Valentine’s Day this year might be a bit different – your traditional romantic restaurant dinner followed by a movie could be replaced with a home-cooked meal and a chick flick on the small screen. But don’t think for a moment romance needs to be sacrificed, especially in the food department.
We did some noodling on Instagram and elsewhere and found some absolutely amazing romantic dinner suggestions that all feature, prominently, onions. But before we share some posts with you, let’s look at a story first run in 2019, pre-COVID, that says what we all know: Few things in the world smell as wonderful onions cooking. Seriously.
In her June 5, 2019, a piece entitled “15 Recipes That Will Make Your House Smell Delicious!” (found at https://www.thekitchn.com/15-recipes-that-will-make-your-house-smell-amazing-recipe-roundup-165151), writer Faith Durand starts by saying, “Cooking isn’t only about the food, or the eating, or the pleasure of the table. It’s also about the smells! Certain foods offer up delicious aromas that can make your whole house smell amazing. Last weekend we asked our Twitter friends to tell us which recipes they love to smell cooking. There were some nearly universal favorites — fresh bread, beef stew, cinnamon rolls, anything with onions.”
She includes two of perennial favorites: French Onion Soup https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-french-onion-soup-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-110054 and a killer slow cooker version of brisket and onions at https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-slow-cooker-brisket-and-onions-recipes-from-the-kitchn-45437.
On Instagram we found some truly romantic fare, including Aashak (Afghan ravioli), a gorgeous fusilli dish we can’t pronounce but you can check out at italyfoodedrink #pastaalforno, Lady and the Tramp (most romantic movie of all time… love means never having to say I’m sorry I chewed your favorite shoe) spaghetti and meatballs and a beautiful pizza.
Pair any of these with a nice wine, salad and something chocolatey for dessert and you have the makings of a new and improved, DIY romantic tradition.
And about the chick flick… guys, you’re on your own. Don’t mess up.
