Mussels Provencal, a classic Italian dish can be served as an appetizer, main dish or on the side; a perfectly simple Seduction Meal. Serve with warm garlic bread (for some good sauce dipping) and a hearty bottle of red wine. Pleasing your loved one just doesn't get any easier...or tastier.

Not only are mussels affordable and delicious, they are so easy to prepare, steaming in just 5-7 minutes. And let's not forget mussels are an excellent choice for a healthy meal: lean protein, low in saturated fat, a great source for zinc, and twice the iron found in a similar serving of beef.

Mussels Provençal Recipe

Ingredients
    •    2 lb fresh cultured blue mussels
    •    3 tbsp olive oil
    •    1 onion, finely chopped
    •    3 clove garlic, minced
    •    2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
    •    3⁄4 cup red wine
    •    28 oz can peeled and diced tomatoes
    •    2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
    •    1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse the fresh blue mussels in tap water.
2. Place in a large saucepan with a small amount of liquid on high heat. Cover and let steam until shells open (5 - 7 minutes). Strain the mussels, reserving the liquid, and removing the meat from the shells. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté onions under low heat for 6 - 8 minutes, until onions get translucent and soft.
4. Add garlic and thyme, stirring for 1 minute.
5. Pour red wine and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes and reserved liquid cover and let summer for 30 minutes.
7. Remove lid and let simmer for another 15 minutes.
8. Add fresh blue mussel meat, let cook 5 minutes.
9. Taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.
10. Serve with bread to dip into the delicious sauce
    

If you have left overs, the sauce is even better the next day : )

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This recipe was sent to us by Forest in NYC. A seductive creamy mushroom risotto topped with spicy sausage. You can use sweet or hot sausage depending on how "hot" you want things to get.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Spicy Italian Sausage

Risotto Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sweet butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 12 oz mushrooms, quartered
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated or crumbled Asagio, Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (or a mix)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• Garnish with fresh basil leaves

Sausage Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 lb Italian sweet or hot sausage
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 roma tomatoes, cut lengthwise and remove seeds, diced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil or 1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped

Directions:
Prepare Risotto:

• In a deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes
• Add white pepper and 2 cup of arborio rice. Stir and saute for two minutes
• Add mushrooms, basil, chicken stock and wine. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• While simmering prepare sausage

Prepare Sausage:

• In a separate skillet add olive oil and onion, sauté for 2 minutes
• Add and brown sausage. Drain all fat but 1 tablespoon
• Add tomato paste, tomatoes and wine and stir together. Cook over medium heat until sauce reduces - about 10 minutes.

Finish Risotto:

• Add 1/2 cup of grated cheese and 1/2 cup of heavy cream to the risotto, stir and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Transfer risotto to serving dish, top with sausage mixture
• Garnish with fresh basil and a touch of grated cheese

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Here is a wonderful apple streusel recipe with a twist: Add a bit of Vino Cotto! A naturally sweet syrup "vino cotto" which translates to "cooked wine" has a fig-like flavor, but does not contain alcohol or vinegar. It is similar in thickness to a simple syrup (sugar and water) and is made by boiling grapes in copper pots then aging in wood barrels for a year. Vino Cotto is used with meats, seafood, drizzled over cheese, and in dessert recipes such as this Vino Cotto Apple Struesel.

Recipe by Montillo Italian Foods
Photo and recipe courtesy of Montillo Italian Foods

Ingredients

• 5-6 large McIntosh apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar (dark brown sugar optional)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons margarine, chilled, cut into pieces
• 2-3 oz. Vino Cotto di Montillo
• Vanilla or vanilla fudge swirl ice cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  
2. Peel, core and cut apples into ¼" slices.  
3. Using PAM No-Stick Cooking Spray, evenly coat a deep 2-quart baking dish.  
4. In a large bowl, coat apple slices with lemon juice.  Pour vino cotto over apples and gently toss to coat.  Pour contents of bowl into the baking dish.  
5. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. Add butter pieces to mixture. Using a large table fork, press butter into the flour mixture to form a granular mixture.
6. Sprinkle the topping over the apples.  
7. Bake for 30 minutes, checking periodically to avoid burning.  If the topping begins to brown before the apples are tender, loosely cover the baking dish with a piece of tinfoil.  
8. When the apples are tender, remove the tinfoil and finish browning the topping.  
9. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

