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Language is rich and decadent in romance novels, a certain way to arouse the reader and create a fantasy world. In fact, when I looked at the most frequently used words in the average romance novel, the top five were need, want, pleasure, mouth and stir. These are words of both erotic literature and sexy cooking. In fact, the lingo evokes bodice-ripping heroines; but passion not only rules lovers, but it also guides good cooks. With this as my inspiration, I’ve assembled my best date night dinner ideas and a menu you can cook as a couple.

As columnist Harriet Van Horne wrote, “Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” And as a cook and romantic, I’m offering the way you can use passion to cook your way to a romantic Valentine’s Day. And it need not involve cooking in the nude or new lingerie. This kind of passion cooking is about the food, the mood and the company. Don’t believe me? You should! I wrote the book on romantic dinner ideas for two. (No, really I did. It’s called The Seduction Cookbook.)

Why cooking as a couple is sensual

With the right partner beside you, cooking and preparing a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner (or a romantic weeknight dinner) at home together is the ultimate turn-on. Again, the language of preparing food is sumptuous: Sizzle, melt, percolate, coddle, fold, stir. Start the evening off right, booty-to-booty in the kitchen, stirring yummy-smelling goodies to make an unforgettable meal.

Kick things up a notch, giving a shoulder rub to your partner as she valiantly chops, or slipping behind your fellow cook for a squeeze while he or she stirs an aromatic sauce.

Now you’re really starting to cook up all sorts of erotic possibilities and a promise of an appetite that will be satisfied later. Just don’t forget about knives being sharp and stovetops being hot if you abandon yourself while dinner is simmering.

More date night dinner ideas that will set the right tone

Don’t stop your plan at the menu. Think about the other things about a date night that can transform time at home into an evening of passion. Pick the right music. (I’d go with Barry White. But you might try searching your favorite streaming service for a romantic playlist that hits all the right notes.)

Since you’re cooking together, there probably won’t be time to set a romantic table. But that’s ok. Maybe you can find a new eating venue to serve your meal. Perhaps you can try sitting on plump pillows beneath the coffee table. You can always make it a picnic in bed. Or, better yet, break into the guest bedroom and snack upon the “guest” sheets! Or you can just stay in the kitchen and shove the dishes aside to make mad passionate love on the countertops once your hunger for food is sated.

A menu of date night dinner recipes

Here are the recipes for one of my favorite date night dinners to cook together to make your next date night at home a night to remember. These date night recipes aren’t comfort foods but sensual foods with slippery and soft textures, aphrodisiac ingredients and delicious flavors to drive your senses wild:

Wild Mushroom Risotto with Seared Scallops
Seductive Chocolate-Espresso Souffles
Valentini Cocktail

Valentine’s Day cooking speaks the language of love

A romantic Valentine’s Day night at home – or any romantic night at home – spent in the kitchen creates the most delectable language of love. Stir things up with wild mushroom risotto, topped with sensual scallops, toast your true love with a Valentini, stirred, not shaken, and get wild with a seductive soufflé…stirring, whipping and folding, oh my! On this romantic date night in, stir up a little passion in the kitchen.

Love these recipes? Get the cookbook. Diane Brown is the author of The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations For Lovers