Saturday, February 8, 10:00 A.M.
Members $45, guests $55

Discriminating gourmands looking for a little Valentine's Day romance in New York City are likely to pick up the phone and make a reservation. We all know the sort of spots they'd select for a tête-à-tête—Café des Artistes, Tavern On The Green, Savoy, One if by Land, Danube, La Grenouille, Jewel Bako, Chez Es Saada...Sure, they're some of the prettiest, most romantic dining rooms in the city, and we admit that if you eat out you won't have to shop or chop or scour at home. But can we let you in on a dirty little industry secret? As one of the busiest restaurant nights of the year, Valentine's Day just may be the worst, most aggravating, least agreeable evening to dine out.

This leaves you with an obvious alternative, but also raises, with special weight, the question on the lips of thousands of home cooks every evening: what to make for dinner? To help you answer that question, we've recruited Good Housekeeping Food Director Susan Westmoreland to lead our workshop, Planning a Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner. She's bringing along Sandra Gluck, Lori Longbotham, and Sarah Reynolds to help her, contributors to the All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. Westmoreland runs the famed test kitchen of Good Housekeeping magazine; she also plans the magazine's food pages and its many cookbooks, overseeing the development and perfecting of literally hundreds of reliably delicious recipes.

Before starting at Good Housekeeping in 1995, Westmoreland was associate food editor at Ladies' Home Journal for six years. Altogether, she has 20 years' experience in the magazine editorial field and several stints as a chef in Massachusetts, Long Island, and Greece under her belt, too. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Last year, Westmoreland was the guest of honor at the Beard Foundation's Annual Editor's Dinner.

We're not sure what tips Westmoreland intends to give us in her workshop. Will she recommend recipes using reputed aphrodisiac ingredients? Will she advise us to go for ease of preparation, on the premise that a tired cook will not be in the mood? Perhaps she'll suggest an all-pink meal. Or an all-chocolate one. We do know, however, that come February 14, when you and your honey are alone and snug at home, the candles lit, the roses arranged, the stereo playing Barry White, the phone on mute, the smell of good things cooking drifting in from the kitchen, you'll be grateful you stayed in.