I resisted the prix fixe menus at some of our local favorite (nonetheless) overcrowded restaurants and sent him a note inviting him to dinner at our "Lane's Cafe"...

I included the entire menu coupled with wines and everything all printed off on some cute paper. You can see the menu, " (some recipes I got from the website and amended) I spent the entire day cooking...

Amuse Bouche:
Shrimp Asparagus Chinese Spoon with Cocktails

Appetizer:
Fresh Figs with Rosemary Goat Cheese coupled with Cupcake Chardonnay

Salad Course:
Roasted Tomato and Bread Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette

Entree:
Rack of Lamb with Cilantro Mustard Crust with Cupcake Chardonnay

Beef Medallions with a Red Wine Sauce
coupled with Pinot Noir, Pinot Evil

Dessert:
Chocolate Orange Pot de Crème with Candied Orange Peel coupled with Schramsburg Miravella Brut Rose

And as an extra special treat, he proposed that night. All in all, it was quite memorable! Thanks!

Hi Lane. What a great story! congratulations. With an effort and menu like that..I'd marry you! Smart guy : )

As a flirtatious gesture, I sent a handmade and nicely packed box of Rafaelo to someone I met only once. It turns out that I did such a good job he thought they were store bought! The full story is here:

http://ediblecities.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/will-you-be-my-rafaelo/

He took me out to dinner at Red Lobster, then we walked around and looked at shops.

We had dinner at one of our favourite Japanese restaurants and dined on sashimi, wagyu beef, salmon and a dessert of green tea brulee, strawberry ice cream and chocolate mousse.

Not content with one round of dessert, we then walked in the rain to Lindt Chocolat Cafe and ordered a chocolate degustation plate and rich chocolate beverages and then stumbled home in a chocolate-induced stupor.

We ended the night towelling each other off (it was raining all night) and rubbing each other's sick bellies. Now that's true intimacy!

i made crazy pink Valentine's day strawberry cupcakes, lazed about the rest of the day with my best mate. Then, together, we went to an electro music festival that night and declared our love for amazing DJ Erol Alkan with handshake, coat-grabbing and kisses in that very order.

My Valentine's Day at a new restaurant Hilltoppers - my story is at http://fivestarfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/02/hilltoppers-at-goodstone.html

I was actually sick on Valentine's day... yep, that's right, sick in bed with the stomach flu.
I was actually hungry at dinner time, for the first time in 48 hours. I really didn't have the energy to make anything, so my boyfriend made a box of Annie's Shells & Cheese. He used ketchup to make a heart on mine :)
Awww!

I just had a baby, so haven't been getting out of the house. My MIL watched our girls while my husband and I went out for a nice dinner and then came home and watched a movie. Boy was it nice to get out of the house alone with my hubby!

I made a meal for myself & Mr. Texas2Mexico involving shrimp from the gulf of Mexico but the conclusion of the meal was our favorite since I made a brownie with Chipotle Peppers with a creamy fudge raspberry frosting. It reminded me of the recipes from the book; Like Water for Chocolate & evoked memories of Chocolat! How can you beat Chocolate for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day is celebrated alone when your Valentine, and husband, is a chef. My husband, Erik Battes, is the Chef de Cuisine at Perry St in NYC and he was cooking all night for happy, loving, tables of two. But I wasn't about to shuffle around the apartment in a bathrobe watching The House Bunny. So I made my way over to Perry St in the West Village to sit at the bar and eat alone. My chef came up from the kitchen several times to share a few brief sentences with me. I didn't eat tyical, romantic-type Valentine's food. There is a new burger on the Perry St menu so I ate a huge char-grilled cheeseburger with yuzu pickles, tempura onion rings, house-made Russian dressing (with white miso, cornichons, dijion mustard, and sriracha), on a grilled brioche roll. MMM, now that's true love.

I was already full after the delicious burger, but my chefhusband couldn't resist sending up an amazing dessert. Two desserts actually, on one giant plate. On one side of the plate was the Valentine's special - a heart-shaped cheesecake with sour cherries, kumquats and pistachio ice cream. On the other side, my weakness (and in my opinion the perfect dessert) - Jean Georges' warm Valhrona molten chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream. I miraculously found some room in my already full stomach and did some serious damage to those two amazing desserts.

Although I was eating alone, I felt very connected to my chef husband while eating his delicious creations.

