Temptations: Igniting the Pleasure and Power of Aphrodisiacs
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Aphrodisiacs: the secret ingredients of romance
Does your love life need a lift? Down a few dozen oysters, pop some chili peppers, finger-lick your lobsters and count your caviar blessings; great sex is only a snack away. Ellen and Michael Albertson, aka "the Cooking Couple," may not be famous outside Boston, where they host a weekly radio show, but they are clearly aiming at a very broad (in all senses) audience with Temptations: Igniting the Pleasure and Power of Aphrodisiacs. A helter-skelter mix of science, nutrition, history, anecdote and comedy (she's a registered dietician, he's a sometime chef, stand-up comic and freelance writer), the book aims to replace Mickey D with Dr. Ruth by substituting the commercial preservatives of modern food with potency-boosting chemicals available free from nature. The general concept is not new, of course, and in fact the Albertsons point out the very long historical reputation some herbs and foods have as libido liberators. But there is some intriguing nutritional information buried like a pearl in the flesh here and there -- that chocolate's neuroreactive chemical ingredients are related to marijuana and various amphetamines; that zinc, the mineral punch packed by oysters, has been shown to increase testosterone levels; that eating chilis increases endorphin production (something temporarily sidelined runners know full well); and that licorice's licentious reputation might rest on its high phytoestrogren content, which could boost a woman's own estrogen count. If nothing else, the Albertsons' urgings to get out of the fast-food lane and into the passionate playpen for health and peace of mind is worth the price of many readers' admission. The Albertsons, who previously self-published a book called Food as Foreplay, have assembled an entertaining assortment of quotations, prescriptions and anecdotes to accompany their recommendations. There is also interesting trivia about various foods and their mythological, cultural and even religious significance. It must be said, however, that many readers will find it necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. Only 15 pages into their pitch, the Albertsons have already confused medieval Mexico City with Rome, or maybe Belushi hell ("The Aztec king Montezuma drank fifty cups of cocoa before entertaining his harem of six hundred women. (Toga! Toga! Toga!)"); reached wildly for frequently outdated "hip" non-sequiturs ("Casanova . . . played with two women named Armelline and Emile (later to be known as The Indigo Girls)"); and teetered between snideness and slander ("Oysters are the hermaphrodites of the animal kingdom. . . . We know, you thought Michael Jackson was") followed only a few pages later by, "Oysters are bisexual bivalves capable of rhythmical hermaphroditism. . . Sounds like Elton John at a Versace show." Still and all, if this is the sort of bad Cosmo-girl attitude that tickles your fancy, you may be in for the hottest 10 nights of your life. And if you can pull out some of the more useful nutritional information, it might truly put more pleasure in your post-prandial performances. A companion wine for the journey Neither Albertson disputes the value of a good wine -- in moderation, if you have a thousand and one private nights in mind -- but Vina Carmen's Reserve Carmenere-Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 is such a remarkable $15 wine that it refutes moderate usage. Produced entirely from estate parcels in the Maipo Valley, this deeply colored wine has the strength, resilience and suppleness so many Chilean reds promise but rarely deliver: a full nose with both high black cherry notes and deep tobacco and leather bottom, early showings of black raspberry, tar and chocolate and a long, rich but not sweet finish. With its reined-in tannins, this would be a wine worth keeping for a while as well as drinking now. Eve Zibart is a restaurant critic for the Washington Post and author of The Ethnic Food Lover's Companion.
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REVIEW BY EVE ZIBART