Food and Love

Area chefs talk about the elements that go into a romantic dining experience.

By: Jillian Kalonick
   Valentine’s Day without oysters, champagne and chocolate is like Thanksgiving without the turkey, or Christmas without the goose. Those who wish to wine and dine their significant other seek a special place, and area chefs are selecting the appropriate ingredients for their Valentine’s Day menus with quintessential in-the-mood foods.

Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Above, Chef Greg Smith of Lahiere’s in Princeton with champagne and Maine "day boat" scallops, a featured appetizer from the Valentine’s Day menu.

   Chef Greg Smith of Lahiere’s in Princeton is counting on just-plucked "day boat" scallops from Maine — divers choose only the fattest mollusks. Served with pickled cabbage in a sweet-and-sour smoked lime sauce, the dish will prepare the palate for typical Valentine’s Day entrées, including rack of lamb and lobster.
   Mr. Smith adheres to tradition by offering an appetizer of oysters, the classic aphrodisiac. He is already contemplating their source — Washington state, if they are fresh. However, he considers the châteaubriand for two the real key to romance. "Sharing a meal — that’s pretty important, to enjoy the same thing at the same time," he says.
   Chef Bruce Lefebvre of The Frog and The Peach in New Brunswick also maintains that meals designed for couples are a must on Valentine’s Day: "You’ve got to have at least one dish for two," he says. His is an appetizer, a heart-shaped chunk of Old Chatham sheep’s milk Camembert with baby beet salad and macadamia honey. The classy modern American/French restaurant continues the touch with a chocolate heart torte accompanied by a chocolate Grand Marnier parfait with fresh strawberries. Ancient peoples believed in the so-called "law of similarity": if the food had a sexy shape, consuming it would lead to sexy behavior. Edible Valentines are a modern variation of the rule, then — at the least it is a sensual experience to eat something so delicately crafted.
   The labor of love at the Cranbury Inn is a dessert Chef Douglas Ness calls the heartthrob: white chocolate cups with red hearts glued on with caramel sauce, served with a side of raspberry mousse and fresh berries in a Chambord sauce. "It’s gonna be a blowout," he says.

   Mr. Ness has created a special Valentine’s menu, which will continue for four days in order to avoid the stress of a hurried one-nighter. He is planning a selection of entrées, including salmon en croute with a lemon dill sauce, and his favorite, pan-seared New Zealand rack of lamb with a cranberry and citrus demi-glace he has been refining all week. Mr. Ness is serving up the classic surf and turf as well, a lobster tail and filet mignon with drawn butter and a homemade béarnaise sauce. "The filet and lobster tail is a popular thing. It’s considered an aphrodisiac to eat them together," he says.
   Nothing strays far from the Valentine’s mood at the Inn, which features a raspberry vinaigrette house salad dressing and signature red bliss mashed potatoes. The setting is perfect as well: quaint late-18th century, fine dining in a casual environment. "Everyone has enough space here — they can be romantic," says Mr. Ness.
   Recent owner and chef Chris Connors of Anton’s at the Swan in Lambertville is using Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to unveil his own special spot, a new dining room that promises to provide the customary candlelight and fresh flowers. Mr. Connors plans to let guests relax instead of trying to turn the tables. His four-course prixe fix menu offers a bit of the unusual, including muscovy duck breast with butternut squash and a foie gras spring roll, and a smoked salmon, caviar and asparagus Charlotte.
   Did he realize he was liberal with supposed aphrodisiacs — fennel with the grilled lobster salad, horseradish on the braised beef short ribs and roasted garlic in the potato gratin? "It’s all about spoiling each other," he says of the menu. "Extravagant ingredients make for nice celebration in the middle of the winter. Live it up for a night — go all out," he encourages his diners. They can end their evening with a selection from the regular dessert menu: cherry and brioche bread pudding, or roasted pineapple and macadamia crumble.
   Any food is romantic when you can go straight from the table to the bedroom, as is the case at Sign of the Sorrel Horse, a French-American restaurant and inn in Doylestown, Pa. Chef John Atkin is passionate about his Valentine’s menu. He has selected Sorrel Horse favorites for appetizers, including the signature lump crab cake with jumbo shrimp in an ancho chili red wine sauce. Entrées are a bit more daring and include nut-encrusted venison chops with lingonberry and cassis sauce. The chicken breast entrée contains a surprising addition: chocolate, a typical ingredient used to add depth of flavor in spicy Mexican dishes. It is accompanied by avocado salsa and refried bean puree. Mr. Atkin enjoys the whimsicality of the dish, along with his chocolate volcano, a dense construction of Belgian chocolate with a molten chocolate center and homemade vanilla ice cream.
   When asked how the dishes on his menu lead to an atmosphere of love, a flustered Chef Atkin hands the phone to his wife. Monique Gaumont has the key to the perfect romantic meal, a simple piece of wisdom she has known since childhood: "All food goes through the stomach and to the heart."