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A great start to a great night!

My husband and I don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day together. Our wedding anniversary is just four short days later, so we save up our babysitting allotment (read: The one day the teens don't complain about watching the little ones) for that day.

When we find ourselves in the no-money-no-babysitter situation, the next best thing is putting the kids to bed and having dinner together while we watch a DVD. To be completely honest, most of the time "dinner" on those nights is pizza, but this year I've gotten a bit more inventive.

Marty heard that I was going to be posting about our favorite movies and got interested. I told him it was about romantic flicks and that he wouldn't know anything about that. He gave me a look and then rattled off a list of eight of our favorite romantic movies with a self-satisfied "so there" tone. I gave him the eyebrow and tried to write as fast as I could before I lost his ideas. Showoff.

Anyhow, I narrowed his list to three of my very favorite movies not only about love, but also surrounded with food and attached ideas for menus to each.

Last Holiday - I love Queen Latifah in the role of Georgia Byrd, a woman with a very ordered and predictable life with tons of "possibilities" but very few realities. When she finds that she has less than a month to live, she pulls out all the stops and sets off on a quest to do all that she had been too careful to do before. The whole time she's there, though, the man she loves, Sean Matthews, is trying to get to her with an urgent message that says more than just, "I love you".

Georgia loves to cook and does it well, from samples she whips up while selling cookware at her department store job, to Poulet Tchoupitoulas she makes while watching Emeril Lagasse's show, to the fabulous buffet she helps dish up with the famous Chef Didier at the posh resort she vacations at. The menu ideas here are endless and the recipes for Duck Hash on Toasted Baguette, Risotto Barolo with Roasted Vegetables and more can be found at The Food Network.

A Good Year - OK, yes, I love Peter Mayle, but this movie is not a favorite only because it's based on his book of the same name. I love Provence and Provencal food, and this movie makes you feel like you're right there enjoying the rich aromas, deep colors and luscious foods of the region.

When money loving bachelor Max Skinner finds that he has inherited his uncle's home - with attached vineyard - in Provence, he heads there to dispose of it as quickly as possible. The only problem is, he falls in love - not just with the land, but also with Fanny, the proprietor of a local cafe, and the toughest catch in town.

My own idea for this would be "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine..." and some really good cheese. I don't usually drink since I'm hypoglycemic and half a glass of wine can wet my head spinning, but I do ocassionally enjoy a really good Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. My idea for this menu would be tapenade, goat cheese, a crusty French baguette and a glass of Chateauneuf. You could certainly go all out with a civet or cassoulet, but I like the simpler, but equally flavorful and romantic offerings of wine and cheese.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - There's this simple little equation I've noticed with all the Greek friends in my life and that is : Greek = Food. This movie has so much more than food going for it, but it's there, because there's no way a movie about a Greek family could not have food included.

Toula Portokalos is a waitress in her father's restaurant when she first meets Ian Miller. Smitten with him, she sets out to change herself to be more noticeable. She heads to school, combs her hair, puts on some makeup and holds her head a little higher. She and Ian eventually fall in love and want to wed, but he's not Greek, and for her family, that's a problem. This movie is so funny and endearing, I've watched it many times and never tire of it.

The perfect menu here would be a bowlful of Kalamata olives, Spanakopita or Mousaka and Baklava for dessert.
For more menu ideas, see A Guide to Greek Food.

Whatever you decide on, light some candles, curl up on the couch or sit on cushions at the coffee table and enjoy eachother's company!