First off, Happy Valentine's Day!
I have here the perfect Valentine's Day dinner plan and recipes, enjoy!

The Dinner Plan:

1.Make the food you want to eat, and the food you can cook without needing six recipe books, sugar thermometers, etc. This is no time to start experimenting with Emirl's expert dishes!

2.What you want is date bait - food that looks and tastes seductive, but is easy to put together or on the spot. Just focus on two or three small, simple dishes that have something special about them, and if you think that's too hard, then buy in a favourite cake or pastry.

3.Taking my own advice, this special menu involves three of my favourite foods: goats' cheese, salmon and chocolate. The goats' cheese is marinated in spices and walnut oil for a few hours, taking on a wonderfully aromatic complexity. The soft, velvety, rich salmon in a light, lime-scented broth is a real treat, and it's so easy you will still be capable of cooking it on the spot after two glasses of champagne.

4.To finish, it must be chocolate (it all comes back to chocolate in the end), in the form of a silky, creamy, rich chocolate mousse. And just in case you are feeling too relaxed by now, there's a touch of Mexican chilli in there to wake up your taste buds and anything else that may have gone to sleep. Rushing around red-faced trying to get everything done isn't very romantic, so if you'd like, you can do the starter and pudding the day before.

What To Drink:

Wine is the cupid of the meal, bringing the two of you together in a toast to romance. Start with champagne, of course, because more than any other wine, it sharpens the senses and intensifies romance.

With the salmon, you can go either way: a crisp Sancerre would lift the richness and play off the heat. In other words, have exactly what you feel like drinking, which will make you both happier and more relaxed than sampling anything anyone tells you that you should be having.

So you have the wine, the music, the candlelight, a few of your favourite things to eat... and most importantly, someone to eat them with. Who needs Paris?

The Food:

Goats' Cheese With Green Beans and Walnuts

Ingredients:

150g/4¼oz fresh goats' cheese, in log form
150g/4¼oz fine green beans
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp walnut halves, toasted
For the marinade
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp walnut oil
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, squashed flat
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp coriander seeds, cracked
1 tsp fennel seeds

How to make:

1. Cut the goats' cheese into thick slices.
2. For the marinade, combine all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the goats' cheese slices, cover, and leave for a few hours or overnight, turning once.
3. The next day, drain the goats' cheese and reserve the marinade, discarding the garlic.
4. Top (but don't tail) the beans, and cook in simmering salted water for five minutes, or until tender. Drain.
5. Toss the beans in one tablespoon of the reserved marinade and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the beans on two dinner plates.
6. Preheat the grill to medium. Transfer the goats' cheese to a sheet of foil and place under the grill for two minutes, or until just melted. Divide between the two plates, add a spoonful or two of the marinade and scatter with the walnuts. Serve.

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Salmon In A Light, Fragrant Broth

Ingredients:

300ml/10½fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, peeled, white part finely sliced
2 shallots, peeled, finely sliced
1 mild fresh red chilli, finely sliced
100g/3½oz mushrooms (oyster or fresh shiitake), finely sliced
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 x 150g/4¼oz fresh salmon fillets, pin-bones removed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g/3½oz baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

How to make:
1. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the lemongrass, shallots, chilli, mushrooms and sugar and reduce the heat; simmer for ten minutes.
2. In the meantime, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Sear the salmon fillets, skin-side down, until the skin is crisp, then turn once and cook briefly on the other side, leaving the inside slightly pink. Remove from the heat and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Wilt the spinach in the hot broth for five seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and arrange in two warmed shallow soup bowls. Place the salmon on top.
4. Add the fish sauce and lime juice to the broth, and spoon it around the salmon. Serve.

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Chocolate Cashew Mousse

Ingredients:

100g/3½oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solid content)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp dried roasted chilli flakes or cayenne pepper
3 medium free-range eggs, separated
4 tbsp honey
25g/1oz roasted salted cashew nuts, finely ground
whole salted cashews, to serve

How to make:

1. Chop the chocolate and melt it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring well. As soon as it starts to melt, add the cinnamon and chilli flakes or cayenne. Take the pan off the heat and stir the chocolate until completely melted and smooth. Allow to cool for ten minutes.
2. Beat the egg yolks and honey in a bowl until pale and creamy. Stir in the cooled chocolate and ground cashew nuts.
3. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then gently fold them into the chocolate mixture.
4. Spoon into four small ramekins (you will have two left over for seconds) or into one large bowl to share. Cover and chill for three hours or overnight.
5. To serve, top with whole cashew nuts.