Maybe it's just me, but there is something sensual about the pungency of garlic.

And so long as you follow the No. 1 rule of garlic and romance - both of you eat it or neither of you eat it, never just one - you're safe adding some serious garlic to your Valentine's Day dinner. Best yet, it's such a high-flavor ingredient, it's easy to make a fast dinner with serious wow!-factor.

So I decided to make a totally over-the-top garlic dinner, one that is fast and flavorful and in-your-face lush. To make that happen, I decided to use garlic three ways.

I started by making a basic garlic butter by blending softened butter with a generous amount of garlic powder. I know purists poo-poo garlic powder, but I like it for things like this. It blends well in liquids and has a more mellow flavor than fresh. I then used some of that butter to briefly saute slivered fresh garlic.

Then I made my pasta. I liked fettuccine, but any variety works. I tossed the cooked pasta first with the reserved garlic butter, then with the sauteed garlic. I used a splash of chili paste for a touch of heat and to sharpen the other flavors. Then I finished with just a bit of raw garlic. of course.

The result? Intensely delicious. To make it even better I added a bit of grated Parmesan to pull it all together and topped it with some diced tomato for a fresh contrast. And be sure to serve it with garlic bread.

Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook "High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking." He can be e-mailed at jhirsch@ap.org.

Quick triple-garlic fettuccine

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Servings: 2

8 ounces fettuccine pasta

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 tablespoon garlic powder

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili paste (hot sauce can be substituted)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

Bring a large saucepan of well salted (about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt) water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta, return it to the saucepan and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, in a small bowl, mix together the butter and garlic powder.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt half of the garlic butter. When the butter is just sizzling, add half of the minced fresh garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, or until it just barely begins to brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Add the remaining garlic powder-butter blend, the sauteed garlic and any butter in the skillet, the remaining minced fresh garlic and the chili paste to the pasta and toss until the butter is melted. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan and toss until melted and smooth. While tossing, add about 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water and toss until smooth.

Divide the pasta between 2 serving plates, then top each with diced tomatoes and the reserved Parmesan.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 756 calories; 291 calories from fat (38 percent of total calories); 33 g fat (19 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 81 mg cholesterol; 89 g carbohydrate; 29 g protein; 4 g fiber; 513 mg sodium.