Hungry for romance? For longtime couples as well first dates, sharing a special meal is one way to make an occasion memorable.

But "special" constitutes different things to different people. Special could mean an elaborate seafood dinner in a high-class restaurant or a sandwich prepared by someone at home.

Below, a sampling of Butler County residents describe how they might create a memorable Valentine's Day dinner date.

PresidentButler County Community CollegeMy husband is a gourmet cook, so he has made some wonderful meals. … I guess my favorite, and the most romantic, is a Cornish hen with kahlua orange sauce, wild rice with walnuts and currants - and his Caesar salad is the best on earth. Put that with a glass of wine and you don't need dessert. It's great.I'm out in the public so much, staying at home is a real treat for me.

Insurance agentErie InsuranceWe have three boys, and we are always running. To break away for breakfast after church is really a treat.

Gloria's Creations floral design businessI don't think it really matters what you eat. It could be anything from very gourmet to a peanut butter sandwich or an apple. What matters is spending precious time with the one you love.

Butler County CommissionerTo have a lobster dinner at my kitchen table with just my wife and I. … I would do the cooking.We would probably be listening to CNN.

District justiceSaxonburgWhen I think of a romantic dinner, I think of some Asti spumante: It has to be the Martini and Rossi brand. I'm picky about that. Any meal is good as long as you have Asti spumante to tip it off. You could (even) have a peanut butter sandwich.I could have it … in any setting, whether it was home, outside or at a friend's. It's kind of like a celebration. It's not a drink that you would (normally) sit and drink if you went somewhere.

ChiefSlippery RockPolice DepartmentMy wife and I have our favorite bed and breakfast near Clarion, where my wife would be greeted, of course, with her favorite brand of chocolates, flowers and a piece of jewelry. We would have a nice in-room meal overlooking the river. That would be the ideal, but we do it more for anniversaries than for Valentine's Day.

Family life educatorPenn State ExtensionI just love all kinds of food. Anytime anybody prepares the food and will clean up the mess, that's a romantic meal. I don't even care if it's a hamburger or a hotdog. Anytime they make it and clean up afterward, that to me is romance.

DirectorButler Veterans Affairs Medical CenterA candlelight dinner at home, without the children around – (they would be) either in bed or out to something. Since I have five children, it's very important to have them gone. When we do have an at-home date, it's filet mignon, potatoes, ginger ale and mushrooms (sautéed). Then for dessert: something chocolate. Typically, my wife considers it more romantic if I cook. So a lot of times I do the cooking.

Tax collectorMiddlesex Township, Butler County, Mars School DistrictWe have been married 26 years, and my birthday is close to Valentine's Day. (To celebrate both), we usually just throw a couple of steaks on the grill. We bake sweet potatoes and have spinach salad. And Bill usually stops and gets one of those Dairy Queen ice cream Valentine's cakes.Usually if it's on a weekend we probably rent a movie, but since it's during the week: a nice quiet dinner and back to work the next day. We're kind of homey in this corner of the county.

Funeral directorThompson-Miller Funeral HomeMy wife and I usually don't go out for occasions like Valentine's Day, New Year's and such. We usually stay at home. We usually do a seafood meal of some sort: either mussels or a couple lobster tails and crab legs.We both prepare the meal at home as opposed to (going out along with) the other 100 or 200 people who are trying to get into a restaurant and have a so-called romantic meal.It's become a tradition on occasions when we're both home and not working.

Boys varsity basketball coachUnion High SchoolRimersbergMy idea of a romantic meal is any meal I don't have to cook myself. My husband does most of the cooking here, and as far as I'm concerned it can be macaroni and cheese or hamburgers. That's me! He does most of the cooking and the kids know it. He comes from work and the kids say, "What's for supper Dad?"

Osteopathic physicianButler Memorial HospitalIt would have to include wine, some sort of chocolate dessert, some sort of candles or fire and soft music. No outside distraction - like, certainly the kids can't be present.A romantic meal would be a meal between people. And your entrée would be soft conversation and discovery. The entree cannot be issues or current events. It's a conversation about you as a couple … about your relationship - what I like best about you and things of that nature.

VeterinarianButler Veterinary AssociatesMy husband and I are going on vacation, and we will be in Baja, Mexico, in a small little town very off the beaten trail, 400 miles south of the border. We're going on a whale-watching trip. The gray whales migrate through that area, and it's calving season.I'm not sure how much of a romantic adventure this is going to be. The hotel is advertised as a very non-resort, non-tourist destination. The boat we are going whale watching from holds 18 people, so it's a small open boat, with not a lot of special amenities. But one of the interesting parts: apparently at this time of year they celebrate a lobster festival on the Baja Peninsula, so we will be able to enjoy a lot of local, Pacific lobster served in a very casual atmosphere. And our three children are staying home.My husband, Charles Spingola, is an orthopedic surgeon in Butler. We have been married for 23 years. Usually we are lucky if we have 15 minutes we spend together because of the hectic (nature) of our lives. It was opportune that the trip happened to be over Valentine's Day.

PastorPark United Presbyterian ChurchZelienopleA romantic dinner from this pastor includes the following. There's got to be the right lighting. There's got to be the right food, and it's got to have a very nice atmosphere. But the key ingredient in the whole thing is my wife. Because without her there's nothing romantic about it.

Pa. (R-21st)We're going to have dinner at the Monterey Fish Grotto on Mount Washington.I would normally (cook) at home, but I would have to do the dishes. I do like to cook but I don't like to clean up.

Pa. (R-11th)I would say with how busy my wife and I are, the actual perfect romantic evening and romantic dinner would be staying at home, and I would cook for her and let her relax. It would probably be veal Parmesan. I make my own sauce.

Executive directorGrove City Area Chamber of Commerce.For me, it has more to do with the flowers and candles. I like to be at home. My husband is a good cook.

Butler Mothers of Twins and TripletsA romantic dinner includes going somewhere nice and having him get the children somewhere else so I can rest (before going out)Before we were married you wanted all the stuff and the attention, now it's just more about feeling like a personRomance for us now is getting some time where we're able to get away and talk as adults.