Valentine’s Day: Cooking Together

Celebrate the most romantic of holidays by cooking a meal with your loved one. We’ve designed a menu the two of you can prepare together: One person roasts the gingered baby carrots, and the other whips up mashed potatoes enriched with sour cream. To prepare the main course, one of you sears the duck breasts while your partner makes a cherry-port sauce.

 

For the finale, indulge in rich, velvety chocolate pots de crème (these can be made a day or two in advance); our version gets a dash of spice from five pepper blend.

 

Beet, Fennel and Spinach Salad Choose any beets you like for this salad, but the deep red variety gives a subtle nod to Valentine’s Day.

Duck with Tart Cherry-Port Sauce Tart cherries deliciously complement the smoky flavor of duck breast and add fruity flavor notes to a port wine sauce. The sweet-tart flavor balance creates a lovely complexity to this dish.

Gingered Baby Carrots These baby carrots are seasoned with sweet and spicy crystallized ginger, then glazed in butter and honey for a mouthwatering side dish.

Golden Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Sour Cream Few dishes are as close to our hearts as creamy, comforting mashed potatoes. These are made more elegant with the mild, sweet flavor of sauteed leeks.

Five Pepper Chocolate Pots de Creme Chocolate is arguably the most romantic ingredient out there, and these rich, velvety custards taste perfectly indulgent. With a hint of spice from ground pepper, this is a recipe worthy of a special occasion.