Friends, fellow apartment chefs, and haphazard dorm cooks, welcome back to another installment of the College Chef’s Handbook. It’s been a while, but I’m back to bring you more recipes from my apartment kitchen.

Whether or not you have a significant other in your life, Valentine’s Day calls for special treats. This year, instead of my usual heart-shaped, pink-frosted shortbread cookies, I decided to put  my cooking skills to use to develop some new, romantic recipes for a fancy dinner with my boyfriend.

This wasn’t just any romantic dinner. I designed this four course feast to contain ingredients that are thought to be aphrodisiacs. Such ingredients include strawberries, chocolate, pomegranate, beef, figs, oysters, and more. In theory, these foods increase libido by stimulating blood flow and supplying antioxidants. However, any evidence that these foods actually have these effects is inconsistent at best. But it doesn’t hurt to try!

So, I set out to answer the age-old question with a dinner full of aphrodisiacs: do they actually work? Here are the four recipes I developed and tested for the occasion.

Pomegranate spritz mocktails/cocktails: A good appetizer-type drink that’s light and refreshing, but full of flavor and fizz.

Elizabeth Grieve | Senior Scene Editor

Ingredients: pomegranate juice (the aphrodisiac), simple syrup, lime juice, sparkling water, pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs for garnish, vodka or gin (if making a cocktail).

Instructions: In a glass full of ice, add pomegranate juice, simple syrup, and a splash of freshly squeezed lime juice, filling about two-thirds of the glass. Fill the rest of the glass with sparkling water, and add some fresh thyme and pomegranate on top. If adding alcohol, add at the beginning with the pomegranate juice. For a less sweet mocktail or cocktail, add some more lime juice.

Rating: Butterflies-in-my-stomach out of 10 

Fig and beet salad with goat cheese: An earthy and fruity dish balanced with soft and creamy goat cheese.

Elizabeth Grieve | Senior Scene Editor

Ingredients: 5 ounces of figs (an aphrodisiac), 2 beets, peeled and diced, 2 ounces of goat cheese, pomegranate seeds (an aphrodisiac), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions: Start by boiling the diced beets until they are soft enough to be pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Then, slice the figs into bite sized slivers and arrange them in salad bowls along with the drained beets. Then top the salads with the goat cheese (which I crumbled up with a fork) and the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Rating: Make-out-session-in-the-kitchen out of 10

Pan-seared steak: What more can I say? A perfectly cooked steak is the most romantic dish

Elizabeth Grieve | Senior Scene Editor

Ingredients: steaks (an aphrodisiac), neutral oil (like olive or avocado oil), salt, pepper, garlic powder, butter, thyme. 

Instructions: Pick a cut of steak that is moderately thin. I like a New York strip, but any cut can work with a little bit of cook-time adjustment. First, generously coat each side of the steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then put a bit of olive oil in a stainless steel pan. Get it as hot as it can possibly be (it will smoke). Once the oil is very hot, gently place the steak in the pan and sear it on each side for about 2 minutes. After taking the steak out of the pan, top it with a little butter and thyme.

Rating: You-could-at-least-buy-me-dinner-first out of 10

Chocolate ganache tarts: A rich and creamy chocolate delight, because I unfortunately can’t reveal my proprietary brownie recipe

Elizabeth Grieve | Senior Scene Editor

Ingredients: For the crust: 9 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups of flour, 3 teaspoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt, a couple tablespoons of iced water. For the chocolate filling: 6 ounces of chocolate (an aphrodisiac), 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. (Loosely based on this recipe.)

Instructions: For the crust, cube the butter and then put it back in the refrigerator to stay cold. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour and other dry ingredients. Once the butter is in small bits, add just enough tablespoons of iced water for the dough to come together. Then press the dough into little tartlet pans (but it can also be pressed into a full-size pie plate). Poke a couple holes in the bottom of the dough, and then bake at 350 degrees F until the tart shell is lightly browned.

For the filling, heat the heavy cream until it’s just below simmering. Pour it directly over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes. To finish off the filling, whisk in the vanilla extract. After the tart shells are cool, pour the filling inside and let them chill in the refrigerator until they are set. To be a little extra, and make my boyfriend feel extra special, I made some meringue and torched it on top. The tarts are also very good with fresh whipped cream.

Rating: Cuddle-up-on-the-couch-for-some-aftercare out of 10 

In order to make sure all of the food was ready at the same time, I started with the tarts, then made the salads, then the steaks, and finally the mocktails. The full meal took about two hours to make.

It’s safe to say that the two of us enjoyed our aphrodisiac feast. I think it’s possible the aphrodisiac ingredients enhanced our dinner, whether or not the effects were placebo.

Cooking a nice meal is a perfect way to show someone you care about them. For me, food is a love language. I pour my heart and soul into everything I make, and it gives me so much joy to see others, especially my boyfriend, like what I cook. So give these recipes a try! I promise you won’t be disappointed.