If I were Martha Stewart I would have had
Valentine’s Day all figured out by now.
I would have already bought all my gifts. Each present wrapped
in understated silver paper, with a tiny antique angel affixed
to a corner, or something earthier – plain brown kraft paper
with a black cursive ’V’ done in calligraphy. I’d have a meal
planned – several light courses beginning with a vivid green
soup, each bowl topped with one perfect orange nasturtium, and
ending with a magnificent dessert. I’m thinking of a layer cake,
a towering, multi-layered confection that would serve – by its
sheer magnitude and lofty splendor – as a symbol of my affection.
But I have not purchased or planned a single thing this year:
no gifts, no soup, and no big, magic cake. It’s not that I don’t
love my family. I do. But, for me, Valentine’s Day is often fraught
with misunderstanding.
Browsing through a cookware shop a few years ago, I spotted a
heart-shaped cake pan. A beautiful, silver, heart-shaped pan.
The idea of baking a heart-shaped cake, a layer cake for Valentine’s
Day, was beguiling. For a family like mine, who celebrate few
holidays (we do an ersatz Passover-Easter extravaganza in April
featuring matzoh ball soup and a leg of lamb), the thought of
celebrating a sentimental holiday – a holiday that had nothing
to do with religion and everything to do with love – was appealing.
By Valentine’s Day, I had pored over each cookbook in my collection.
Wanting a recipe that was old fashioned and homey, I settled
on a plain vanilla cake. As it baked, the kitchen filled with
the warm aroma of vanilla and sugar. The cake emerged from the
oven light and tender, and as it cooled I nibbled on a few moist,
delicious crumbs. I sliced it into four layers, then spread each
layer with whipped cream. Pillowy swirls of the cream covered
the outside of the cake and a few raspberries were dropped atop
nonchalantly; I wanted the effect to be special but still humble.
The meal preceding the cake came and went; I don’t remember much
about it. And then, out it came. Four layers high and hovering
like a white cloud, that cake was a stunner. I placed it proudly
before my family.
"Wow," said my daughter.
"Oooh," said my husband.
They liked the cake. They thought it was pretty, and poked at
the fluffy cream frosting, licking their fingers. But neither
recognized it as a heart. The layer of whipped cream, applied
so carefully over the surface, had obliterated most of the curves
at the top of the cake and softened the point at the bottom.
"It’s a heart!" I said. "Don’t you see? It’s a
heart-shaped cake for Valentine’s Day!" They looked at me
and then back at the cake. There was silence for a moment.
"Mom," my daughter whispered. "That is not a heart."
I’ve baked cakes in the heart-shaped pan since then. I made a
birthday cake with pink icing for my mother. I even baked one
for myself, once, while my family was away, but I was only going
through the motions. My heart just wasn’t in it any more.
This year, enjoy Valentine’s Day and let someone else do the
cooking – and baking. The following stores and restaurants are
offering specialty items, or serving prix fixe, or a la carte
dinners for Valentine’s Day. (All of their chefs would know a
heart-shaped cake if they saw one.)
The Fratelli Ravioli stores in Park Slope and Boerum Hill make
a heart-shaped, cheese-filled ravioli. No one will mistake them
for plain, round ravioli. They can be purchased by the pound
for $5.99, or you can try the Valentine’s Day special: one pint
of tomato vodka sauce, 16 ravioli and two tiramisu for $15.99.
Copper in Cobble Hill is offering a four-course a la carte dinner.
There’s a crispy duck on currant pancakes appetizer, and a salad
of baby field greens, grapes and manchego cheese tossed with
sherry vinaigrette. For the main course, there’s a pheasant with
rose petal sauce, asparagus with raspberries and potatoes rosti
(potato pancakes), and for dessert – a warm chocolate souffle.
Isn’t that romantic?
Smith St. Kitchen in Boerum Hill, known for its innovative seafood
dishes, is serving a three-course, prix fixe dinner for $50 per
person. There’s an extra charge for an optional caviar or oyster
selection. Appetizers like seared Hudson Valley foie gras and
a fried oyster salad with fig vinaigrette sound delectable. Entrees
take the meal a notch further with a poached Chilean sea bass
or a Steelhead trout with wilted greens in a shallot vinaigrette.
For dessert – warm chocolate cake with bourbon ice cream and
chocolate sauce will leave you sighing.
In France, they kiss on the main boulevard. For romantic evenings
in Bay Ridge, locals head to Provence en Boite, a patisserie
and bistro, where a special $49 prix fixe dinner will be served.
Three courses, with three selections each, include cauliflower
soup and a rack of lamb with thyme sauce and Provencal vegetables.
For dessert – heart-shaped petits fours.
Marco Polo restaurant on Court Street in Carroll Gardens is serving
an Old World Italian dinner. A la carte dishes range from retro
to more modern fare. There’s an oysters Rockefeller appetizer
– the shellfish are topped with spinach and mozzarella. Pastas
can be ordered by the half order or full order, and include classics
such as a simple penne with sauteed prosciutto, onions and fresh
tomato sauce.
If you’re a little old fashioned, Marco Polo’s quarter-pound
lobster or the roasted pork loin with applesauce will appeal
to you. Those still counting points on Weight Watchers may opt
for the red snapper or a veal scaloppini with baby artichokes
and white wine. And for everyone, there’s a heart-shaped cake;
their version has layers of chocolate and raspberry mousse and
is topped with fresh raspberries.
"Brooklyn’s Famous Landmark Restaurant," Gage &
Tollner, in the Fulton Mall, is serving a surf and turf blowout.
On the surf side: the restaurant’s legendary crab cakes and she-crab
soup. For $35.95 a "seafood extravaganza" for two includes
chilled lobster halves, jumbo shrimp, oysters and clams on-the-half-shell.
On the turf side: beef Wellington, steak au poivre and duck a
l’orange. Their heart-shaped dessert, also chocolate and raspberry
mousse, comes with marinated blackberries.
How about one-stop dining and a movie? On Feb. 14, the BAMcinematek
will show a special screening of director George Cukor’s "Holiday"
(1938). Featuring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the film
is billed as "a tale of class, sophistication and romance,"
perfect for Valentine’s Day. The BAMcafe, catered by J.A.M. catering
services, is offering a $30 prix fixe dinner (plus $9 movie ticket).
Start with sherried oysters or a spinach salad. Entrees include
filet mignon Oscar with crabmeat, asparagus and hollandaise sauce.
For dessert – a molten chocolate cake for two.
Finally, some maternal advice: make your reservations early or
plan on takeout.
Where to GO
Copper,
243 Degraw St. at Clinton Street, (718) 797-2017
Fratelli Ravioli, 200 Court St. at Warren Street, (718)
330-1183; 169 Seventh Ave. at First Street, (718) 369-2850; and
169 Lincoln Place at Seventh Avenue, (718) 783-7833
Gage & Tollner, 372 Fulton St. at Jay Street, (718)
875-5181
Marco Polo Ristorante, 345 Court St., at Union Street,
(718) 852-5015
Provence en Boite, 8303 Third Ave. at 83rd Street, (718)
759-1515
Smith St. Kitchen, 174 Smith St. at Warren Street, (718)
858-5359
