Yes, tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and yes, since it is a universally acknowledged date night, that is one reason I'm writing this post. However, as Anjali noted earlier today, she thinks (and I agree) that gestures of love are far more special on a day you're not being pressured to do it. So, this really goes out to all the nights — tonight, tomorrow, next week — you and your special someone wanna heat things up in the kitchen.
Cooks can be very territorial creatures. They know how they like to work, move, chop, and season. They know their favorite tricks and techniques. This may make for a terrific meal at the end of the night, but it's not so great for fostering a romantic, let's-make-and-share-this-food-together vibe. (Plus, if you alienate your partner in the process, you may be eating that meal alone. Just sayin'.) So here are a few simple tips for making cooking with your significant other a fun, flirty adventure:
1. One of you should be the sous chef: To avoid stepping on each other's toes, pick a sous chef. The sous chef is in charge of prepping all the ingredients - washing, trimming, chopping. Having specific assignments means you each can own a part of the meal while simultaneously letting go of the things you don't have control over. Hmm... there's a life lesson in there somewhere.
2. Cook a new recipe. This is particularly important when one of you is the primary cook in the relationship. Picking a new recipe ensures that the main cook doesn't inadvertently step in to show the other "how it's done." ("But I never mean to, it just happens!" Been there, done that, friend.) A new recipe will put you both if not on the same level, then at least a little closer. It's also fun and healthy to try something new together. If you mess it up, you mess up together.
3. Have a great playlist. I'm not even going to say it has to be a romantic playlist. Go ahead and sway to Frank Sinatra if you want, but if fun. or vintage Justin Timberlake gets you more jazzed about cooking together, but all means.
4. Pour the bubbly! Treat yourself by popping a bottle of Prosecco while you cook. It's fresh, fruity, and perfect to sip on before a meal. Plus, bubbly wine is inherently celebratory and good-feelings-inducing. Toast each other at the start of cooking and then enjoy it throughout the evening. Our wine expert Mary loves Prosecco from Zardetto, Mionetto, Bisol and Voveti, while Faith favors the Soligo Prosecco ($15), which she calls "really delicious, a little creamier than cheaper Proseccos I've had, and it smells of apples."
5. Have something to snack on. I could say the reason for this is because, as Cher said in Clueless, anything you can do to draw attention to your mouth is good. But really it's so you don't become hangry, especially if you're taking a long, luxurious time in the kitchen (while sipping Prosecco the whole time - see above). Try Marcona almonds, roasted pistachios, spicy shrimp, or a few slices of chorizo or prosciutto.
What are your tips for a successful date night in the kitchen?
Related: More Date Night Dinners! 8 Recipes For a Cozy Night In
(Image: Leela Cyd Ross | Ginnie and Janie's Warm, Colorful Kitchen)
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This is too funny, because the has been my main concern for the past few days! My boyfriend and I are cooking together to avoid the rip-off that is dining out on V-day, but I am a huge control freak when I cook.
As a result, we took a few shortcuts that were against the heart of my cooking morals (buying store-made soup and desserts) and the two dishes we are making at home-- steak and mashed potatoes-- are as basic as you get! And I'm not allowed to get near the cooking space.
This is the only way we will have harmony (and prosecco will totally be involved). Yay for compromise!
The chef/ sous chef division of labor is totally what keeps things sane in our kitchen when my partner and I cook together. We are both very good cooks and like to cook - but we tend to like to cook alone because we have very different approaches to getting things done in the kitchen. So if we want to share the kitchen and cooking during a single night, it works best to have one of us be the sous chef and one of else do the actual cooking. And music is definitely a great accompaniment!
Also, thank you for having a picture of a (presumptively - they could be roommates/ friends of course) same-sex couple as your image for this post; it might seem like a small thing, but when we're predominantly surrounded by pictures of heterosexual couples at Valentine's day (and year round), a small touch of acknowledging the existence of same-sex couples goes a long way!
@Merm, that's the first thing I noticed too and I very much appreciate the open mindedness of thekitchn!
We tend to chef different dishes so no one is the sous for the whole meal in my house. Neither of us particularly enjoys being the 'prep bitch' so it works better if we each have something we can control completely.
+1 on the appreciation of the use of a same-sex couple to illustrate this post.
Noted the photo too and I like it, I also like the fridge too, the french door models would be my choice for a fridge, but faced with panels in some fun retro color, such as turquoise. :-)
That said, I've done the shared thing in the kitchen with my late mother, and while I did most of the main cooking, she did things like make the salad, or some other task like clean up and load the dishwasher, or set the table. it worked out really well as we tend to work well in the kitchen, even though our styles were different.
Another big thing is to communicate to the other person, don't back up, opening the dishwasher etc to avoid accidents and I find it helps when there are two bodies in there doing the cooking/prepping.
People, that's a man with long hair.
Kidding. Happy Valentine's Day.
Had early Valentine's Day dinner at home with my boyfriend last night. He cooked the main portions of the meal (steak, roasted tomatoes, endives) and I made a beet salad, as well as cleaned as we went and set the table, put the roses he brought in a vase, etc. Great music, a glass of wine/beer and cheese rounded out the arrangement to make a lovely at home date night.
My husband and I don't cook together often, but he's always in the kitchen with me while I'm making dinner. Many nights he's playing guitar while I'm prepping dinner, so I don't mind doing the "work". Plus he normally sets the table for me.
Nice post, and I too noticed the photo first which is great to see that type of imagery used -- it more honestly reflects the world we live in. I noticed that Crate & Barrel did the same thing with their "Inspiration" series and I immediately thought, thank goodness these prominent sites and companies are finally figuring it out. Gay or straight, you want to see a diverse representation. You want to see the people that look like your friends and families.
Check out the C&B one here, http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Stories/UsandAlways
This is so funny. Love the idea of cooking a new recipe:-)
I have the Proscecco, the vintage Justin Timberlake, the new recipe and the snacks....do I really still have to let him do something and lose control? :D I'll try!!
Yay! Love the photo and all the supportive comments.
I wish I could be sous chef all the time!
I'm sweetie-free this year, but I would love eventually to have the "I'll cook/be total control freak" role while He says something along the lines of "The only thing I adore more than gazing into your eyes and thinking about how intelligent and witty you are, is washing up the dishes after you've cooked dinner."
Unrealistic, perhaps, but a girl can dream.
Our kitchen is really really small. And the Mister doesn't like to cook. He does believe in the one who doesn't cook cleans up & loads the dishwasher.
I don't like to talk or socialize etc. when I'm cooking - I either short the meal or the convo/person. And it's dangerous! I chop rapidly and whirl around and argh! there's a person right there and I almost cut their arm. Or, damned if they're not in the way of a huge pot of boiling water. Eiyee!
Watch out. I said something like this about racial diversity and got an ear full. Anyway, I agree, its nice to see.
At the end of every week, I cook dinner with my favorite male friend in the kitchen. We never fight, and there is no tension in the kitchen, We're both really easy going, but I think there are few things that make it work. One, we don't care too much about the result although we taste test throughout. Cooking is more fun when it's an experiment. Two, we always sip on a beer or a glass of wine. Three, we both like to be creative and have fun; we have back up frozen pizza just in case! While eating, we do critique the dish, but there aren't any egos. I just want to become a better cook!
My boyfriend and I cook in every Valentines day. This year we made Pad Thai, which was good, but not restaurant perfect. I'm usually a bully in the kitchen, so I let the bf be the chef and I just helped out. It really gave him more cooking confidence.