my favs

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Pine Nut Soup
Ingredients:

100 g Pine nuts
3 Egg yolks
250 ml Chicken bouillon
250 ml Cream
Saffron, ouzo or cayenne pepper

Puré a mixture of the pine nuts and the egg yolks in the food processor until you have a fine, smooth paste.
Put this in a saucepan and add one cup of chicken bouillon and one cup of cream. The chicken stock can be added already at the food processor stage if you have difficulties in obtaining a smooth paste.This far the dish can be prepared hours in advance. Heat over a gentle fire under constant stirring until the mixture thickens. It must not, however, be brought to a boil! Serve immediately.

If desired, the aphrodisiac properties can be reinforced by suitable spices. I have tried three equally successful alternatives: 0.5 grams of finely divided saffron, two tablespoons of ouzo and a pinch of cayenne pepper. The spice (but only one of them!) is added before the soup is heated. Especially the saffron gives the dish a pleasing reddish colour.

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Oysters Rockefeller

Ingredients (Makes 8 servings):

1 pound butter
1 rib celery -- finely chopped
2 bunches scallions -- finely chopped
1 bunch parsley -- fine chopped
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 to 3/4 cup Herbsaint or Pernod
1 1/4 cups seasoned bread crumbs
48 Oysters in their shells
Rock salt

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the celery, scallions and parsley. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the Worcestershire and Tabasco. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Add the Herbsaint or Pernod and bread crumbs; cook for 5 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, until cold but not firmly set. Using an oyster knife, pry open the oyster shells then remove the oysters. Discard the top shells; scrub and dry the bottom shells. Drain the oysters. Arrange 6 oyster shells on an ovenproof pan or tray lined with a layer of rock salt about an inch deep. Make 8 trays in all. Place 1 oyster in each shell. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the chilled Rockefeller topping from the refrigerator and beat it with an electric mixer to evenly distribute the butter and infuse air into the mixture; transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Pipe a tablespoon of the mixture onto each oyster, then bake in a 375 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Serve each person a tray of piping hot oysters.

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Fruit Salad
Fruits have always had a sexual connotation, ever since Eve tempted Adam with an apple. Many fruits are associated with being an aphrodisiac or have been used as erotic symbols. Below is a wonderful recipe filled with suggestive fruit along with honey, pine nuts and yogurt, all of which are celebrated in the classic Arabian Love manual "The Perfumed Garden"

Ingredients:

Selection of your favorite fruits
˝ of a lime
Fruit sugar
Yogurt
Thick, clear honey
Pine nuts

Cut a selection if freshly washed fruit into chunks or slices. Add the juice of ˝ of a lime and mix in bowl. Sprinkle lightly with fruit sugar and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferable 2. The fruit sugar will draw some of the juice out of the fruit. Stir in as much yogurt as you wish, dribble on some thick clear honey and top with a handful or pine nuts.

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Chocolate Fondue

Thia classic dessert fondue, is the only one worth eating! Strawberries are the fruit most commonly used as a dipper, although almost any fruit such as apple slices, banana, chunks of fresh pineapple, and melon balls can also be used.

Ingredients:

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate - cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cream
1/2 cup butter (Do not use margarine)

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan on the stove over a low heat. Add the sugar, cream, and the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened - about 5 minutes. Pour the chocolate into a ceramic or enamel fondue pot and place it over a low heat

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There are many wonderful cookbooks on the market that specialize in cooking with aphrodisiacs.
Some of my favorites are;

InterCourses:
An Aphrodisiac Cookbook
A Taste for Love: Romantic Meals for Two
Fifty Ways to Feed Your Lover: America's Top Chefs Share Their Recipes and Secrets for Romance
Love Potions and Charms by Francis Melville