We cooked a 6 course dinner at home. The idea was to try and save money by not going out without cutting back on the indulgence factor. For less than a quarter of what we probably would have ended up spending in a restaurant we had a meal which included, foie gras, fillet mignon, and lobster.

My life partner, Louis and I are also business partners. Our business mandates that we eat out more often than not. I was secretly hoping for a stay at home gourmet meal and I was not disappointed.
My day began early, as it always does, but this day I was greeted by a beautiful bouquet of red roses and lilies with a silver heart threaded around the vase.
Next he prepared his gourmet version (one of my faves) of french toast with a blood orange mimosa.
"The day is yours," he said. "Just pamper yourself." Believe me I jumped all over that.
He ran a bubble bath, complete with lit candles and my favorite novel. The jacuzzi jets were just what I needed and after that I gave myself a face mask, manicure and pedicure.
When I emerged from my bath all refreshed he had the massage chair all set up with a glass of champagne waiting. As I slunk into the chair I began to feel guilty, geez, I was getting all the pampering and he was getting zilch!
The day floated by and sure enough a gourmet dinner was on the horizon to cap it off.
He made more of my favorite things; stuffed artichoke hearts, his family's Italian gravy recipe with homemade manicotti with a fresh salad and a crispy loaf of Italian bread.
Dessert did include a chocolate covered strawberry that he had lovingly dipped himself.
He even did all the dishes!
We snuggled on the couch to watch the shows we hadn't had time to over the past week on the DVR.
What an amazing day I had, all unselfishly given.
I know, I am a very lucky girl.
His birthday is on the horizon and I've a few things already planned to show HIM just how much I care.

I dodged all the overpriced temptations this year and opted to cook a 4 course dinner at home. Cooked and served one by one while sous chef was playing Street Fighter 4 on Xbox 360, just stopped for about 10 minutes to devour each course. LOL How romantic!

I made my wife some chocolate truffles with ground rose infused cocoa powder (they taste like chocolate, look like chocolate and smell like roses). I also served some fresh local oysters with a little hot sauce and lime juice. For dinner, I made her 3 pounds of barbequed Alaskan King Crab Legs with a clarified chipotle butter dip served with a smoked seafood chowder consisting of smoked oysters, smoked crab, and smoked lobster.

I like to cook......I admit my addictions,

Eric

Wow awesome contest. The link mentioned below takes you on a delectable suprise....I made this for my valentine on this valentine's day.
http://kitchenflavours.blogspot.com/2009/02/moong-dal-kichidi-with-pudina-chutney.html

We had choucroute garnie with a bottle of Domaine Zind Humbrecht Riesling 2006, followed by Jacques Torres chocolates with Les Clos de Paulilles Banyuls Rimage 2005. As regards our post-prandial activities, you may wish to use your imagination ...

It may not be The French Laundry, but it's still Thomas Keller's restaurant. We had a very memorable VDay dinner at Ad Hoc. From the starter course to dessert, everything was flawless.

sounds lovely!

Hi Eric,

That is one lucky lady and one fabulous meal. I would LOVE to do a feature story on this Seduction Meal with recipes. What a treat.

And for the curious...here is a description of Lubna's delicious Valentine's Meal.

Moong Dal Kichidi With Pudina Chutney is an all time favourite weekend brunch combo at my house. Kichidi is one of the comforting food which I like to gratify myself. The rich aroma of spices blending with dal and chawal (rice) when mixed with spicy pudina/mint chutney tingles your tastebuds.

I mostly prefer massor dal/red lentils in kichidi as it takes less time in preperation. But this buttery moong dal kichidi is for someone very special and who is very fond of this kichidi. Hope you guessed it.....No? It's my valentine....My husband

Eclairs!

When I asked my wife what I should make for a Valentine's day dessert, there was no hesitation. "Eclairs", said she, and far be it from me to disappoint. For some reason I've never made them before, though I like them very much, so I was excited for the challenge. Read more...

http://www.herbivoracious.com/2009/02/chocolate-eclairs.html

The Boyfriend was one week post knee surgery for Valentine's Day and couldn't even go up and down stairs much less out of the house - so cooking at home it was. I made Swiss Fondue, Mussels in Thai Coconut Broth, Kung Pao Scallops, Greek Salad, and Sorbet and Espresso. We ate in the living room where he sat in an arm chair with his leg propped up on an ottoman and pillows. Each lovely course was laid out on the coffee table, and I pulled a chair over to sit by him. I had to run an extension cord across the floor for the electric fondue pot. It certainly wasn't fancy, but it's the stuff of memories!