Long Island Larder: Dinner For Two

Lovers, here's a fail-safe dinner plan to celebrate your romance.

Have you ever wondered why Virginia Is for Lovers, as that noble commonwealth proclaims on its license plates?

Elizabeth Taylor and her number sixth, or perhaps seventh, Senator John Warner? Nah - too obscure, and almost forgotten by all but Liz's most devoted fans.

John Smith and Pocahontas? Romantic? I guess, if you fancy the story of a 14-year-old girl being dragged off to gloomy England by a man three times her age. (I should look up the captain's exact age, but I couldn't find out on the Internet in two hours' searching the answer to the burning question of just why Virginia Is for Lovers, so how could I ever find out John Smith's age?)

The fact is, of course, every place - as Cole Porter assured us in "Let's Do It" - is for lovers. We celebrate that tomorrow, St. Valentine's Day. So, naturally, one's thoughts turn to an intimate dinner for two.

Possibly at the top of Rockefeller Center at the most romantic room in New York, Rainbow and Stars, where ballads are crooned to couples, or in the Rainbow Room itself, where one can dance the night away on the slowly revolving parquet. (The music never stops, though the bands change. The musicians quietly slip into each other's chairs and suddenly, instead of soft rock or stately standards, the notes are bossa nova.)

However, what if by chance both rooms are all booked, or our magic carpet needs its alternator replaced (that's the part mechanics keep in a box labeled "sucker supplies"), or if - I realize this is a long shot - the lovers love to cook and spend the evening alone together?

Build a romantic fire, put all your most lyrical CDs on the stereo, and spend all the money you saved not going out on the best champagne and a cozy cooking liaison that features caviar and Godiva chocolates. So, lovers, here's my fail-safe dinner plan to celebrate your romance:

The Caviar

If ever the payoff outweighed the investment, this little hors d'oeuvre is it. For a tiny price, you can buy a tinful of graduated heart-shaped cookie-cutters, ranging from one inch to about three inches at the widest curve, to use whenever hearts are the motif, whether the celebrants are young or old.

Six canapes

4 wide slices French country bread, a quarter-inch thick

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

3 ozs. red salmon caviar

Freshly ground white pepper

Toast the bread lightly under a grill, then cut out hearts about two inches at the wide curve. Spread them thinly with the cream cheese (this makes a steadying base to hold the caviar on the toast). Put a dollop of caviar into the center of each heart and spread it toward the edges with a small rubber spatula, taking care not to break the eggs. Dust lightly with freshly ground pepper.

You may make the toast hearts a day ahead, but don't assemble them until shortly before serving, as they tend to get soggy. Serve the champagne icy cold, and keep it cold in an ice-filled wine bucket.

The Oysters

Few first courses are easier to make or more certain to please oyster-lovers. Here they are largely unadorned and the dish depends entirely on the quality of the fresh, plump, preferably wild oysters from a nearby bed.

4 trimmed, crustless toast points

1 pint freshly opened raw oysters

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. cream, heavy or medium

White pepper

Trim slices of home-style white bread, cut into triangles, and toast until they are dry and crisp. Arrange two pieces on each salad-size plate. Drain the oysters, saving the liquor for another use. Melt the butter in a small heavy skillet and when bubbly, add the oysters. Shake the pan until the edges of the oysters curl, then add the Worcestershire sauce, cream, and pepper to taste. Divide over the toast points. Serve immediately with more champagne.

The Rabbit

While the preceding courses are being savored, this one should, of course, be in the oven. The rice, which takes about an hour, should be cooked and in its timbale molds. The salad can of course be washed and dried a day ahead and the dressing made in the afternoon and set aside.

1 whole fresh rabbit, about 3 lbs.

1/4 cup Cognac

1/2 lb. fresh, domestic mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1/4 lb. fresh Chanterelles or 2 ozs. dried and soaked

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1 cup soft, fresh bread crumbs

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 pkg. frozen artichoke hearts

Garnish: watercress

Wash and pat the rabbit dry. Rub it inside and out with the Cognac and put it in a plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight. Make a stuffing with the mushrooms. Saute them in butter until tender along with the garlic. Add a little salt and freshly milled black pepper. Mix them with the parsley and bread crumbs and stuff the cavity of the rabbit with this simple dressing - it imparts great flavor to the rabbit, which has extremely mild-tasting white flesh.

Sew up the cavity or use skewers and twine to close it. Brown the rabbit to medium-gold in the sesame oil and put it in a covered casserole as close as possible the same size as the rabbit. Roast for 45 minutes, basting often, then add the defrosted artichoke hearts and roll them around in the accumulated juices. Cover and roast an additional 15 minutes.

The entire recipe can be made a day ahead and reheated - the rabbit flesh will benefit from its overnight union with the mushrooms and flavorings.

To carve the rabbit, cut off the hind legs (the forequarters haven't much meat), then remove long, neat fillets down the length of the body, starting at the backbone and cutting down as if you were filleting a fish. Cut each fillet into two equal pieces crosswise. Serve the rabbit on hot plates with some of the mushroom stuffing and a garnish of watercress. Spoon some pan juices over the meat.

The Rice

This can also be made a day ahead or the previous evening, if necessary, and reheated.

Put half a cup of long-grain wild rice (best quality) into a small saucepan with 2 cups of water, a teaspoon of butter, and a few chopped dried wild mushrooms. Bring to a boil and add half a teaspoon of salt. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, using a flame tamer to avoid too-fast evaporation.

When the wild rice is nearly tender and most, but not all, of the water evaporated, add a quarter-cup long-grain white rice and three-quarters cup hot water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, then turn off heat and let steam, with a paper towel between the pot and lid, for another five minutes. If there is any excess liquid, drain it off.

Lightly pack two buttered custard cups with the rice, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside (do not refrigerate - it ruins the rice) until needed. Reheat in a microwave, then unmold onto the serving plate.

Serve the chilled Montrachet with the rabbit and rice.

The Salad

Wash, dry, and chill enough mesclun for two people. Make a simple vinaigrette using one tablespoon of walnut oil and a few drops of lemon juice with a little salt and pepper. After the main course is cleared, dress the mesclun with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with chopped walnuts and crumbled Roquefort. This might be the right time for a glass of sparkling mineral water with ice.

The Dessert

Simply rinse the strawberries quickly, stem them, and sprinkle them lightly with cognac - some people advocate Balsamic vinegar, but I am sick to death of Balsamic vinegar and wish it would disappear forever.

Raspberry liqueur is also good, in tiny amounts, to sweeten the strawberries, which will not be local at this time of year so usually need a little help. Serve a dish of powdered confectioner's sugar to dip the berries in.

A pretty plate of Godiva chocolates and a tiny glass of that heavenly scented elixir (it's not called eau de vie - water of life - for nothing) a Framboise or Poire William will cap a perfect evening, gastronomically speaking. The conclusion of it is up to the participants.