Easy Valentine’s Day Dinner Ideas

Add the olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, and 1 tbsp butter to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the garlic is soft, but not brown, about 3 minutes.

Add the wine and increase the heat to medium high and bring to a rolling simmer until it starts to reduce.

While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta 3 minutes shy of al dente. Pull the spaghetti straight from the cooking water using tongs and place it into the reduced wine sauce.

Add the remaining butter and and soy sauce bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the pasta is glossy and well coated.

Remove the pasta from the heat and add the cheese, tossing to melt evenly. If needed, add pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to help melt the cheese evenly.

Serve topped with freshly cracked pepper and a drizzle of finishing olive oil. Enjoy!

Place warm rice in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil. Fluff the rice, mixing the salt and and oil into the rice evenly. Let cool while you prep the other ingredients.

Marinate the thin slices of steak with 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp toasted sesame oil. Set aside.

Quickly blanch the spinach in boiling hot water and cool immediately in ice water. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and mix with a sprinkle of salt and a 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil. Set aside.

Massage the carrots with a sprinkle of salt and let soften for 2-3 minutes then squeeze any excess water out of the carrots. Sauté the carrots in a non-stick frying pan over medium low heat with a 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil until slightly soft, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool.

If needed, prep the danmuji by making sure it’s trimmed to fit the length of the seaweed sheets.

Fry the beef in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat stirring as needed until cooked through. Remove from the pan and let cool.

Place a sheet of seaweed, shiny side down, on a rolling mat. Evenly spread 1 cup of the prepared rice onto the seaweed, leaving 2 inches uncovered on the top portion of the seaweed. Place 1/4 of the beef, carrots, daikon, and spinach evenly in a neat row in the middle of the rice.

Use both hands and the mat to roll up the rice and seaweed tightly over the fillings until you reach the top of the seaweed where there is no rice. Let the kimbap sit, seam side down, while you repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Lightly brush the rolls with toasted sesame oil then slice into 1/2 inch bite size pieces and enjoy!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve 3/4 cups pasta water and drain.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, swirling, until the butter foams, smells nutty and toasted, there are golden brown solids, and the garlic is lightly golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the last tablespoon of butter.

Carefully add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the melted butter – and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking or swirling often to emulsify the pasta water and butter, about 1 minute.

Add the pasta to the pan and cook, turning the heat up, tossing occasionally, until pasta is al dente and the sauce reduces and becomes thick and glossy, adding pasta water as needed, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the cheese and toss well to melt and combine, thinning with extra pasta water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy immediately.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and toast the breadcrumbs until golden and crunchy. Remove from the heat and stir in a pinch of parsley. Set aside.

In a pot of salted water, cook the spaghetti one minute shy of al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up the remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly soft, but not brown, 20 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the red pepper flakes, flat leaf parsley, and oyster sauce. Add 1/3 cup pasta water to the pan and bring to a simmer to emulsify into a sauce, stirring occasionally.

When the pasta is ready, use a pair of tongs to move the cooked pasta over to the pan with the sauce. Leave the heat on medium, add the lobster and toss to combine, until the sauce is glossy and clings to the noodles. Add extra pasta water if the pasta gets too dry.

Finish with toasted bread crumbs and enjoy!

In the same pan that you browned the steak, deglaze with the brandy/cognac over medium heat, scraping up any brown bits in the pan. When the brandy/cognac has reduced a bit, stir in the beef broth and cream. Add the peppercorns and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your liking. Season with salt to taste.