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It's the weekend. Why not invite that special someone over for an enticing drink and chocolate dipped strawberries before your hot night on the town? Here we have three creatively seductive cocktails to consider:



Bitter Bubbles

Ingredients

• 1 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
• 0.5 oz. SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit
• 0.25 oz. Campari
• Your Favorite Champagne

Mix together first 3 ingredients, Top with Champagne, serve in a flute.  Garnish with slice of orange
The Berry Kiss

Ingredients

• 
1.5 oz. AGWA de Bolivia Coca Leaf Liquor
• 5 oz. chilled Prosecco
• fresh lime juice
• fresh blackberries and raspberries

Combine AGWA, lime juice and chilled Prosecco and shake, garnish with fresh Blackberries and Raspberries

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Think of white washed houses and bougainvillea by the seaside and you're thinking of the Turkish town of Bodrum. It is often referred to as the Monte Carlo of Turkey, populated by sailing boats and top notch restaurants, one of which offers another great cooking retreat:


Classes at this restaurant and cooking school can be customized from one day to an entire week depending on your length of stay. The day class starts off with a visit to the farmers market to collect local produce and a tour of the village of Ortakent before returning to the restaurant to start the class. Here you will delve into the secrets of Aegean cooking, watching the pros and then trying your hand at the recipes yourself. Afterward, the group enjoys a lunch at tables that look out onto the Aegean sea.

The week-long class includes accommodation in one of the stunning Yarbasan Stone Houses with incredible views of the sea. The classes provide a deeper immersion into Turkish cooking and include dinners at some of Bodrum's best restaurants. On the final day, there is a sailing cruise of the bays and islands in a luxurious yacht where lunch is served on-board!

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Imagine the possibilities of color, drama and elegance when you introduce Nason Morettie's gorgeous glassware to your table setting as you prepare for your next romantic meal for two.

Founded in 1920, Nason Moretti is known for creating beautiful, highly sought after, everyday objects of elegance and style, all handmade, on the island of Murano, Venice.  With names like Burlesque Goblets, Gigolo, Excess and Dandy you will be sure to find a style to suit your desired setting.

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And now for something deliciously different and very original!


A very dear friend of mine was invited over for dinner by her male friend one evening. She was promised something enticing and out of the ordinary-not the usual take-away, nor reinvented left overs!

She arrived punctual and famished as any seductee ought to and was greeted with the delightful aroma of cake baking. Perplexed, she asked, "Did you bake a cake for dinner?" "Yes", he replied. And so it was pound cake for dinner.  Love it!

Was there ever a time you had a meal that was the result of creative, "out-of-the- box" thinking?




Raspberry Pound Cake
This recipe is a variation of the original Raspberry Pound Cake recipe which came with this story. The yummy cake recipe goes like this:

Strawberry Pound Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (from unwaxed fruit)
  
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sour cream (room temperature)
• 8 oz. of either fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries (don't mix berries)
• powdered (confectioner's) sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Butter and flour a loaf pan.
3. In a bowl, mix together  the butter and sugar at high speed until it is a creamy soft mixture, about 4-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding portions of this and the sour cream to the butter and egg mixture until everything is combined. Be careful not to over-beat the batter. Stop mixing when each addition is well incorporated.
5. Pour a 1/3 of the mixture into the pan. place the fruit on top. Pour another 1/3 of the batter on top of the fruit and repeat with the rest of the fruit and batter-this way, I find that the fruit is spread more throughout the cake. Smooth the batter with a spatula.
6. Bake until a cake tester (or wooden toothpick) inserted into the middle comes out dry and clean, about 1 hour.
7. Remove cake from oven  and cool on a wire rack.
8. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan to loosen the cake and slide unto a plate.
9. Dust lightly with confectioner's sugar once completely cooled.
   

