Oh, Valentine’s Day, you can keep your red roses, teddy bears holding red satin love hearts, and depressingly unimaginative marriage proposals. Pressure to participate in cynical cash-grabbing romantical activities aside, one of the worst things about Valentine’s Day is that available restaurant tables are about as common as neatly-arranged plastics cupboards (and seriously, who wants to eat dinner surrounded by couples either making doe eyes at each other or awkwardly anticipating a depressingly unimaginative marriage proposal?).
Valentine’s Day is a great day to stay in and cook. Make yourself something really indulgent and revel in the fact that there's no need to share, or invite some friends over and leave the romance for a day when you're not being told to buy stuff.
As great as eating dinner with a loved one can be, there are some foods that are much, much better to eat alone. These cheesy dirty fries, for example, should be shovelled into one’s face with zero inhibition and a total absence of self-consciousness in order to correctly appreciate their true greatness. Also, you really won’t want to share them.
Is there a better anti-Valentine's Day activity than skewering hearts?
The only flowers I want to see on Valentine’s Day are flowers stuffed with cheese.
The forty cloves chicken is a French classic, but you’ve probably got to accept that getting up close and personal with another human being may be off the cards after consuming that much garlic. Cook this for your nearest and dearest then enjoy each others’ company at a safe distance.
Fanny Zanotti’s recipe is for a single serve of perfect crème brûlée. The toffee-topped treat really is a pleasure best enjoyed without the distraction of company.
Whether Valentine’s Day has left you feeling blue about being single (or about not being single) or wanting to celebrate the awesome life choices you’ve made, there is one thing that will always fit the bill: tequila. This recipe serves five or six, or, y’know, one.
You know what's always better than Valentine's Day and can be enjoyed every day of the year? Breakfast! We've got all of your sweet and savoury needs covered.