I can't afford the jacked-up prices restaurants charge on Valentine's Day. What's a simple yet romantic dinner I can make for my girlfriend at home?

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I recommend halibut poached in olive oil, served with vegetables and a cucumber salad. This dish is elegant, healthy and looks lovely on the plate. Even better: It’s very difficult to get wrong. The ingredients are easy to find, and you can even do a whole chunk of it in advance to take the pressure off.

I recommend halibut poached in
olive oil, served with vegetables and a cucumber salad. This dish is
elegant, healthy and looks lovely on the plate. Even better: It’s very
difficult to get wrong. The ingredients are easy to find, and you can
even do a whole chunk of it in advance to take the pressure off.

First, you’ll need to blanch the vegetables. Get equal portions of
broccoli florets, cauliflower and green beans, and boil them until
tender in salted water — 3 or 4 minutes maximum. Then drain them in a
colander and put them directly into an icebox. That’ll stop them from
cooking further. You can do this hours beforehand.

Now for the fish. You’ll need two 6-ounce pieces of halibut — skin
off, center cut. (The fishmonger will do all that for you.) Fill a pan
about half a finger deep with olive oil, throw some herbs in there —
tarragon, chervil and parsley stems work well — and heat it on low for a
few minutes. When it’s hot but not scalding (i.e., when you can still
put your finger in it), submerge the fish and leave it for about 6
minutes. If your fish is more than an inch thick, leave it a couple of
more minutes. And that’s it! It’s impossible to overcook, and the fish
comes out nice and moist. You can check if it’s done by sticking a
skewer into the flesh — it should go in easily. If it’s still firm,
then just give it another minute. And if you can’t find halibut, you can
substitute albacore tuna or salmon.

A few minutes before the fish is done, it’s time to finish off the
vegetables. Heat some chopped shallots in olive oil until they’re soft,
then add the blanched vegetables and a dash of salt and pepper. In a few
minutes, they’ll be good to go. If you can find verjus (an acidic juice
made from unripe grapes) in your local supermarket, drizzle it over the
top just before you take it off the heat. If not, you can use rice wine
vinegar. Either way, go easy. Drizzle — don’t drench!

This is a dish that’s easy to arrange on the plate, restaurant-style.
First, arrange the vegetables in a layer on the plate and cover them
with some freshly torn herbs — the same kind you put in the olive oil
earlier. Drain the oil from the fish, pat it with kitchen towels and
then place it on top of the vegetables. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice
over the top and sprinkle with some chopped chives. Then place some
chopped cucumber in thin slices over the top of the fish. Finally: a
drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a dash of salt.

A quick, easy and super-romantic dessert is strawberries dipped in
chocolate. The day before, melt a couple of high-quality dark chocolate
bars in a saucepan, dip the strawberries halfway, place them on a baking
sheet lined with parchment paper, and store in the refrigerator. If you
want to go more decadent, I recommend buying a chocolate panna cotta.
It’s complicated to make, and there’s really no need to keep impressing
her with your kitchen skills — she’ll be blown away by this stage
anyway.

For more tips check out The Style Glossy’s "Romantic Dinner for Two," by aphrodisiac-food authority Amy Reily.

Once your Valentine’s Day menu is ready, read on to make sure you are ready for the big night:

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Richard JaramilloRichard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com,
a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children.
RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents
“Make Life Happen…Again!”

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Richard “RJ” Jaramillo, is the Founder of SingleDad.com, a website and social media resource dedicated to single parenting and specifically for the newly divorced, re-married, widowed and single Father with children. RJ is self employed, entrepreneur living in San Diego and a father of three children. The mission of SingleDad is to help the community of Single Parents “Make Life Happen…Again!”