Day-to-day life of raising a family can often feel chore-filled, unromantic, exhausting and certainly leaves little alone time with your partner. For an unforgettable romantic celebration, take things into your own hands, find a place for the kiddos to go, and made dinner with your guy at home… here is your guide to a fun-filled evening with sexy food, secret ingredients and don’t forget the romantic music and soft lighting.
Kick off Happy Hour with…
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
But first, 
Champagne – for a classic start to the evening, pop some champagne make a toast to the two of you.
And don’t forget the 
Whipped cream
Take your berries and whipped cream and champagne to the table, sitting next to each other. Add a dollop of whipped cream to a couple of berries and offer them to each other… savoring the textures and flavors. Use plenty of whipped cream so you can lick it off each other lips.
Using just two simple, healthy ingredients (chocolate is good for us!), Chocolate Covered Strawberries are easy and fun to make, and are beautiful and delicious. Chocolate has caffeine which will be good for keeping him up late.
Melt some semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in a double-broiler. Use good-quality chocolate and a beautiful bowl. Dip your washed and carefully-dried fruit in the melted chocolate. Let the excess drip off (you can lick some off too) and then set on a beautiful plate (on waxed paper)!
The full recipe are compliments of Betty Crocker
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Ingredients:
1 pint (2 cups) medium-large strawberries (18 to 20 strawberries)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or white vanilla baking chips
1 teaspoon shortening or vegetable oil
Directions:
Gently rinse strawberries and dry on paper towels (berries must be completely dry). Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.
In 1-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Dip lower half of each strawberry into chocolate mixture; allow excess to drip back into saucepan. Place on waxed paper-lined tray or cookie sheet.
Refrigerate uncovered about 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm, or until ready to serve. Store covered in refrigerator so chocolate does not soften (if made with oil, chocolate will soften more quickly at room temperature).
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Slip the left overs into the refrigerator – they’ll be good for breakfast and will keep for a few days.
Now on to…
Appetizers – with the Viagra effect (and a poem)
Speaking of keeping him up late, lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that relaxes blood vessels (the Viagra effect) and will put a nice blush in your cheeks. Mangos, papaya and grapefruit are rich sources of lycopene. Try this delicious salad:
Mango and Grapefruit Salad
Toss some romaine or your favorite greens with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then add a chopped mango and a chopped grapefruit tossed with a little lime juice.
Mangos, especially, can be tricky to choose and to cut up so do a little research if you haven’t done it before.
Taste test that mango before you put it in the salad… offer a sweet, juicy slice to your guy – if it’s finger-licking good it is just right!
And don’t forget to ask your man what his personal favorites are (you can whisper in his ear) and add them to the mix – avocado, bleu cheese, spiced walnuts… encourage him to get creative.
Note: If he really doesn’t like tropical pleasures, the more conventional tomato is a great source of lycopene and makes a fine salad too.
Fig: “every fruit has its secret”, the fig is the “fruit of the female mystery”
The Fig – a most famous aphrodisiac -may have been the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. You can eat figs, or just have him read the DH Lawrence poem Figs:
The proper way to eat a fig, in society,
Is to split it in four, holding it by the stump,
And open it, so that it is a glittering, rosy,
moist, honied, heavy-petalled, four-petalled flower.
Then you throw away the skin
Which is just like a four-sepalled calyx,
After you have taken off the blossom with your lips.
Ready for the Main Course? (Chew with your mouth closed)
If you would rather focus on things other than cooking, there is an easy, inexpensive dish that is simple to make together and that can be personalized as you please. Make up some:
Personal Pizzas
Keep it really simple by buying the dough, pre-shredded cheese and sauce, and just add a few of each of your favorite toppings.
Or, make a delicious homemade dough ahead of time. Here’s a recipe from The Daily Meal by Mark Bello:
Ingredients:
For a quick rise:
- 1 ½ cups water, plus more for kneading
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 21 ounces (3 ½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour*, plus more for kneading and dusting
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon non-iodized or fine sea salt
For an overnight rise:
- 21 ounces (3 ½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour*, plus more for kneading and dusting
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon non-iodized or fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1 ½ cups cold water, plus more for kneading
Tools:
- Instant-read thermometer
Directions:
For a quick rise:
Heat the water in a small saucepan over medium heat until an instant-read thermometer registers between 100-110 degrees. Remove from heat. Add the yeast to the water and stir to dissolve. Lastly, add the sugar and set aside. The mixture should foam up and smell like bread.
