All Courses Lavender

When my grandfather was courting my grandmother in the spring of 1920, he posted a soggy box of woodland violets still clumped in their forest-floor dirt. (Never mind that she was away at college and engaged to her high school sweetheart.) His romantic spirit reaped rich reward: four children and 29 grand- (and great- and great-great-) children.

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Tuesday, reservations are the easy answer. But this year, consider romancing your sweetheart with an almost-as-easy special meal cooked at home.

Just shop for groceries and make the crème brulee on the Monday, then make quick work of the potatoes and steaks after work on Tuesday. Add a simple salad and a bottle of good wine: I suspect your romantic spirit will be wholly welcomed, too.

LAVENDER CRÈME BRULEE Bring a cup of cream and a tablespoon of dried lavender almost to a boil. Let rest for 10 minutes, then strain. Whisk the cream with 2 egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon vanilla. Pour into 2 medium or 4 tiny ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes at 325F until thick in a foil-covered baking dish filled with boiling water half as high as the ramekins. Sprinkle with brown sugar and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the sugar melts and browns a bit. Chill until served.

ALANNA's TIPS This is a man-pleasing, mansized-appetite meal promised to seduce the ladies, too. Find dried lavender at health food stores and upscale groceries. It pays to shop for price; I’ve seen it from $2 to $24 an ounce.