vanilla. The scent of almonds and vanilla are believed to increase lust and passion in women. The Aztecs believed chocolate invigorated men and made women less inhibited. Chocolate does boost seratonin levels, creating a sense of well being and feelings of love and passion. When chocolate is involved, there is really no way to go wrong.

Melt Your Heart Lava Cakes
Ingredients:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur (almond liquor)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2.  Butter two ramekins (approximately 6 ounces each).
  3. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave or a double boiler.
  4. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture.
  5. Whisk egg, yolk, vanilla and Amaretto liquor into chocolate mixture.
  6. Pour into ramekins. (Heart-shaped cups would make great Valentine's Day molds)
  7. Bake 13-15 minutes. The edges should be firm, but the center will be soft.
  8. Loosen the edges with a knife and invert onto dessert plates. Serve with vanilla ice cream for contrasting temperatures and textures, if desired.

We'd love to see photos of the dinner you prepare. If you have a favorite dish, we'd like to know about that too. E-mail your photos and ideas to Gabrielle.Biondo@Patch.com. Happy Valentine's Day!

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