Books devoted to taste buds

It’s February, so naturally, love and romance are in the air.

With that in mind, here’s a suggestion: do Valentine’s Day

differently this year. Cancel the dinner reservations and opt for

something a little more daring than candy and a card. Start planning

an intimate supper for two, with help from books and other materials

at the Newport Beach Public Library.

What could please your true love more and kindle tender passions

better than a selection of traditional foods of love? This project

calls for something sumptuous, sensuous, slightly extravagant, but

not too time-consuming. After all, you can’t spend all evening in the

kitchen. For starters, Chef Jeffery Powell of Plumpjack Squaw Valley

Inn in Olympic Valley, Calif., has a devastatingly simple and

delicious recipe for oysters on the half shell with verjus mignonette

in the new “One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: the Smithsonian

Sustainable Seafood Cookbook” co-authored by Carole C. Baldwin and

Julie H. Mounts.

The second course could be a fennel salad with frisee greens,

fontina cheese and julienned black truffle in a vinaigrette. The

recipe is found in “Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure” by

Rosario Safina and Judith Sutton. If the noble fungus is a bit out of

your price range, the authors suggest substituting a drizzle of

truffle oil over each serving.

Red meat is a favorite choice for the main course. Al Roker is a

very down-to-earth guy, and he has ideas for all special occasions in

“Al Roker’s Hassle-Free Holiday Cookbook: More Than 125 Recipes for

Family Celebrations All Year Long.” “Valentine’s Day Dinner for Two”

features filet mignon in an intriguing pan-seared and oven-finished

preparation with a wine, garlic and shallot sauce (simmered in the

same pan with collected meat juices) to finish. Serve with just a

rounded spoonful of pure indulgence, buttery, creamy mashed potatoes.

For the finale, what else -- chocolate. Relying once more on

Roker, recreate his Easy Chocolate Mousse. Four ingredients form this

luscious last course: heavy cream, semisweet chocolate,

raspberry-flavored liqueur and fresh raspberries. For more

chocolate-flavored ideas, turn to a visual option, the DVD entitled

“Chocolate Passion.” Chefs from top restaurants show just how to make

their most delectable chocolate desserts.

Wine selection is your next enjoyable task. “Wine for Women: A

Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine” by Leslie Sbrocco, is

appropriate for either sex, or for expert advice, turn to “Dean &

DeLuca, the Food and Wine Cookbook,” by Jeff Morgan. They’ll both

likely lead you to choose love’s libation, champagne. Find out more

about this famous French export in Hugh Johnson’s “The World Atlas of

Wine,” but that’s for later. For now, just chill the bubbly.

It’s time to set the table and set the mood. See Susie Coelho’s

“Styling for Entertaining” or “The Art of the Table” by Suzanne Von

Drachenfels for tips on tableware, flowers and candlelight. Right

now, light those ivory tapers.

For the final touch, select background music from the wide-ranging

compact disc collection at the library. How does “Heavenly” by Johnny

Mathis strike you? It includes old favorites “Hello, Young Lovers,”

“More Than You Know,” “Misty” and much more. “Songs for Young

Lovers,” a Frank Sinatra album, is sure to please with an opener like

“My Funny Valentine.” “Gershwin for Lovers,” another album, assures

us that “Our Love is Here to Stay” -- a happy note on which to end.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by June Pilsitz. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newport beachlibrary.org. For more information on the

Central Library or any of the branch locations, call the Newport

Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.