Venison in a chocolate sauce and a cherry tiramisu to tempt lovers of good food, writes DOMINI KEMP

I'VE NEVER BEEN one to endorse a romantic dinner ádeux for what must be the most irritating day of celebration. I know I may sound like the cupid version of The Grinch, but honestly: over-priced bunches of flowers, soppy cards, teddy bears and rose petals? Every time I see such items displayed in shops, I want to stop and shout á la John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!"

At the moment I am reading Adam Gopnik’s wonderful book The Table Comes First. This is a fantastic collection of essays and musings, dedicated to our love of food. He’s able to elaborate – so beautifully – on why we love eating out or just sitting around a table and how love often begins at a table, where the hint of possibility can often lead to a promise of something more.

After thinking about this notion, I gave in to the idea that cooking for someone on Valentine’s Day isn’t the worst crime – that’s reserved for the teddy bears and rose petals – and that maybe I should be a bit more supportive of such declarations of love.

So with that in mind, I have sourced recipes for splashes of red, hints of chocolate and a suitable amount of great flavour.

I would not waste time on a starter for such an evening and instead, keep it light and simple by serving some oysters or a smoked oyster pâte, which is great, especially with a glass of fizz. Trying to nail three courses could be a bit of a stretch, so stick to two good ones.

I bought a venison shoulder that weighed about 660g, which was way too much for two people, but you may find it hard to get a smaller shoulder. Allowing about 200-250g per person is plenty, so if you have a bigger piece, you will have leftovers. This is a recipe you need to start the night before with some marinating, but after that it is pretty straightforward and ends up beautifully tender.

Serve this with your favourite mash or celeriac purée. The sprinkling of pomegranate seeds is more for show than flavour – it all depends on how red you want everything to be.

The cherrymisu is fabulous and is based on a Lucas Hollweg recipe. It was fine sitting in the fridge for a few hours, so can definitely be made earlier in the day, then devoured straight from the fridge.

Venison with chocolate sauce

1 piece of venison shoulder (approx 500g)

½ bottle red wine

8 juniper berries

12 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

Few sprigs of thyme

A piece of orange peel

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 onion, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 celery stick, sliced

100g button mushrooms, quartered

1 tbsp tomato purée

400ml water

1 tbsp redcurrant jelly

40g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Marinate the venison overnight in the red wine, berries, peppercorns, bay leaves, sprigs of thyme, orange peel. If you need to turn it over every now and then, do so. When you’re ready to cook, allow about three hours for this recipe. Start by removing the shoulder from the marinade and patting it dry. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and sear it off very well on both sides and season the meat very well. When you have good colour all over the meat, add the diced vegetables (carrot, onion, garlic and celery) for a few minutes, before deglazing the pan with the red wine marinade. Add the orange peel, herbs and peppercorns as well as the berries, and pour in the water. Mix well and cover. Bake at 150 degrees/gas mark 2 for at least 2½ hours. You may need to turn it over half-way through cooking.

Then, lift out the venison and keep it warm in your serving dish. Strain the cooking liquid and press down on the veg to extract some flavour and sweetness from them before you throw them away. They’ve done their job.

Boil this liquid down and then whisk in the redcurrant jelly. It should have a decent gravy-like consistency, but if it’s too thick, add some water. Taste and check the seasoning. If you are happy with the flavour, whisk in the chopped chocolate which will thicken the sauce and make it richer. Again, check the seasoning and then serve slices of the venison with the chocolate sauce on top.

Cherrymisu

Serves 2

300g black cherries

100ml Port

70g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

120g mascarpone

80ml cream

12 sponge fingers

6 Amaretti biscuits, crushed

Dark chocolate, grated, to decorate

Stone the cherries and roughly chop them. Put them into a saucepan with the Port and half the sugar. When the sugar has melted, cool down and strain the Port syrup and set it aside.

Beat the eggs with the rest of the sugar until to the ribbon, therefore frothy, thick and pale. Add the mascarpone and whisk. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, then fold it in. You can then give this a good whisk to firm it up until it becomes quite stiff. It needs to be able to support some layers of cherries.

