Celebrating Beltane: An Intimate Meal for Two- Romantic Recipes

The Wiccan Sabbat, Beltane, holds that this is one of the most sexually charged nights of the year- a perfect night for lovers to celebrate each other. A fabulous, sensual, 4-course dinner featuring romantic recipes will start off your private celebration right.

An artichoke may not look very sexy at first, but think about it: stripping away one leaf at a time, dipping it a luxurious butter. Imagine gently putting that soft, buttery leaf between your lips, then slowly sliding it back out as you scrape the warm meat off and suck the butter from it... one leaf at a time. What better way to flirt and draw attention to your mouth than over a leisurely artichoke? That makes it a perfect food for celebrating Beltane... is it blasphemous that a Pagan recipe be sinfully rich?

Artichokes with Melted Butter
2 large artichokes
2 quarts water
1 tbsp Salt
Lemon
Butter

Place the water and salt in a medium sized pot on the stove and bring it to boil.

Trim the artichokes with a sharp knife, cutting off the stem so the bottom is flush and it sits up, and cutting off the top 1 inch (or so) of the leaf tips. If any sharp points remain on the outer leaves, snip the points off with scissors.

Cut a lemon wedge and rub the cut edges of each artichoke immediately after trimming to prevent discoloration.

When the water is boiling, drop them in the pot. Allow them to boil for a full 30 minutes or so, or until they are tender enough to pierce the base with a sharp knife.

Remove them from the pot and set them on a rack or in a colander, upside-down, to drain thoroughly.

Remove the "choke" part of the artichoke. Spread the leaves of the flower apart from the center. Pull out the small, tender inner leaves to reveal the hairy choke. Scoop it out with a spoon- just scrape off the top hairy layer, for the heart of the artichoke, the best part, lies right underneath the choke.

Place your de-choked artichoke on a plate and serve with a small bowl of melted butter and a wedge of lemon to start the Wiccan sabbat right.

Salad: Rose Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette
Take in the power and energy of nature's most romantic flower with this Pagan recipe: a tasty salad just perfect for lovers. The cool, crisp, light, sophisticated, vinegary salad also makes a nice contrast to the courses it comes between.

1/4 cup of tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon white granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

Make the dressing the day before. In a jar or storage bowl with a tightly fitting lid, add everything but the oil.

Put the lid on and shake ingredients vigorously. Open the lid and add the oil. Recover it and shake again to incorporate the ingredients. Refrigerate till use.

The salad can be prepared early in the day. Peel the leaves off your romaine lettuce hearts. Tear them into bite-sized pieces. Wash them in a large bowl of cold water, swishing them around, then put them in a salad spinner (or into a colander for about 15 minutes, go back and shake the leaves up every few minutes to help them dry).

Pluck the petals off the roses (be sure they are edible- don't eat anything sprayed with commercial chemical fertilizers). Wash and dry them the same way you did the lettuce.

Lay out a layer of paper towels and spread the lettuce bits out on it in a single layer. Add a layer of paper towels on top of the first and spread out more lettuce leaves. When there are no more lettuce leaves, roll up the leaves in the paper towel and tuck it into a container. Repeat this with the roses. Place the container in the fridge until the Wiccan sabbat rites begin.

Finely chop the tarragon and chives. Place them in a small food storage container, cover and refrigerate.

When you are ready to serve the salad, empty the paper towels full of rose petals and lettuce bites into your bowl. Sprinkle on a handful of chives and tarragon. Pour on some dressing and toss.

Cherry Smothered Pork Loin
Oooohh, cherries. This Beltane recipe features them- red, sweet and luscious. This dish looks like Beltane on a plate. Fancy and impressive, yet blessedly easy and quick romantic recipe to prepare so you're not kept from your lover too long.

1 medium onion, diced fine
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 pork loin (or 1 lb of thinly sliced boneless center cut pork chops)
1 can dark cherries, pitted3 tbsps cornstarch
2 cups chicken stock (or broth)
1/4 cup of sherry
1 cup flour
Salt
Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees.

Add 2 tbsps butter and oil to a large skillet. On medium heat, saute the onions for about 15 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

Slice the pork loin into 1/4 inch slices. Mix the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the sliced pork in the flour to coat. Shake off excess.

Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Lay slices of pork in the skillet, spaced about ½ inch apart (no overlapping), and cook on each side for approximately 2 minutes until they are cooked through. Lay pork slices, as they are finished, on a tray or heat-proof platter and put it in the low oven to keep them warm.

Drain the cherries, reserving the juice in a bowl. Add cornstarch and stock and mix well. Pour it into the skillet and stir, scraping the bits up from the bottom of the pan. Bring it to a boil and allow it to boil for about 3 minutes. Add the onions, the pitted cherries and sherry. Bring to a simmer then remove the sauce from the heat.

Fan out pork slices on a plate and ladle the cherry sauce over it generously.

Serve it with wild rice and a nice Chardonnay. Note that this Beltane recipe can also be made with thin, boneless chicken breasts.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Consistently rated the sexiest food, what could be more in line with celebrating Beltane than these ripe, sweet berries bursting with flavor, coated in rich chocolate and served with fresh whipped cream? Present this to your lover and it will be a Wiccan sabbat to remember.

Pint of fresh Strawberries
12 oz package of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 pint fresh whipping cream (or a can or container of ready whipped cream)
Chocolate bar (garnish)

Make your chocolate covered strawberries the day before or the morning of the meal. They must chill for several hours before serving.

Empty a pint of berries into a colander. Rinse well with cold water, shaking them gently. Set them aside to dry thoroughly.
Empty chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave them for 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until they are melted and smooth.

Be sure the strawberries are very, very dry. If not, blot them on paper towels. Place a tray next to you lined with parchment paper.

Hold a berry by the leaves (gently so they don't tear off. Dip it 3/4 of the way into the chocolate, then pull it out. Allow the excess to drizzle off the berry. Lay the berry on the parchment. Continue until you have coated all the berries. If one falls in or the leaf tears off, use a skewer to retrieve it. Place them in the refrigerator.

Whip your cream, if you are making it fresh. Add up to 1/3 cup of sugar if desired. Use a hand mixer on high, or whisk by hand, until the cream is thickened to whipped cream, or soft peaks. Don't over-whip as you will end up with frosting or butter, and you can't undo it. That doesn't make for a very romantic recipe. Refrigerate it, and put your chocolate bar in the fridge as well.

To serve, peel the berries off the parchment and arrange several in a crescent-moon shape on one side of a plate. Put a big, heaping dollop of whipped cream on the side.

Take your chocolate bar and a vegetable peeler. Hold it over the whipped cream. Run the peeler blade over the side edge of the bar to create curly strips for a garnish. Serve with champagne and toast to the Wiccan sabbat in style.