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"  Sofia Sizzi, a senior Calvin Klein accessories designer and chef Iacopo Falai&amp;#039;s new bride, has eschewed chewing on animals since she was 18, which might have disappointed some chef suitors, but only increased Falai&amp;#039;s ambitions, romantic and culinary. At Falai, his Batali-for-the-cool-kids Lower East Side restaurant, vegetarian dishes such as buffalo ricotta flan with pine nuts, wilted greens, white mushrooms, and smoked raisins are as intricate as the squid ink gagnelli, and vegetable-stock risottos are the norm. For Valentine&amp;#039;s Day, it&amp;#039;s not surprising for a chef to cook dinner, but Falai ups the romantic ante by designing a his (meat)/hers (meat-free) menu in Sizzi&amp;#039;s honor.  In Italy, visitors frequently hear the word tipico\u2014not to connote ordinariness, but rather something highly characteristic (as in: Pasta di Genoa is &amp;quot;tipico&amp;quot; of the port city). Falai and Sizzi are both gorgeously tipico Florentines: glowing Mediterranean skin; thick, dark hair; and an elegant reserve beneath their exuberance. Together, they are a wildly potent concoction.  Falai, who was the head pastry chef at the three-Michelin-starred Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, runs a mini NYC empire: a caf\u00E9, a bakery, and his eponymous restaurant. He launched his U.S. career as legendary Le Cirque host Sirio Maccioni&amp;#039;s pastry chef and shares the master&amp;#039;s knack for purveying a salutary, addictive vibe. Three years after Falai&amp;#039;s opening, you still can&amp;#039;t get a foot in its storefront door on a Friday night without a reservation, both because of the chic food\u2014which strikes a daring balance between comfy Italian and gastromolecular whimsy\u2014and because of the transporting spirit of the meringue-white b\u00F4ite. It&amp;#039;s as if the couple&amp;#039;s funny, Italian Thin Man mode of interaction has been bottled and spritzed around. Here&amp;#039;s sample dialogue, as they discussed which suit Falai should wear for dinner: &amp;quot;One thing I love and I hate about Iacopo\u2014,&amp;quot; says Sofia.  &amp;quot;Do you hear that? `I love and I hate&amp;#039;? `I hate&amp;#039;?&amp;quot; says Falai, gesticulating with the tipico upraised five-finger pinch.  &amp;quot;He looks good in everything!&amp;quot; Sizzi finishes, rolling her eyes at his dramatics. Scooped into a soft wool navy sweetheart strapless sheath from the Calvin Klein resort collection, she looks undeniably hot, but she&amp;#039;s querulous about alleged weight gain. &amp;quot;Before I met him, I was 20 pounds lighter; then all of a sudden I have this man who is feeding me to death! He&amp;#039;s like my grandmother all over again.&amp;quot;  In turn, she has made a slight shift in Falai&amp;#039;s diet\u2014&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not meat five times a day now!&amp;quot;\u2014but there are limits. &amp;quot;When you have in your mind the prosciutto existing?&amp;quot; he asks. &amp;quot;It is difficult to give up the prosciutto.&amp;quot;   His-and-Hers Menus As a valentine for Sizzi, chef Falai creates a flexitarian menu. Love need not mean sacrifice.   Per MiCrispy red mullet with blue potato puree Red beet risotto with poached lobster and pomegranateVenison strip steak with celery root, brussels sprouts, and truffles  Per LeiRicotta flan with Swiss chardSpinach gnudi with white trufflesPorcini and lobster mushrooms with rosemary frittella Recipes follow on the next page.  Spinach GnudiGnudi (pronounced nyu-dee) is thus called because it&amp;#039;s like naked ravioli: creamy, dreamy dairy balls sauced with a bit of Parmigiano and butter. In 2006, NYC caught gnudi fever, and it&amp;#039;s now an Italian-restaurant must-serve. New York magazine voted Falai&amp;#039;s version the best. With a signature dollop of cappuccino foam, it matches his restaurant&amp;#039;s decor, and, served as Sizzi&amp;#039;s Valentine&amp;#039;s Day secondi, it complements his red beet risotto beautifully.   Ingredients  2 oz baby organic spinach 4 oz ricotta 1 pinch black pepper 2 pinches nutmeg 2 egg yolks 1 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano 2 tbsp cake flour Sauce 4 tbsp browned butter 2 cups hot milk 4 fried sage leaves   Serves 2 Dunk spinach in a bowl of cold water, swish, and lift out. Drain water and silt from bowl. Repeat. Boil spinach, then cut into small pieces. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl. Add spinach gently at the end so the mixture does not turn green. Refrigerate for several hours. Form dough into eight egg-size dumplings. Cook in simmering, but not boiling, water for four to five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Divide into two bowls. Finish each serving with two tablespoons of browned butter, the froth from one cup of milk steamed in a cappuccino maker, and two fried sage leaves. Sprinkle with white truffles if you have them.  Red Beet Risotto with Lobster Pomegranate Reduction   Ingredients  1 large red beet Kosher salt and pepper to taste 1 whole lobster 3/8 cup melted butter, plus 1/4 cup butter at room temperature 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tsp thyme 1 1/2 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice 3 cups Carnaroli rice 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp shallots, minced 3 cups vegetable stock 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano   Serves 2 For red beet puree: Place beet in boiling salt-and-peppered water for 15 to 20 minutes; drain. Puree with a pinch of salt and pepper. For lobster: Boil until shell turns orange. Cool in ice water and deshell. Saut\u00E9 in shallow pan while brushing with melted butter, garlic, and thyme. For pomegranate reduction: Boil POM until reduced to 1/3 cup. For risotto: Toss dry rice with olive oil and shallots for three minutes over low heat. Add four tablespoons of hot vegetable stock while stirring. Cook for three minutes and add four more tablespoons of stock. Repeat process for 17 to 20 minutes. Remove from stove and add the beet puree, remaining butter, and cheese, stirring slowly and gently until risotto thickens. Pour risotto onto a plate, tapping the bottom to flatten. Brush the lobster with pomegranate glaze and place in the middle of the risotto. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/travel-food/a9333/menu-built-for-two-23891/>