The seduction of food

Spice up your relationship, whether's it's a first date or a longtime pairing, with romantic recipes and hints to make dinner for two a prelude to love.

By Ronin Ro

hether you've been together for years or you've just met, there is perhaps no better way to heat things up than preparing a cozy dinner just for the two of you. Cooking, some say, conveys a number of messages, the most important that you want to focus all your attention on pleasing that special someone.

Sure, house parties and nightclubs are fun places to socialize, lounge around, maybe even get your groove on, but they also can be filled with overbearing distractions such as loud music and unruly company. Movies aren't necessarily a great idea either; that's two hours of your energy directed on something other than each other. People want to know they are special. "She'll see that you've taken an hour or two to do something specifically for her," says 25-year-old New York City law student David Crowley, "and she'll want to do something for you."

When choosing a meal, keep in mind that certain foods are believed to have sensual powers, and many of them -- strawberries, chocolate and oysters, for example -- are available at your local supermarket. For the ultimate recipe, look no further than Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge (Terrace Publishing, $24.95).

The book features 85 recipes for love, including meals for every season and astrological sign. Best of all, the dishes -- everything from Honey Peppered Salmon to Black Russian Cake -- are easy to prepare. "One thing that's good for a picnic is the pasta with grapes," Hopkins says with a Southern drawl. "It sounds a little strange, but it's just cooked pasta with goat cheese, orange zest and some scallions. When the cool grapes meet with the hot pasta, when you first toss it, the grapes just kind of plump up, and then you take a bite and there's this explosion of juice in your mouth. So it's a whole sensual experience, and it's super-easy."

Preparing the perfect meal is more than just whipping up a culinary masterpiece. Presentation is a key ingredient. Set the mood with dim lighting. If you don't have a dial switch, turn off the lights and use candles. Play love ballads on low volume. Don't forget to do something about the phone. Nothing ruins a moment faster than leaving the table to answer a call. Set your answering machine and turn off the ringer.

"And make sure your apartment is clean," says Lisa Moccia, a marketing consultant from Stamford, Conn. Going over to someone's place and finding it a mess "is a major turnoff."

Of course, how your date proceeds may depend in large part on what you bring to the table. If you're looking to cuddle later, fried fish may not be the move. Ditto for heavy meals. After all, you don't want your companion to fall asleep.

"People sometimes get intimidated by the idea of preparing something elaborate," Hopkins says. "They think they need a five-course, white-tablecloth, red-rose-in-the-center kind of thing, but aphrodisiacs change with the rhythm of the day. Sometimes you're in the mood for throw-down hot-and-heavy 9 1/2 Weeks, and other times you want to cuddle up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate."

For the first meal, try to select a recipe you've already had some success with. Getting too ambitious can lead to your entree missing a vital ingredient -- or worse, the whole thing goes up in flames. Practice cooking the meal for relatives and friends from whom you can solicit honest opinions.

And remember, a quiet evening at home is a great way to get the romance cooking, but the point is to find ways to mix it up and keep things fresh. "Definitely take them out, too," Moccia says. "Don't always have [your sweetheart] cooped up in the house, because then it gets boring."

Ronin Ro is a freelancer in New York City.