In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, oil, and salt. Fold in the yeast mixture with a fork until the dough is shaggy and no longer sticky.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Lean into the dough with the palm of your hand. Press it down, press it forward, fold it over, and repeat. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.** If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour, one tablespoon at a time; if it’s dry, knead in more water, one tablespoon at a time.
Divide the dough into 4 equally sized balls. Form them into firmly packed, seamless spheres. They should weigh about ½ pound each. Dust the balls with flour and place them into 4 separate covered containers. The balls will double in size, so make sure the containers are large enough to accommodate the growth.
Place the containers in an area where the ambient temperature is between 80-90 degrees. Allow at least 45 minutes for the dough to rise.
For an overnight rise:
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, including the yeast, then add the olive oil. Stir well, then add the cold water. Mix and knead the dough, and divide it into 4 equally sized balls as above. Place them into 4 separate containers greased with olive oil. The containers should be large enough to accommodate a doubling in size. Leave overnight in the refrigerator.
Two hours prior to making the pizzas, remove the containers from the refrigerator and place them in a warm spot to rise further, as above.
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You can also use pesto with or instead of tomato sauce, although we did explain about the “Viagra-effect” of the lycopene in tomatoes – just something to keep in mind. Include a nice red wine – no beer belches.
If you are a more ambitious and creative couple try:
Cioppino With Oysters
There are lots of recipes for cioppino with many different ingredients. You might try Clark’s Oyster Bar Cioppino from Bon Appétit – you do substitute in oysters if you like them.
You can make the broth a day or two ahead of time and prep many of the ingredients earlier in the day. Use the best-looking seafood available, and include oysters –oysters from the can are fine if you can’t get fresh ones.
Oysters are another famous aphrodisiac and have amino acids that are believed to trigger the production of sex hormones. Include a dry white wine or more champagne.
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Ingredients:
6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Broth:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 8-oz. bottles clam juice
- 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 lb any mix of mussels (debearded), clams, or cockles, scrubbed
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 lb firm skinless white fish fillets (such as sea bass), cut into 1” pieces
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left intact
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Flat-leaf parsley leaves (for serving)
- Toasted country bread, rubbed with garlic and olive oil (for serving)
Preparation:
Broth:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes; stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add wine. Return pot to heat, bring to a boil, and cook until wine is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices, crushing with your hands as you add them.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15–20 minutes. Add clam juice, parsley, bay leaves, and 8 cups water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors meld, 10–15 minutes more. Discard parsley sprigs and bay leaves.
Do Ahead: Broth can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly; chill until cold. Cover and keep chilled. Reheat before continuing.
Soup:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add shallot; stir often until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; add mussels and wine. Set over medium-high heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shells open (discard any that do not open), about 4 minutes.
Add reserved broth; bring to a simmer. Add fish and shrimp. Cover; cook just until opaque, about 4 minutes. Stir in butter; season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; top with parsley. Serve with toast.
Recipe by Tom Moorman and Larry McGuire of Clark’s Oyster Bar in Austin, TX
Photograph by Ditte Isager
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Finish off the Evening with Caffeinated Cocktails for Dessert
Leave the dishes for later, play some sexy music for slow-dancing and include a little caffeine with your dessert- to keep him up late. You can use more or less (whiskey-frisky) alcohol depending on how much wine you both enjoyed at dinner.
Do you prefer something:
Hot and little spicy– 
Hot Chocolate spiked with cinnamon and bourbon and topped with whipped cream, or my favorite –
Hot and sweet –here is a classic recipe for 
Irish Coffee from San Francisco’s renowned Buena Vista: . It requires hot coffee, Irish (or Scotch) whiskey (not bourbon!), a little sugar and some whipped cream… keep the whipped cream handy… you can get creative and playful with dessert!
And whichever route you choose, use the best ingredients you can… strong, rich java and quality spirits will produce much better results than weak coffee and cheap shots.
If you get whipped cream on you, rinse it off with the rest of that bottle of champagne in the bath or shower, which you earlier surrounded with candles. Light em’ up.
If you don’t know each other THAT well (yet) switch on a movie like the Oscar-winning Babette’s Feast (A film by Gabriel Axel). Described as a “beloved treasure of cinema” that “depicts sensual pleasure that goes to your head like fine champagne”.
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