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While I wouldn't necessarily consider this a Seduction Meal (or romantic meal for two), sometimes having a simple "go-to" meal, especially a comfort dish like Roast Chicken, is good to have in your repertoire. It's super easy to make and always taste good. And, you may be surprised to find out how many people actually count roast chicken as one of their all time favorite meals. Here we have a meal of roast chicken, roast potatoes, creamed carrots and peas and a bottle of white wine. Enjoy!
 
Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 lemon
• 1 Vidalia onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh Rosemary
• Sprinkle of paprika
• 6-8 medium Yukon gold potatoes
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Wash chicken season inside and out
3. Cut whole onion and lemon in half, stuff each inside chicken along with generous handful of rosemary
4. Tuck a few sprigs of rosemary under the skin of chicken
5. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle paprika on chicken
6. Pour a little olive oil over chicken
7. Place in a roasting pan
8. Add potatoes to pan and cook for 1 1/2 hours (maybe longer depending on size of chicken)
9. Serve with roast potatoes, creamed carrots and peas (fresh or frozen will do)
   

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By Kate Collinson

Despite being forever a below-14th Steet New Yorker, I thought perhaps it was time I listen to my uptown friends about the joys of living uptown, besides being right on the park. Turns out there are a few romantic restaurants to discover!

Tangled Vine 

434 Amsterdam Ave (at 81st St), Upper West Side

A cool yet casual bar and Mediterranean restaurant that is serious about its wine, perfect for sharing a cheese platter and bottle of wine, maybe even stay for dinner and a ricotta cheese cake with chocolate ganache!

Uva Wine Bar

1486 2nd Ave (between 77th and 78th Sts), Upper East Side

Yes, another rustic Italian gem, but in the dimly-lit canopied garden out the back, it will surely cast you in your best light. You can't go past the Gnocchi di Ricotta with creamy truffle sauce.

Candle 79

154 E 79th St (at Lexington Ave), Upper East Side

A real staple on the UES and the perfect spot for the fussy vegetarian date - although everyone seems to love this place! Don't miss the polenta fries with chive aioli or the peanut butter mousse for dinner.

Recipe
452 Amsterdam Ave (between 81st and 82nd Sts), Upper West Side

A creative, fresh menu and wood-based setting make this small-but-worth-the-wait restaurant a favorite on the Upper West.  This place prides itself on using local ingredients. The mac and cheese with bacon and wild mushrooms, while nothing fancy, is the perfect comfort food.



Ouest
2315 Broadway (between 83rd and 84th Sts), Upper West Side

If cozying up to your date in a red leather circular booth is more your style, try this classy French spot. The bread served with almond paste mixed into extra virgin olive oil is a particular favorite. Or try the $28 prix-fixe brunch menu.

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Posted by terry dagrosa at 11:11AM on October 07 in Romantic Restaurants / Permalink / Comments (0)

I subscribe to Tasting Table's emails and was highly intrigued by a recent recipe for Cochinita Pibil which, when I tried an online translation came up as "roasted suckling pig". Being a huge fan of pork and having a house full of guests this weekend, I thought I would give this recipe a try.  I also served this with guacamole and chips.



Here is the description from Tasting Table:

"The secret to this tender Cochinita Pibil is its long roasting time. But the key to the slow-roasted pork's flavor is annatto-seed paste. The thick, deep red paste is one of the many distinctive ingredients of Mexico's Yucatán region. At the new restaurant Mateo's Cocina Latina in Healdsburg, California, its Yucatán-born chef-owner, Mateo Granados, thinks the mild, earthy paste with vinegar and water, bathing the pork shoulder in the russet sauce before wrapping it in banana leaves. A 4½-hour roast turns the meat supple and deeply flavored, requiring only a nudge to break into bite-size shards. Serve the pork as Granados does, alongside warm tortillas, spicy-sweet cinnamon-cured red onions and a lime-marinated cabbage-and-radish ensalada".

