What goes with pork loins on Valentine's Day? Each Wednesday, Salon's chefs dutifully answer e-mail from readers with cleavers. This week Patric Kuh, a k a The Burnt-Out Cook, dips into the mailbag. Dear TasteTalk: I've invited seven couples for a Valentine's dinner party. I have two large boneless pork loins for the entree, but would appreciate any suggestions you might have for the rest of the meal. I especially like to prepare things you can make ahead of time so I can enjoy my guests. Thanks for your help. -- Lynne Dear Lynne: If you feel comfortable making a terrine, get a recipe and go for it. It can be sliced and plated before your guests arrive. Unless you have a very sharp slicing knife, I suggest you use an electric knife -- particularly if it's a very delicate terrine. Valentine's dinner should be elegant. I have two other suggestions for appetizers, one cheap and one expensive. For the first one you can doctor some good canned consommé with sherry and some wild mushrooms. Serve piping hot with something crispy and dainty, like a parmesan stick. The expensive suggestion involves lobster. (One and a half pounds of live lobster per couple.) Cook the lobsters and take out the tail and claw meat and slice and arrange prettily on the bottom of cold soup bowls. Sprinkle with herbs and diced cucumber, bell peppers and tomatoes and keep the plates refrigerated until your guests arrive. Blend the scraps of all the vegetables you've diced with enough spicy V8 mix to keep it liquid. Serve in a chilled soup tureen and let your guests ladle it over their prettily decorated plates. For dessert I wouldn't recommend a pie -- who want's to be weighed down on Valentine's night? Unless you're a great baker and can do something fun in the shape of a heart, why not do something like pears poached in red wine with sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick, fresh ginger and even some pepper corns. Keep it spicy! Dear TasteTalk: Two questions: How do you prepare fennel? And what's the best type of wine to use in cooking? -- I Kurpieski Dear I: Fennel is like cilantro, people either love it or hate it. The French often braise or boil fennel bulbs and serve them with fish. Cooked and diced fennel with mussels and a hint of Pastis in the sauce is a delicious appetizer. Remember that cooking fennel will change its color to a dull green. Or else try fennel raw and sliced as thinly as possible and tossed in a salad with other vegetables like carrots, apples and artichoke hearts. It will add an original texture and taste. As for cooking wine, it depends on the dish. For instance, with the classic French dish Coq au Chambertin -- Chicken cooked with Chambertin wine -- there is a 0 percent chance that a French chef will put an expensive bottle of Chambertin into a sauce. But the wine sounds good and you don't want Coq au Plonk either. What's important to remember with cooking wine is that with red you want body (i.e. Algerian wine is better than Beaujolais) and white wine should be dry (i.e. Sauvignon Blanc is better than Riesling). The cheaper the wine the more important it is to burn off the alcohol content, as this will only get harsher with cooking. Just heat the wine, put a match to it and keep your eyebrows out of the way. Dear TasteTalk: How can I make classic French cooking more healthy? -- Ross Dear Ross: It is a misconception that classic French cooking is unhealthy. Crudites -- raw vegetables; Pot au Feu--simmered beef; Filet de Sole Bonne Femme -- sole served with shallots, mushrooms and parsley. What's not to like? There's a restaurant technique called "monter au beurre" where a certain amount of raw butter is added to a sauce to give it shine and body. You don't have to do this at home. I always try to enjoy the regional aspects of French cooking. If it's Provencal it's going to have plenty of tomatoes and garlic. If it's Normand it's going to have cream and butter and Calvados. With either one I get some bread and mop up the sauce. There are enough bad meals out there, enjoy the good ones. Feb. 12, 1997 Need some kitchen guidance? Ask the TasteTalk guys. Please sign your full name, and let us know if you want your e-mail address to appear.

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