Our Southern locale lends many of the key ingredients that take date night to the next level. When you’re looking to turn up the heat, try these recipes that employ aphrodisiac foods to transform basic ingredients into classy cocktails and sexy snacks.
APHRODISIAC FOODS AND HOW TO USE THEM
Alcohol
The drowsy chaperone‘s name alone takes us back to high school dances, but we especially love that this sparkling cocktail combines two aphrodisiacs, ginger and alcohol. Prep the citrus-and-herb simple syrup in advance for an easy build-in-your-glass drink that needs just a splash of Champagne to seal the deal.
Oysters
While oysters are delicious raw, a little extra effort makes them more impressive. For a cross-cultural take on oysters rockefeller, we like the German-inspired oysters lubeck from chef Brittanny Anderson, which dresses them in a simple, buttery topping before broiling.
Figs
These grilled figs with goat cheese pair figs with melty chèvre. If it’s too cold to fire up the grill, you can alternatively heat them under the broiler.
Pistachios
A healthy sprinkle of pistachios adds alluring elegance and extra crunch to fried brussels sprouts in this crispy brussels sprout salad.
Honey
Inspire sweet sentiments with a drizzle of tupelo honey in this honey-butter fish recipe from Rodney Scott. The recipe as written serves six, but easily pares down for a perfect dinner for two.
Don’t be afraid to get spicy with these cayenne-peanut butter-caramel brownies. Beyond the decadent chocolate, the addition of hot pepper begs for an à la mode preparation.
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Hannah Lee Leidy
Hannah Lee Leidy is a food writer and editor based in the Carolinas. She is currently the digital content editor for Our State magazine, a position she came into following her time at The Local Palate. Her contributions have appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, Culture, and Eater. She’s spent time working in restaurants in both front and back of house positions, doing everything from burning gateaux to expediting to shaking a Manhattan (don’t worry, this only happened once). An avid curd nerd, her favorite beat is reporting on boutique cheese makers; she’ll sniff out every creamery near and far whenever traveling. When not parenting a Bernese mountain pup named Ava, you’ll find her running or working on her lamination technique.
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