Rather than rushing to make reservations, suffering though traffic, and squeezing into packed restaurants, many are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day by cooking for their significant other. Here are some tips on cooking and still feeling the love.

Tip # 1: Short Stories, Not Novels
You’ll want to spend as much time with your significant other as possible, so it’s best to keep the course count low. An entrée and a dessert, or maybe a three-course meal would be more than enough to show that you have worked hard for your Valentine’s Day date. As much as degustation meals are trendy, it’s a mood killer to leave the table to prepare the next course 14 times!

Tip # 2: Audience Participation
A fun way to enjoy dinner is to have an “interactive” meal, where you and your date cook and enjoy the meal tableside. It cuts into your prep time before the date and it solves the problem of having to leave the table and your date constantly. Getting your date involved in preparing the meal becomes a great conversation starter as you and your date can talk about what to cook next or what to dip in next. How about a cheese fondue, a seafood hot pot, or even a yakiniku tableside?

Tip # 3: Lighten Up

Chef Sharwin's Kurry Kilawin

As much fun as eating is, stuffing yourself silly isn’t a good idea on Valentine’s Day. Serving huge meals loaded with too much potato, pasta and rice will put you both in a lazy mood. Serving Flintstone-sized meat portions won’t help either. Half a cup of rice, half a potato, or around 60 grams (uncooked) of pasta served with about 150 to 200 grams of meat or fish would be just perfect, especially if you’re serving dessert. Keep the portions manageable and the sauces light and fresh. That way, there’s room to enjoy dessert, and you’ll have the energy to talk, dance, watch a romantic movie and more importantly, stay awake.

Tip # 4: Love Potion No. 38

Chef Sharwin's Chocolate Leche Flan

Unless someone’s allergic, serving chocolate is a winner most times. Whether it’s a cake, pudding, mousse or leche flan, if you’ve got a chocolate recipe down pat, it’s time to whip it out. Seriously. Chocolate scientifically makes people happy and that goes ditto for any date as well. If making something with chocolate is tough to handle, a ton of artisan bakers across several weekend markets have just the thing. We’ve got some budding local chocolatiers who make truffles and specialty chocolate bars too. Worst case scenario — chocolate ice cream! Mmmm. Ice Cream.

Sharwin Tee is chef and host of Lifestyle Network's Curiosity Got the Chef, which airs every Wednesday at 930 pm with replays on Saturdays at 6 pm and Sundays at 1030 am. He is also a personal chef and culinary instructor. Find him on Twitter (@chefsharwin) and Facebook (Chef Sharwin Tee).