I provided the link above to the recipe as posted by Tasting Table but had a few changes as written below. The meal was a huge success. While Cochonita Pibil is a popular Mexican dish, when served with guacamole and a quality tequila, your favorite margharita or Mexican beer, it is well suited for a romantic meal for two. Spicy, colorful and easily eaten with your hands, makes this a delicious "sexy" food to share with your loved one.

Note: I learned from my friends who lived in Mexico that corn tortillas are often made in the microwave, not heated in a skillet as directed below. Of course either way is fine, however, the microwave allows you to do more tortillas quickly. The trick is to stack 3 tortillas (has to be three for some reason) wrapped in a (dry) paper towel and to microwave it for 30 - 40 seconds. Doing this longer could result in hard/crispy tortillas, so do a test and adjust according to your microwave. As soon as they are done, start platting your dish and put in your next set of 3. 

Cochinita Pibil
Recipe adapted from Tasting Table / Mateo Granados, Mateo's Cocina Latina, Healdsburg, CA
Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:

Pork

• 1/2 cup annatto-seed paste (also called achiote paste)
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 heaping Tablespoons Chipotle peppers in sauce (from can)
  
• Kosher salt
• 1 small package banana leaves (substitute aluminum foil if unavailable)*
• 1 four-pound pork butt (no bone) or pork shoulder (bone in) (FYI: both cuts are shoulder cuts)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

*I did not have banana leaves and ran out of aluminum foil so I cooked the pork in my Le Crueset (covered) in the oven and it was perfectly! And, it was ready in 3 1/2 hours (I also used pork butt - no bone)
 
Ensalada

• 1 small red cabbage, thinly sliced and cut in 2" strips or shredded
  
• 1 small bunch radishes, thinly sliced
• Juice of 2 limes
• Kosher salt

Onions:

• 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cups distilled white vinegar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt

Tortillas

• 1 package high-quality corn tortillas
  

Directions:

1. Make the pork: Preheat the oven to 375˚. In a medium bowl, whisk the annatto-seed paste with the vinegar and 3 cups of warm water. Season with salt and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer. (I did not strain liquid, I used it all).
   
2. If using a Le Creuet, place onions in the middle of the pot and place pork on top of the onions. Pour the sauce over the pork, add the garlic cloves, onion and cinnamon-stick pieces, cover, and place in oven. Cook for 3 1/2 hours if using pork butt no bone. 4 - 4 1/2 hours if using pork shoulder with the bone in.
   
3. If not using a Le Crueset, Line a roasting pan with the banana leaves (or aluminum foil), leaving enough space hanging over the rim to wrap the leaves around the pork shoulder. Place the pork shoulder on the banana leaves and pour the strained sauce over it. Add the garlic cloves, onion and cinnamon-stick pieces and if using leaves or foil, wrap the leaves over the pork. Cover the pork with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 3 1/2 hours if using pork butt no bone. 4 - 4 1/2 hours if using pork shoulder with the bone in.
4. Make the ensalada: Toss the cabbage and radishes together with the lime juice. Season with salt and set aside.
5. Make the cured onions: In a medium bowl, combine the red onions, vinegar, cinnamon sticks and salt. Set aside to cure while the pork is cooking.
6. When the pork is finished, remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes.
   
7. Tortillas: While the pork is resting, microwave or toast the tortillas in a hot skillet.
   

Plating the Dish:

1. Place two tortillas on a plat.
2. Serve warm with pieces of pork, the cabbage salad and the cured onions.
   
3. Top with some of the sauce the pork cooked in.
4. Serve with Guacamole and chips.
   

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