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a short list of common food and spice aphrodisiacs.
Asparagus
Perhaps the most erotic member of the vegetable kingdom. In nineteenth century France bridegrooms were required to eat asparagus because of its reputed powers to arouse.
Bananas
No explaination need here as to why this sweet, creamy, fruit that's between 7 and 9 inches long is an aphrodisiac.
Basil
Used in Voodoo love ceremonies in Haiti.
Caviar
The best caviar is imported Beluga, and the best way to enjoy it is by the spoonful with chilled vodka or champagne. It is said that the vodka enhances the aphrodisiac power of Caviar.
Champagne
Casanova, the great lover, gave champagne to his new conquests so that they should fall into his web. Napoleon was an inconditional drinker: "I can't live without champagne. When I win, I deserve it. When I lose, I need it."
Chocolate
Contains the same chemical we produce when we are infatuated with another person. The Aztecs referred to chocolate "nourishment of the Gods". The secret for passion is to combine dark chocolate and a glass of red wine.
Ginseng
Ginseng means "man root" and is said to boost your libido
Honey
Medieval seducers plied their partners with Mead, a fermented drink made from honey. Lovers on their "Honeymoon" drank mead and it was thought to "sweeten" the marriage.
Licorice
Chewing on bits of licorice root is said to enhance love and lust. It is particularly stimulating to woman

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Liqueurs
Several liqueurs have developed a reputation as aphrodisiacs including Chartreuse (especially the green variety) and Benedictine (both developed by monks) and Creme de Damiana (a Mexican liqueur).
Lobster
This is a very sexy food to eat. You rip the flesh apart with your hands and dip in butter.
Mustard
Believed to stimulate the sexual glands and increase desire.
Nutmeg
In quantity nutmeg can produce a hallucinogenic effect. A light sprinkling of the spice can help spice up your evening.
Oysters
One of the world's classic love foods. Legend has it that Casanova ate 50 raw oysters every morning in the bath tub using a beautiful woman's breasts as a plate.

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Peaches
Native to China, peaches have long been associated with ripe sexuality by the Chinese. Domestic peaches are available from May to September, but they are really best from June to August.
Pepper
According to The Perfumed Garden (an ancient Arabic love manual), ground pepper mixed with cardamom or lavender, galanga, musk, honey and ginger is a potent topical aphrodisiac for men.
Pine Nuts
These nuts (actually seeds of the pine tree) have been used as an aphrodisiac throughout the Mediterranean and the East. The Roman poet, Ovid, included pine nuts in his list of aphrodisiacs. The Perfumed Garden, (an ancient Arabic love manual), contains many references to pine nuts including this prescription to restore a man's sexual vigor: "A glass of thick honey, plus 20 almonds and 100 pine nuts repeated for three nights."
Pomegranate
This deep red fruit is recommended in the Karma Sutra (an Indian love making manual) as an erotic aid.
Saffron
This expensive spice has been reputed to work like a sex hormone and make erogenous zones even more sensitive.

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Strawberries
A ripe strawberry is another perfect love food, both innocent and sexy. Try dipping them in chocolate, brown sugar or whipped cream. Wild strawberries eaten with white port wine has the reputation of being a very powerful aphrodisiac
Truffles
According to the famed French gastronome Brillat-Savarin: "Whoever says 'truffle' utters a great word which arouses erotic and gastronomic memories."

Vanilla
It has a euphoric effect. Through its odor vanilla can indirectly act as a sexual stimulant. Suck the pod, chew it or even grate it to mix into drinks. Go even further, add a few drops of vanilla essence to your bath.
Wine
A glass or two of wine can greatly enhance a romantic interlude. Wine relaxes and helps to stimulate our senses. Drinking wine can be an erotic experience.

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Here are some romantic ideas for men to get their women in the mood
1. Toy with Anticipation
Set the stage for a later encounter by leaving an explicit invitation on your lover's pillow or sending a suggestive email during work. The anticipation will work wonders on both your libidos.

2. Set the Mood
Spend some time planning what would appeal to all your lover's senses. Find out what music turns him on, and play it. If she's fond of a certain scent, find her perfume, bath soap, or candles and include them in your evening. Consider planning a meal of finger food and feeding it to each other.