Anyone can make a reservation, but cooking a homemade, restaurant-quality meal at home, takes effort and shows you care for your loved one.

The following dinner is perfect for Valentine’s Day, as it includes champagne, caviar, homemade pasta and a store-bought dessert of raspberry sorbet with berries.

Greet your loved one with a glass of bubbly… have your potatoes with caviar ready to plate.

A brief interlude to finish off your entree and you are in for a delicious meal.

If you choose to spread the love, all of these recipes may be easily doubled or tripled to make for a restaurant-quality dinner party in your own home.

Menu

(Serves 2)

Champagne*

Roasted mini potatoes with

creme fraiche and caviar

Shrimp with butternut

squash ravoli

Raspberry sorbet with

berries*

*Recipe not given

Roasted mini potatoes with creme fraiche and caviar

1/2 dozen mini fingerling

potatoes, washed and

scrubbed, halved lengthwise

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

plus 1 tsp.

Sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

1/4 cup creme fraiche

1 1-oz. jar Osetra caviar

Minced fresh chives for

garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, toss the potatoes with the 1/4 cup olive oil, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.  

Coat a small roasting pan with the remaining olive oil and put the potatoes in the pan, cut-side down.  

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the potatoes are tender on the inside and golden on the outside. 

(This may be done earlier in the day.)

3. Let the potatoes cool slightly and then arrange six halves in a starburst pattern on a two plates. 

Top the potatoes with the creme fraiche, caviar and chives. 

Caviar is available by special order from Culinary Architect Catering by calling 516-484-7431 or other specialty food stores.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

1 cup mashed, cooked

butternut squash

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground

black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 egg yolk

1 16-oz. package square

wrappers (chopped fresh

sage to taste)

1 tblsp. grated Parmesan

cheese (or to taste)

1. Make the squash ravioli up to 12 hours before.

2. Place the cooked squash into a mixing bowl.  

Add salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  

Stir in egg yolk and mix until the filling is smoothly combined.

3. Place a wonton wrapper onto a working surface.  

Wet a brush with water and run it along the outer edge of the wonton skin to moisten.  

Place about 1 tsp. of filling in the center of the wonton.  

Fold the wonton in half to make a triangle shape and press the edges to seal.  

Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers.  Set aside on a aluminum lined baking sheet.

4.  Just before serving, bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil.  

Drop the filled raviolis into the boiling water, a few at a time, and cook until they float to the top, about two minutes.  

Drain the raviolis and transfer them to two soup plates.

Sprinkle with more black pepper and parmesan cheese, to taste.

5.  Top with sauteed shrimp.

Sauteed Shrimp

1/2 lb. jumbo shrimp,

peeled and deveined

Sea salt and freshly ground

black pepper

2 tblsp. unsalted butter

2 tblsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat

leaf parsley

1/2 cup chicken broth or

shrimp stock

Fresh Flat-leaf parsley for

garnish (optional)

1. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat until butter stops foaming and just starts to turn a light brown.  

Add the shrimp, saute for five minutes until the shrimp are firm and there is a crispy coating on the outside.  

Remove the shrimp to a side plate and cover to keep warm.

2. Put the pan back on the heat and add the garlic and shallots.  

Cook and stir for one minute until soft.  

Add the lemon juice and chicken broth, give it a stir and let it cook down for one minute to thicken slightly.  

Put the shrimp back in the pan and coat in the sauce.  

Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley sprig before serving.

Alexandra Troy is owner of Culinary Architect Catering, a 32 year-old Greenvale-based company, specializing in private, corporate and promotional parties.  

She lives in Manhasset with her husband and son.