Creating an Intimate Valentine's Day Dinner

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However much you care for each other, there are times when your partnership can begin to feel a little stale. Maybe you've spent each evening for as long as you can remember slumped on the sofa together in front of the television, having become so used to the routine that neither of you feel the inclination to do much else anymore. Perhaps you've little choice once the kids are tucked up in bed due to difficulties getting a reliable sitter. Why not put the romance back in your life with a Valentine's day dinner?

It needn't be expensive to set the scene. A regular plain white tablecloth strewn with love hearts cut from red paper is all that's necessary to form a backdrop for your feast. Use your best china and crockery, and a small arrangement of deliciously scented red roses.

Use red tea lights for the center of the table. These cast a glow less harsh than traditional taper candles, which will often obscure the face of your partner and make conversation difficult. Tea lights also have the advantage of illuminating little more than the immediate area, allowing you to forget for a moment that you're in your own home and letting your imagination whisk you off to a place that's much less mundane.

Food should be light if you're expecting a dazzling performance in the bedroom to round off the evening, and for this reason it's best not to indulge in too much wine either.

Oysters or asparagus are both well-known foods with which to begin a Valentine's day dinner, but if neither are to your tastes you can serve stuffed eggs as a starter instead as these lay claim to aphrodisiac properties too.

Other foods famed for an alleged capacity to boost ardour and enhance physical prowess can be served as part of the main course. Include red wine sauce, parsley and even carrots. Potatoes can be thickly sliced before being partially boiled and then shaped as hearts with a cutter. Finish by sprinkling with rosemary and a drizzle of oil before roasting in the oven.

A fruity mousse topped with a heart shaped cookie makes a lightweight end to the meal, but there are fewer more seductive desserts than strawberries dipped in melted chocolate. If passion can't wait then you can take them with you to the bedroom. With a little imagination, they can even join in the fun.

It doesn't take much in the way of money or effort to create a Valentine's day dinner, but it's something which can repay you with a huge boost to your relationship. There's no reason to limit it to once a year either, and you may well enjoy yourselves so much that you won't want to!

A romantic dinner could become a much anticipated Valentine's Day special treat. For more great ideas, visit valentinesdayspecial.org