How to make tasty meat and pasta dish for Valentine's Day

These cooking techniques boost the taste of your meat and seasoning of choice and give you thick tasty pasta.

Prepare a bottle of wine to boost the taste and wash down with the food.

The meat (beef, pork, or poultry) 24 hours before cooking

Once the meat is out of the fridge or freezer, let it sit until it comes to room temperature.

Dry the meat with a paper towel. Doing this ensures that the meat comes out moist and tender. This is because what we call moisture in cooked meat is natural oils and fat, not water.

When you cook meat without drying, it comes out dry with a boiled tone to it. This is because water boils away the natural fats and oils thereby leaving it dry.

Then season it with salt and preferred ingredients distributing them well throughout the meat. Let it sit for 24 hours.

You can use any method to cook the meat, however, do quick searing on a frying pan or grill before or after cooking. It will give the meat a fine browning that makes it taste better.

The pasta

1. Boil the pasta in a large pot of water. Add oil and salt.
2. Cook until tender such that when the sauce is added, it doesn't become mashed.
3. Drain it but don't rinse it. That way the sauce will stick better.
4. Pour a bit of the pasta cooking water into the sauce to thicken it.
5. Pour the sauce into the pasta and add freshly grated hard cheese and cut herbs.
6. Add a green salad or steamed veggies to enhance the dish.

The sauce

1. Fry onions and oregano in oil they soften and start to turn brown.
2. Add garlic and cook until it turns golden brown.
3. Stir the mixture in a half a cup of wine until the vapour is almost gone.
4. Add the other half of the wine as the mixture simmers until the wine is all done.
5. Add a mixture of honey and tomato and cook on a low fire for 10 minutes.
6. Take off the heat and season with salt, pepper, and basil to taste.

Serve the same brand of wine with the food for the ultimate romantic dinner taste.