Set Your Mood With Seductive Food

Candlelight and fine wine are romantic touches, but which foods will stoke the fires of pleasure from the first course to the last?

"A romantic meal involves carefully chosen flavors and textures as well as foods featuring special colors and aromas," says Chef Delayne Whiting of Green Valley Spa & Resort in St. George, Utah.

According to Linda Prout, M.S., resident nutritionist at The Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley, Calif., "Chinese medicine holds that fresh ginger is very warming in the body, and you can make your own tea with grated ginger steeped in hot water that's sweetened with honey."

Salads can be seductive if made with colorful and fragrant fruit, Whiting says. Try mixing spinach leaves with halved strawberries, sliced kiwifruit and slivered toasted almonds. Dress with strawberry vinaigrette made in the blender with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and apple juice concentrate.

For a main course, Whiting suggests cooking something slightly sweet. Marinate two salmon fillets (with the skin on) in a mixture of orange juice, soy sauce, honey and minced garlic. Leave in the fridge for three hours, then grill on a barbecue or bake them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes.

South Pasadena caterer Renee Richards recommends preparing a colorful pilaf with brown and wild rice, diced red onion, and red, green and yellow peppers. After cooking, toss the mixture with sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil and diced parsley, then season with salt and pepper.

Erotic dessets can be a highly relative matter, says Richards. "For some people, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake or ice cream seem the most romantic things to eat. Others find strawberry shortcake or fresh fruit tarts to be a major treat."

- - - - -

Scope out where you can meet new people in Singles Hot Spots.