Courting Cupid on a budget in the Napa Valley

By SASHA PAULSEN, Register Features Editor

“Romance without finance is a nuisance,” sang jazz guitarist Tiny Grimes in 1944, when gas was 21 cents a gallon and a couple of dollars could buy a hot meal or a round of cold drinks. Make that even more of a pain if you’re in the Napa Valley in 2008.

A few weeks ago an underpaid fellow journalist pitched a suggestion for the food section: What about a story for the food page about how to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the valley on a budget?

I turned to my esteemed colleague Pierce Carson and asked him if he could write about going out on the town in Napa with empty pockets. His response was vintage Carson: “Sorry, I don’t do cheap.”

Next I asked another valued contributor and man about the valley, Paul Franson. “I’d get into so much trouble if I wrote that,” he said.

“From who?” I asked. “Restaurants?”

“No,” he exclaimed. “From wives. Girl friends. Huge trouble.”

I tried one of our most intrepid correspondents, Louisa Hufstader who said she’d take it on. Two weeks later I got her story, which concluded: stay home. She had done some sleuthing for ways to spice up an evening at home that included finding candles made from soy wax that melt to produce a scented massage oil. Nice, but not edible.

With growing despair I wandered around the newsroom trolling for ideas. I got these:

• Go to Costco in Vallejo and eat free samples. Although you have to pay for gas.

• Go to Trader Joe’s and eat free samples. You can get an appetizer and dessert and beverage. Then spring for 79 cents to buy a package of pasta. If you want to go wild, buy a jar of pasta sauce, $1.99.

• Go to Vallerga’s and ask to sample the deli selections.

• Genova Delicatessen on Trancas will also let you taste samples.

None of these was highly recommended for a first date.

Actually we did come up with one good, free idea for going out this Thursday night: Admission is free to Copia during February, and Thursday, which is Valentine’s Day, is also Jazz at Julia’s with live jazz in the Copia lounge, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Happy house is 4-7 p.m.

Back to the kitchen

Having struck out on bargain meals in the valley, I turned once more to Paul Franson, who has been known to produce a fine meal or two for guests. He readily agreed that no woman would get mad at him if he came up with menus that a guy could cook at home, and even though he was packing for a trip to Barcelona, he paused to create two menus and even demonstrate how to cook his super easy apple tart.

Franson writes, “Here are two of what I would consider romantic meals. The first has expensive ingredients but not much labor. The second is more labor intensive but uses inexpensive ingredients. The chicken is the most expensive, but is often on sale and the leftovers can make a number of meals.

“Alternately, you could just broil two chicken breasts. I also think one wine will do for the whole meal, though a bottle of Prosecco can be inexpensive and festive.”

Rich romantic meal

with Napa wines:

Oysters on the half shell with lemon and caviar on toast points with sour cream

Suggested wine: Domaine Carneros sparkling rosé

Cream of artichoke soup

Wine: Mason sauvignon blanc

Steamed 1/2 Maine lobster with lemon butter

Wine: HdV chardonnay

Broiled rare lamb chops, steamed asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and tiny buttered new potatoes with parsley

Wine: Quintessa (mostly cabernet sauvignon)

Chocolate lava cakes with whipped cream

Wine: Schramsberg Cremant (sweet sparkling wine)

Poor romantic meal:

Steamed artichoke (from Trader Joe’s!) with lemon

Lentil soup (with a little bacon for flavoring)

Crepe with sautéed vegetables (zucchini, onions, mushrooms) in béchamel

Roast chicken with butter-sautéed spinach and individual potato gratins

Tarte Tatin (caramelized apple upside-down tart) with vanilla ice cream

Suggested wine: La Vielle Ferme blanc. Add Prosecco if you can, to start.

For a little more sweet inspiration, Deanie Fox from Ubuntu, and the CIA at Greystone also provided two other easy but winning dessert ideas.

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