I got this book in the mail the other day, to review. It fits with everything I know about relationships and love.
The truth is Valentine’s day is way over-produced. Very few of the dates result in a particularly romantic evening. Everybody needs to do it – is is after all a statement date, when you offer to take someone out that night, for over priced and often not very good food.
It’s a lot more fun to invite someone over for Valentine’s day, and comfort them with food.
Simple Sexy Food is a book that makes for easy reading. About half the book is a history of various foods and ingredients as they apply to love and sex. The last half is recipes that should work for most people. They aren’t difficult but they are interesting, Everything from roasted tomatoes and pine nuts with pasta to scallops with garlic and cilantro.
The first half of the book is a cross between a pop history and DIY manual for seduction. I wasn’t horribly interested in some of the ‘health’ facts, but enjoyed the history.
The recipes look first rate and I’ll be trying some of them. They are dishes many people think of as “restaurant food” but are within the capabilities of almost everyone. They’re organized as starters, lunches, dinners, desserts and drinks.
I would quibble over some of the etymologies by De Villers knows what she’s talking about, and I found her affection for the exclamation mark somewhat tiring, but this is fun gift and a useful addition to the cookbook shelf.