As February 14th approaches, couples long for the perfect opportunity to display their love to one another. A delicious, home-cooked meal is by far a sure bet. Still, who has the time to love, dazzle, and cook?

LEAVE THE LIGHT ONSo your parents asked you if you two were sleeping together. Better still, your father asked you. Things are now getting serious. It is time to cook him a meal.It is a frantic, high-pressured world we live in, one with too many expectations, and too little time to cook. But, nevertheless, you have exhausted safe boundaries of the restaurant scene, and you know (as does your father) it is time to explore this budding intimacy in the delicacy of your culinary touch.The problem is that our society, for all its pride in modern technology, has spat on the ancient concept of time. We are all too caught up in RAM’s, gigabytes, and fifth gear to stop and savor the luxury of time (test: when stuck behind grandma in her Cadillac cruising at a whopping 15 miles an hour, do you: a) notice how the palm trees all sway in the same direction, as if engaged in a perfect tango with the sun and the wind, or, b) wish you weren’t so materialistically in love with your car so you’d have the balls to ram it into grandma’s big C and send her on her way).Yes, time is a precious thing only the unemployed have the privilege of experiencing, and then, for the most part, they are too stressed about their non-existent income to stop and smell the roses.Well, for all you time-deficient working machines, there is the perfect, romantic, me-wonderful-cook-to-impress-you meal. And impress your potential soul mate it will. It’s easy, it’s time efficient (divide your workload into two days), and most of all, it’s elegant. Every bite will have pizzazz, intrigue, and instantly catapult your relationship to a whole new level.The All-inclusive Palate Pleaser Banquet (for two):*Cream of Asparagus SoupChicken MarbellaParsleyed RiceBlushing Pears*for recipes please contact SOBECHEF at recipes@sobechef.comCream of Asparagus Soup:Asparagus says it all: sophistication, subtleties, and strength. This wonderfully refined vegetable makes an enticingly rich and powerful soup, a perfect introduction to a night of intrigue. It can be prepared in advance, as flavor seems to improve the next day.Your potential soul mate (psm) is now impressed. With the delicate flavors of woodsy, creamy asparagus lingering in his/her tongue, he/she now awaits in anticipation, staring at you and thinking, “I never knew he/she could cook this well…must have struggled hours…amazing.” Take full advantage and soak it up with this next dish, it is a true winner:Chicken MarbellaLovers RiceA perfect accompaniment to this exquisite chicken dish, for it is simple, light, yet with its own delicate character.Well, congratulations! You’ve done it. You’ve come this far, and without a scratch. You have gone from “that nice person I’d like to get to know” to “the wondrous, culinary deity (if he/she is this good a cook what about…)” Anyhow, you get the point. It’s a good thing, what you’ve done (and only you and I know how easy it was).Hang on, the ride is not over. Yep. There’s more and it is goooooood.Blushing PearsThis is the queen of desserts. Delicate, bold and endlessly romantic, it is expertise at its finest (an you made it!) It, too, can be prepared a day, or even two days in advance (whipped cream should be made the night of the event).By now, you are both full and happy. I trust you have enjoyed a nice, crisp white wine with your meal, the empty bottles serving as witnesses to your planned indulgence.The evening is young, my friends. You have mastered a new level of adoration from that special somebody. You, in your time-pressed overly-consumed environment cooked, and you cooked well. This will be a night your psm will not forget.But wait…it gets better. Just leave the light on…