BRATTLEBORO — Do a Web search for “food” and “love,” and you get a fabulous random return, which involves food addiction, overeating, aphrodisiacs, books on Christianity, politics, soul food, and heart-healthy menus.
What about the simple act of cooking as a way to express love?
At a recent meal with friends, the question of a favorite dish arose. The answers spanned the gamut from beef Wellington to fruit pie to meatloaf to lamb curry.
The one common element was the clear and simple joy evoked by the memory of each dish.
The memory of meals brings back a certain place and time, a set of friends, a piece of childhood, a lover lost, a mother revered. It is not just the food we remember, but the situation in our history that we connect with its consumption.
In our early 20s and naïve in England, eating our first curry there, we felt liberated and cosmopolitan and so very different from our parents.
The blueberry pie of our childhood conjures up a simpler time, when all our needs seemed met and life itself was secure and safe. Beef Wellington makes us feel sophisticated and urbane, with its combination of pastry, pâté, and tenderloin.
Apart from serious health issues that certainly must take precedent, I favor a varied, healthy diet that includes fat, sugar, and alcohol - in moderation, of course, but enough to count, to make us happy, to satisfy, to please.
What to cook on Valentine's Day is always a challenge. The cliché of overly rich French food has never appealed to me. Messy food, peasant food, sensual and simple, wins me over every time.
Here is a somewhat quirky and playful menu for two that perhaps suggests all the many ways that love and food connect.
Fried artichoke hearts
Let us start with hearts: jarred artichoke hearts, easily found and not too costly, fried up crisp and light with a simple beer batter. This recipe serves two.
Drain well, then gently pat dry with paper towels:
¶1 jar artichoke hearts (6 ounce)
In a smallish bowl, whisk:
¶{3/4} cup of all-purpose flour
¶a generous pinch of salt
Slowly pour in:
¶{1/2}–{3/4} cup beer (enough to make a thick batter)
Whisk until smooth.
Mix in:
¶zest from 1 lemon.
Heat in a deep, heavy skillet until it reaches 370 degrees F:
¶{1/2} inch vegetable oil
Coat the artichoke hearts in the batter, letting the excess drip back into the bowl, then fry until crisp and golden all over.
Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with some kind of crunchy sea salt and serve with wedges of lemon. These artichoke hearts are best eaten with your hands, so go right ahead and lick those crumbs off.
Pasta Puttanesca
Whether in fact this humble, full-flavored dish - which translates into English as “whore's spaghetti” - was invented by prostitutes who had little time to shop, or because its salty, pungent, fiery flavor evokes the saucy side of romance, it is a great and inexpensive meal.
This recipe for two is quickly made from pantry foods.
Put on a pot of water to boil.
Heat in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat:
¶2 Tbsp. of oil
Add to the skillet:
¶3 chopped garlic cloves
¶3 anchovy fillets (or more depending on your palate)
Sauté until the garlic is softened and the anchovies have partially dissolved.
Add:
¶½ cup oily pitted black olives
¶2 Tbsp. capers
¶{1/2} cup chopped parsley
¶1 14-ounce can tomatoes, drained and smushed up a bit with your hands
¶dried red pepper to taste
¶lots of salt and pepper
Simmer all this for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the liquid has reduced. Turn off the heat and cover.
Cook according to package directions:
¶4 ounces dry spaghetti
Drain. Turn the heat back on under the sauce to medium, add the drained pasta, and toss until all is heated through and the pasta has absorbed a bit of the sauce.
Serve with lots of grated Romano cheese and a salad of bitter greens, just to keep the romance balanced. Here's how to make it.
Salad of bitter greens
Wash and spin dry:
¶ 2 cups mixed bitter greens (such as arugula, dandelion, endive, mustard, and frisée).
Whisk in a small bowl:
¶{1/4} cup extra-virgin olive oil
¶2 Tbsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¶1tsp. (heaping) strong Dijon mustard
¶salt and pepper to taste
Toss the greens with this dressing and serve with the pasta. Put on the table a whole baguette that you can tear into hunks to dunk in the pasta sauce and soak up the mustardy dressing. Table manners are not the priority.
* * *
By now, you should feel pretty satisfied and relaxed, what with all the food and love, especially if your dinner included a glass or two of rich, red wine and interesting conversation.
What's for dessert? You will find no heart-shaped cakes or chocolate-covered strawberries in this menu.
Affogato
My unconventional suggestion is affogato or, simply translated from the Italian, “drowned.”
Usually popular as a summer dessert, its balance of cold and hot -rich ice cream and acidic strong coffee - is the perfect way to end any meal.
Since most of us do not have home espresso makers, go to one of your local coffee shops a few hours before dinner and order to go:
¶1 strong double shot espresso
When you are ready for your drowned, heat the espresso on the stove and whip until very thick:
¶unsweetened heavy cream (a small amount)
Place in two of your best wine glasses:
¶a few scoops of ice cream
Vanilla ice cream is classic, but chocolate has its admirers as well.
Pour the hot espresso over the ice cream followed by:
¶1 good shot dark rum or Scotch
Scotch works surprisingly well with chocolate ice cream.
Top with the whipped cream. If the espresso should keep you awake, I am going to take the liberty of guessing that you will have no trouble finding an activity to occupy your restless imaginations.
May each day be Valentine's Day.