Alton Brown's Advice For Guys On Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day comes but once a year, and for many guys, the natural inclination is to go overboard. Flowers and chocolates aside, plenty of guys will spend the bulk of the evening slaving away in the kitchen, preparing an epic meal that may or may not live up to expectations, especially if they're not exactly experienced in the kitchen. But have no fear: Alton Brown is here.

Brown, who rose to fame as host of Food Network's Good Eats and today can be found hosting the network's Cutthroat Kitchen as well as onstage in his live show, Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science, which picks back up in Bakersfield on March 14, has some advice for guys who are looking to spark some romance with their cooking without leaving their comfort zone: keep it simple.

"I find that the best special occasion meals — and Valentine's Day meals in general — are the ones that are based on breakfast," he told us. "Take some eggs, mix in cream and smoked salmon, then soft-scramble them low and slow. Top it with some caviar and serve it with a side salad and some toast, and it'll be more romantic than you can imagine, and really simple."

So what makes it romantic? Besides being easy to whip up, limiting the amount of time spent in the kitchen, Brown exclaimed, "It's something you can serve in bed, and that's where you're hoping to end up anyway!" Whatever you do, he added, you should stay as far away from restaurants on Valentine's Day as possible. "Never go to a restaurant on Valentine's Day or Mother's Day," he said. "Always cook at home."