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To me, Valentine's Day food traditionally means one
of two things: 1) a nice, bloody steak; or 2) Half-priced
Valentine chocolates and junk food shared with cheerfully
bitter girlfriends. (See our upcoming Anti-Valentine's
menu for more on option #2.)
This year, I'm skipping both the post-beef depression
and the store-bought crap in favor of a Valentine's
Day feast that won't make us both pass out in a food
coma after dessert. After all, Valentine's Day is a
time for officially mandated nookie, so you don't want
to be too full to get some.
This simple but sumptuous menu features a shared lobster
tail and a creamy crab gratin, flanked with a fresh,
light appetizer and a surprisingly easy, airy dessert--with
no starchy sides to fill you up. If you and/or your
partner have small appetites, either skip one of the
entrees or halve the crab recipe and share one gratin
as well as the lobster tail.
-Nikol
Lohr
MENU
Tomato-Mozzarella
Skewers
Crab Gratin
with Toast
Lobster
Tail for Two
Chocolate
Landslide Soufflés
Coffee
TIMELINE
Up to 2 days ahead (or
early in the day)
marinate mozzarella
Up to 1 day ahead (or
an hour or so before meal)
prep vegetables for gratin; refrigerate
make buttered crumbs for gratin
3 hours ahead
assemble tomato-mozzarella skewers
set table
thaw lobster tail if necessary
make crab gratins (minus the topping); refrigerate
place lobster tail in pot with wine, butter, and dill
preheat oven
place butter in a little oven-safe bowl
Enjoy your appetizer and some wine
with your partner. Thirty minutes before dinnertime...
30 minutes ahead
put lobster pot and butter in oven
prep soufflés while lobster cooks
The prepped soufflés will
hold for up to an hour and a half at room temperature.
They should be served immediately, so don't bake until
after dinner.
20 minutes ahead
top gratins and add to oven
10 minutes ahead:
remove lobster tail from oven; keep covered
preheat broiler
5 minutes ahead:
run gratin under broiler for about 2 minutes
snip off underside of lobster shell; slice lobster
toast bread
After dinner:
make coffee
bake soufflés
While soufflés
bake:
make chocolate sauce
set out cream and sugar for coffee
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