There are many ways to impress the love of your life on Valentines, but a good way of going about this could be to cook for them. They will appreciate the effort that you have gone to to make it special for them, and you need not be hindered by cooking ability, or budget.

How about a delicious Leek, goat's cheese, walnut & lemon tart? This is easy to make, it isn't time consuming and is sure to impress that special person in you life. See recipe below.

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times Prep 25 mins

Cook 30 mins

• 1 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
• 25g butter
• 2 medium leeks , sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
• zest 2 lemons and juice 1 lemon
• 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 200g soft spreadable goat's cheese
• 50g walnut pieces
• little chopped parsley , to serve

The dessert can be just as important as the main meal. This is your chance to go all out, and completely wow your partner. Whether it's brownies drenched in sticky chocolate sauce, or something a bit healthier, there are many options. How about a tempting raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake? This is easy to make and you don't need to possess amazing proficiency in the culinary arts to make it.

Serves 4

Ready in 30 mins

plus 2 hours chilling

Ingredients

• 180g digestive biscuits
• 75g melted butter
• 100g milk chocolate
• 300g cream cheese
• 200ml double cream
• 75g sugar
• 150g raspberries
• icing sugar
• chocolate melted, to serve (optional)

Crumble the digestives in a food processor, add the melted butter and mix well. Place in a 20cm flan ring with a push-up base and pat down with the back of a spoon. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Mix the cream cheese, cream and sugar together until smooth. Add the raspberries and stir in, then add the melted chocolate and quickly swirl through. Spoon into the flan ring and smooth the top with a palette knife, then place in the fridge and chill for 2 hours. Serve dusted with icing sugar and a little melted chocolate if you like.

Do you want to perhaps be a bit more daring? Maybe you want to show off your culinary flare. There are a lot of websites where you can find inspiration for the perfect valentines meal, visit the BBC's good food website for a lot of different, sumptuos idea's.

Here's a little secret I'm going to let you all in on..

There's a very simple, yet, effective way of sprucing up a romantic dish. You can do this with a love heart stencil, which can be used for a wide variety of food.

This is the simplest of techniques that would most definitely add that extra bit of thought and care into your loved one's breakfast!

You could also use the stencil to cut the toast into a love heart.. Or many other food items - this can also depend on the variety of different stencil sizes you have.

You could buy these stencils, or even give it a go at making them yourself!

Another type of love heart stencil would be tin foil - perfect for baking!

So what do you think about the idea of shaping your food into love hearts? Is it too cheesy or do you think it's a cute gesture?

Seafood is always delicate and much tastier than many of us think.Amongst the many treasures that the sea gives to our palate, scallops are some of the finest but also easiest to cook, which is a good news. There are many ways to serve them and your imagination is the only limit. There are also a couple of ways to cook them, baked or pan seared, but if you are inexperienced in cooking, choose the second one.

You can get some fresh scallops to your local fishmonger who will be happy to give you some advice. Failing that, go for some frozen scallops which are delicious too, as long as you remember to defrost them in the fridge some hours before.

All you need to cook scallops is a good frying pan. Heat it up without fat of any kind and put the seasoned scallops in. Sear them for a few seconds up to one minute on each side and serve. That's so simple that you will wonder why you never try before!

The easiest way yo serve the scallops is with some salad, fried bacon or pancetta and parmesan shavings. For an even tastier dish, fry the bacon without fat and then the scallops in the same pan. If you feel brave, make a balsamic vinegar reduction, or just serve with a balsamic and olive oil dressing.