Collegiate Times

Valentine's Day is less than a week away, and it can be difficult to come up with a romantic, unique plan for the night. Since it is a day of love, consider feeding your loved one an aphrodisiac-filled menu complete with seductive wine pairings.

Wine has long been thought of as an aphrodisiac; we all know the story about Marc Antony gently feeding grapes to Cleopatra. Just don't go overboard on the wine, you wouldn't want to spend Valentine's night passed out on the couch.

If you're daring or know that both you and your date enjoy them, oysters are a classic aphrodisiac and make a nice appetizer. Oysters gained this reputation because of their high amounts of protein and zinc, which is known to increase sexual health. According to an article by Andrea Robinson, a master sommelier, legendary lover Casanova reportedly ate 50 raw oysters each morning. I wouldn't do this, but you can find some recipes online for different oyster preparations. You could eat them raw with vinaigrette of some sort or steam them in a nice broth.

If oysters aren't your thing, consider caviar. Serve a dab of caviar on some mini toasts and a dollop of fresh cream on the top. Both oysters and caviar go excellently with champagne or sparkling wine. The acidity of champagne goes nicely with the salty, earthiness of these two dishes. And what better way to start off the night than with the pop of a champagne cork?

For the main course, how about a honey and garlic flavored chicken with asparagus on the side. Both honey and garlic are aphrodisiacs, and there are several recipes available involving these ingredients. One really easy recipe that doesn't take too many ingredients can be found on cooks.com, called "Italian Honey Mustard Baked Chicken."

Asparagus is also an aphrodisiac; it is packed with minerals and vitamins that offer an energy boost. Personally, my favorite way to cook asparagus is in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. This gives the vegetable a slight crunch — no more droopy asparagus — and you can feed it to your date, adding to the meal's effects.

With this course, Pinot Grigio would be a good choice. Pinot Grigio is a light, fruity white wine that will bring out the freshness of the asparagus and pairs well with the honey in the chicken.

Finally, the dessert course should be chocolate. When pairing chocolate with wine, you want to look for something that is at least 60 percent cacao. This means it will nowhere near as sweet as milk chocolate, but also much more sensual when paired with a sweeter wine. This chocolate used to be harder to find, but as consumers get wiser, big companies like Hershey have started making this "gourmet" chocolate readily available. Look for the new "Cacao Reserve" line at the store. Remove it from the package and arrange on a plate with some fresh raspberries (so it looks like it took more time than it really did).

Pairing chocolate with wine can be tricky. This is where dessert wines come into play, and you might have to go to a specialty store, like Vintage Cellar on Main Street, to find these wines. One classic chocolate/wine pairing is Madeira, a caramel, orange scented wine that adds some sweetness to the bittersweet chocolate.