This Valentine’s Day, make it a kitchen date

By Eric Kim, The New York Times

There may be one thing more romantic than cooking for another: cooking together.

Learning the rhythms of each other’s day-to-day movements, like how one folds laundry and cooks dinner — or burns toast — is one of the best ways to get to know someone. For veteran couples, preparing a meal together can be a gentle reminder to check in on one another. If this is something you already do every night, why not go a little luxe on Valentine’s Day?

Here is an elegant menu that lets you do just that. These three courses come together easily, proof that the quality of a meal need not rely on hours and hours of preparation. This will serve you particularly well on a day like Valentine’s Day, when spending more time with your partner is what it’s all about.

For the first course, radicchio, its purple leaves struck through with lightninglike patches of white, pairs well with Camembert, taleggio or another soft and funky cheese that bulges at room temperature. Together, they make an ideal starter that you can nibble on while tackling the other dishes (and sipping on that first glass of wine).

Wonderfully bitter radicchio tastes otherworldly when seared briefly in a skillet, and the cheese melts gloriously in the hot pan. When seasoned with honey and sherry vinegar, the dish sings a sultry melody. (Think Ariana Grande’s velvety “Thank U, Next.”)

The main course is more regal, but takes a modern approach. The English dish beef Wellington — a fillet of beef wrapped in puff pastry — is ordinarily a big project. But the joy of this single-serve version, in which store-bought puff pastry envelops individual filets mignons, is that it’s significantly easier to assemble, making it much less intimidating. And with two in the kitchen, you can split the labor and, like life, meet at the end.