Love Valentine’s Day but dread the noisy restaurant crowds? Ditch the dinner reservation and surprise your date with a cozy Valentine’s Day dinner at home. These romantic main course recipes for two will have you both excited to spend the evening alone.
Prime rib with horseradish cream
Make this sexy prime rib with horseradish cream and your mate may never want to go out on the town for a romantic meal again! Get ready to dig into a dish of succulent, juicy red meat that is delectably crusted with garlic, salt and pepper. Every sumptuous slice begs for a dollop of the homemade horseradish cream — a tangy blend of sour cream, prepared horseradish and fresh chives. Intimidated by prime rib because it is such a pricey cut of beef? Take heart! This recipe will make you a seasoned pro. All you need is patience, a few hours and a meat thermometer. While your prime rib is roasting to perfection, cuddle up with your date and anticipate the dinner and evening to come.
Grilled salmon with maple syrup and rosemary
No need to make a reservation at a fancy steakhouse or seafood restaurant. You can delight your date by firing up the grill and serving this fabulous fish dish. Our grilled salmon with maple syrup and rosemary comes to the table with a slight maple syrup sweetness, a bright herbal flavor from fresh rosemary, and a surprising burst of grilled lemons. You cook the salmon in foil over the flame to lock in the flavorful juices and keep it moist. Then you brighten it up with grilled lemon juice. Never grilled lemons before? Once you try it, you’ll want to serve grilled citrus with all of your grilled meals. Grilling the lemons gives them a smoky flavor and makes the citrus easier to juice. Perfect for a Valentine’s Day dinner or a stay-at-home date any time of the year.
Garlic herb crusted roast beef
Looking for a Valentine’s Day dinner that brings out your carnal instincts? This garlic herb crusted roast beef will have you and your mate roaring with roast-loving satisfaction. The best roast boasts a juicy interior and a flavorful crusted exterior. To achieve the crust, you rub the roast with crushed peppercorns, chopped fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, minced garlic and coarse salt. Slide it in the oven, and an hour later you’ll pull out an irresistible piece of meat that you and your date will want to promptly devour. This roast delivers over-the-top carnivorous pleasure!
Chicken mignon with harissa butter
If you’re searching for a fancy, knee-weakening, flavorful and ridiculously easy dinner to whip up on Valentine’s Day, this chicken mignon with harissa butter is the deliciously romantic dish for you. You season the chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper, then wrap each piece of chicken with a strip of bacon. Top the chicken with a compound butter — made with softened butter, harissa paste and ground fennel — and bake until the chicken is succulently cooked through, the bacon is sizzling, and the harissa butter has melted into a mind-blowingly good sauce. Serve immediately for instant satisfaction.
Strawberry brie spinach salad
This strawberry brie spinach salad from Cathy at Lemon Tree Dwelling is the perfect lip-smacking good combination of savory, sweet, creamy and crunchy. Featuring fresh spinach, strawberries, dried cranberries, pecans and bites of brie all tossed with a homemade poppy seed dressing, this scrumptious and beautiful salad will not only excite your senses, it will compel you to feed your lover forkful after forkful to share the pleasure together. You can serve this dish as a side or turn it into a hearty main course salad by topping it with broiled salmon or pan-fried chicken breast.
Oxtail osso buco with Parmesan polenta & dark chocolate olive oil mini trifles
Make your mate swoon with this succulent oxtail osso buco with Parmesan polenta from Tina at Just Putzing Around the Kitchen. Then finish off your meal with her dark chocolate olive oil mini trifles. Osso buco is a classic Italian comfort food featuring fall-off-the-bone meat bathed in a thick, rich tomato-y sauce. Once the oxtails are braised to perfection, you serve them on a hot, soft bed of cheesy polenta garnished with a zesty gremolata. The combination of savory meat and creamy polenta is to die for. After your meal, nibble on dark chocolate olive oil mini trifles made with decadent layers of chocolate cake and orange-chocolate whipped cream.
Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with pomegranate apricot glaze
This slow-roasted lamb shoulder with pomegranate apricot glaze from Amy at House of Nash Eats is a Valentine’s Day dinner that you and your mate will forever remember. To prepare the dish, you rub the lamb shoulder with a scintillating mix of salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin and paprika, then roast it with onions, garlic, pomegranate juice and apricot preserves until it is ultra-tender. This takes about an oh-so-worth-it four hours, so plan ahead. To serve, you pour over a sweet and savory glaze made with the pan juices, shred the lamb into irresistible pieces, and garnish with pomegranate arils and fresh cilantro.
5-cheese ziti al forno
Instead of fighting the restaurant crowds, stay home and make this copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s five-cheese ziti al forno, a romantic recipe from Kathleen at Gonna Want Seconds. Extremely cheesy, warm and comforting, this is a Valentine’s Day meal that will have you lighting candles, cuddling up together and eating in front of the fire. You make this dish with an over-the-top amount of cheeses — ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, Parmesan and Romano — Alfredo sauce, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and fresh herbs. Every ridiculously rich and satisfying bite will have you convinced that every date night should be spent at home with a big bowl of pasta.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Nothing says romance like making a mouthwatering meal together. Celebrate Valentine’s Day by getting in the kitchen and whipping up this sigh-inducing spaghetti Bolognese from Aysegul at Foolproof Living. The Bolognese sauce screams “amore!” with its lusciously thick simmer of ground beef, onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, red wine and herbs. Toss in a generous amount of cooked spaghetti and you’ll have a romantic meal that rivals any top-notch Italian restaurant. Serve this dish with your favorite red wine, a lovely green salad and a crusty loaf of Italian bread to mop up every yummy bit of the spaghetti sauce.
Shrimp scampi
Craving a stunning but simple seafood dinner to impress your Valentine’s Day date? Make this scrumptious shrimp scampi from Elaine at Dishes Delish, and your mate will beg you to make it again and again. What makes it so special? Bite after bite of plump, juicy shrimp, chunky vegetables and penne pasta, swimming in a buttery garlic sauce. As if the fabulous flavor wasn’t enough, this fish dish comes together in 25 minutes or less.You cook the pasta while you quickly sauté the onions, peppers, mushrooms and shrimp. To make the sauce, you simply add a generous stick of butter to the pan. It melts and marries with the other flavors as you toss in the pasta and top it off with Parmesan cheese. Simple and delicious.