When ready to assemble, get two wine glasses and dip your sponge fingers briefly into the Port syrup. Layer these in the glasses, then top with a thin layer of cherries, the cream, then a sprinkle of Amaretti biscuits, then another layer of soaked sponge fingers. Keep going until you’ve used up all the ingredients. It looks nice finishing up with the cream mixture, though. Grate some dark chocolate on top and a few cherries to garnish. Chill for about four hours and then dig in.

RESTAURANTS MAY BE guaranteed a full house, but the punters tend to be abstemious couples gazing into each others' eyes rather than letting loose on the wine list. If you have a date lined up and don't know much about wine, you could ask the wine waiter for advice. However, wine knowledge amongst restaurant staff is not always what it should be, and the cynical will merely try to fleece you in front of your loved one. Instead, look to see what wines are available by the glass (every decent restaurant should have a list) or half-bottles and carafes, writes JOHN WILSON.

In an ideal world, you would start off with a glass of something fizzy; Champagne, if good, is perfect, but Prosecco or Cava will kick things off nicely. Then a glass of something white with your starter, followed by a glass, or maybe a half-bottle, of red with the main course.

If further Dutch courage is required, a glass of something sweet with dessert will finish the evening off perfectly; most restaurants will have a few options on their dessert menu.

I am fortunate in that my wife doesn't go in for all the commercial palaver, and prefers to have a quiet dinner à deux at home. This year I will be away doing some research on German red wines (it seems I have a lot to learn) so we will hold an early celebration. I would certainly recommend going for quality rather than quantity; too much alcohol will affect performance and is a great way to generate an argument.

Having failed miserably with a number of very complicated chocolatey desserts in years past, I now keep it very simple, with recipes that I can prepare before sitting down. I am not sure I will get through all of Domini's recipes, but I will certainly give the venison a shot. My wine plan this year includes three very decent half-bottles of wine, one sparkling, one red and one sweet. Depending on your preferences, you could substitute a white wine for the sweet or sparkling; but I do think that the Champagne below, and the pinkish sweet wine, will really help create the mood. You will pay a premium for half-bottles, but it does mean that you won't end up drinking three entire bottles.
The Corkscrew on Chatham Street in Dublin is offering a half bottle each of Champagne, red Burgundy and dessert wine for €58.85. Delivery nationwide is available.

CHERRYMISU

With the Port-soaked cherries, this calls for something equally powerful. The partner could be a Port. However, the Quady Muscat is lighter and pink; a small glass, possibly served lightly chilled, will bring the meal to a satisfying conclusion, and provide the perfect match for the dessert.

Andrew Quady Elysium Black Muscat 2009 15% €12.95 or £8.50 in Northern Ireland.

With a painting of a heart on the label, this is made for St Valentine's Day. The sweet, dark cherry fruits and light, spicy edge should provide a perfect foil to the cherries in the cherrymisu. Stockists: jnwine.com

VENISON

As most wine lovers will be aware, game of all kinds can provide a great backdrop for your finest Burgundy. I would add in old Northern Rhônes too; both have a lightness and slight gaminess that matches very well. Venison is more robust and works well with more substantial wines: the southern Rhône, Australian Shiraz, Zinfandel, and others. The current fashion for serving game with sweet fruit-based sauces calls for the latter style, something with ripe fruit, and a bit of body. Given that Domini’s recipe includes chocolate, I would certainly go for something richer. I am a huge fan of the Ridge wines, and a half-bottle of the Lytton Springs, with its lush, meaty, dark berry fruits should do the trick very nicely.

Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel 2009, California 14%, €17.34 per half bottle

Made with the addition of some Petite Syrah and Carignan to the Zinfandel, this is a gorgeous, full-bodied wine with sumptuous ripe, dark fruits, and a lovely meaty finish. It would also go very nicely with red meat dishes. Stockists: Donnybrook Fair; jnwine.com, both north and south of the Border. If you are lucky, you may find it on restaurant lists.

WINE LOVERS' BREAK

For lovers of wine seeking a last-minute break, Kelly's Resort Hotel in Wexford will hold one of their midweek wine tastings on February 19th-24th. There will be tastings hosted by Paul and Maire Jacqueson from Burgundy, and Jean-Vincent Avril of the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate, Clos des Papes.

For further details, see kellys.ie or call 053-9132114.