What would local chefs make for their Valentine?

by Sandra Miller

Sure, the nicest restaurants will be serving some of the nicest meals this Saturday. But what would a chef make his honey if they were staying in?
Avila Executive Chef Rodney Murillo recommends keeping dinner simple.
Appetizer: Start with a few easy cold appetizers, such as shrimp cocktail and tuna tartare. “Oysters are too complicated at home,” he said. “Go to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for some artisanal cheeses and a loaf of fresh bread.”
First course: He’d include a simple soup, such as butternut squash and apple, which he says is easy to make, and the ingredients are cheap.
Main dish: Do the classics: filet mignon and lobster, or lobster macaroni and cheese.
Dessert: “If you’re not a baker, slice up some apple and sauté with sugar and butter, carmelizing them for five minutes,” he said. You can also saute banana slices in Frangelico. Serve either one over Toscanini’s Tahiti vanilla ice cream.
Wine: “A nice rioja. People are so into the French and Italian wines. You have to give them a break.”
Restaurant Valentine’s Specials: Avila is offering bottles of Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label for a very affordable $50, to go with a four-course dinner of Mediterranean treats.



Legal’s Park Plaza chef Chris Cowen also likes the lobster macaroni and cheese idea.
Main dish: Truffled mac and cheese with lobster. “It’s homey comfort food,” he said. “It’s easy to make. Something like this, it’s five ingredients, but when prepared, it’s the best,” he said. Serve with steak.
Side: Small salad. “Keep it simple,” he said, advice that Legal’s follows as well. “We never try to over-accentuate other ingredients.”
Dessert: Crème brulee using Tahitian vanilla, lemongrass and ginger.
Wine: Sonoma Russian River chardonnay, risirva Dulcae Chianti

box:
Legal’s Chef Chris Cowen’s Truffled Lobster Mac and Cheese
Two quarts of Béchamel base, add 1 cup fontina, 1 cup Monterey jack, 1 cup gorgonzola, shredded. Add a can of truffle peelings. Mix about six ounces of cooked cavatelli with six ounces of cheese sauce, four ounces of already cooked lobster meat.
In a dry casserole dish sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs, panko or seasoned Progresso bread crumbs. Bake in 350-degree oven 15 minutes to heat and brown top.
“For huge fans of truffles, drizzle white truffle oil on top,” said Cowen.
Gently fold in English peas, or green peas, for a little texture.



Toscano Ristorante
Main dish: Chef Samuel Gomez said you can’t go wrong with filet mignon, while chef-trained owner Andrew D’Alessandro prefers braised meats for his sweetheart, such as an osso bucco or short ribs
Side: Caprese salad and risotto
Dessert: Crème caramel dessert
Wine: A bottle of a Tuscan red like Brunello.




Restaurant L’s Marc Orfaly insisted the best way to impress one’s valentine is to catch your own meal, like hunting for venison. “That’s the aphrodisiac, the chase.”
For those who’d rather buy their food, he recommended not spending so much time in the kitchen. “Buy prepared as much as you can, so you can spend more time with your loved one,” he said.
Appetizers: “Oysters and caviar and are a no brainer,” he said. Also, clams casino. A pappardelle pasta with sea urchin, butter sauce and lemon chive tossed in at the end, with a scoop of caviar on top. A crab cake – sauté a little onion and pepper, add crab, aioli or Japanese mayo, toss in one egg, then dip into an egg wash and dredge in panko crumbs and pan fry. “Or if you’re scared, you can broil it, but pre-toast the bread crumbs in butter, on a sheet and pour crumbs on top.”
Main dish: Red meat, like a rack of lamb or sirloin
Side: Spinach salad
Dessert: Hot chocolate cake
Wine: start with Billecart-salmon Brut Champagne, serve a cabernet with dinner, and for dessert, Veuve Cliquot demi sec, a Bonnie Doon dessert wine, or a sauterne.




Peter DiNapoli, manager of Lucia Ristorante in the North End, said his wife is “very picky about what she eats. I can’t just make a dish of spaghetti.”
Appetizer: Foie gras, from Eurogourmet in Chelsea, served with homemade orange strawberry jelly with a champagne reduction, on homemade crostini.
Wine: With appetizer, a moscato; with first course, white Teruzzi Vernaccia San Gimignano Toscana 2006; main course, a Barbera or Barolo wine.
First course: Homemade tagliatini or risotto with seafood
Main course: Grilled jumbo shrimp in a puffed pastry crust, or a filet mignon.
Dessert: Panna cotta or tiramisu. “I’d do a chocolate soufflé, but those are the only desserts she likes,” he said.


Nebo owners Carla and Christine Pallotta
Appetizer: Salumi platter filled with fresh meats, such as proscuitto, capacolla, and breseola, along with a few nice cheeses, such as pecorino.
First course: Fresh spaghettini with basil marinara
Main: Grilled baby lamb chops
Side: Arugula salad with shaved parmesan
Dessert: Two slices of homemade bread dipped in cinnamon and sugar, spread with a mix of Nutella and dark chocolate, and grilled in butter, grilled-cheese style. Serve with a scoop of cappuccino ice cream from Christina’s in Cambridge.
Wine: A Barolo with dinner and a moscato to finish.
Restaurant offerings: A five-course dinner for two, with Sangria, for $85.