I'm cooking for my new sweetie tomorrow,

does anyone have any suggestions on what I could make?

- Keep in mind that I am not a great cook, but I really want to impress ;-)

especially when I want to spend time w/ my guests

Grill something (rib eye steaks and tuna steaks are good choices), serve w/ a tossed green salad.

some foods are so delicious that you need do very little to them and they're still WONDERFUL!

but I am cooking at his house and he lives in a 2nd floor apartment, so not very convenient for grilling, still not impossible.

Thanks for the sugestion/advice:-)

Marinate them in some red wine for a couple of hours, sprinkle your favorite spices on it

I usually make my own marinade, by heating a little olive oil in a saucepan, pressing a clove of garlic into it and adding the red wine just before I pour it over the steak. Then I use lots of seasoned pepper, black pepper and salt for the seasonings. Cooking the garlic will make the house smell really good, and take the bite out of it if you have plans to suck face later.

Baked potatoes are easy, too, and go with steak. You can buy a ceasar salad in a bad, and just mix it all up at the last minute.

Thanks!

Marinate them in some red wine for a couple of hours, sprinkle your favorite spices on it

I usually make my own marinade, by heating a little olive oil in a saucepan, pressing a clove of garlic into it and adding the red wine just before I pour it over the steak. Then I use lots of seasoned pepper, black pepper and salt for the seasonings. Cooking the garlic will make the house smell really good, and take the bite out of it if you have plans to suck face later.

Baked potatoes are easy, too, and go with steak. You can buy a ceasar salad in a bad, and just mix it all up at the last minute.

over linguine? quick and tasty!

Like a souffle, or Duck....

would you want to see me fail? :cry:

(I was being silly)

Hell make a good omlette...

Decontruct it...

Everybody likes a good omlette....

Or a veggie stir fry....

I make a mean skillet breakfast!

I know better then to get in over my head (learned that lesson the hard way)

:-)

Most stores sell fresh pesto sauce. Get some linguine and some pine nuts to toss in it and pick up a bagged salad (or fresh from store salad bar, a loaf of french bread to heat in the oven, and some olive oil for dipping the bread. Relatively simple and yummy.

Of course pesto is also very easy to make. You can use the recipe in Joy of Cooking but instead of the mortar and pestle, throw everything into the blender and puree it.

I love pesto, especially in the summer, but I make my own and I use at least 2 cloves of garlic more than the recipe calls for (it depends on how big the garlic cloves are).

easy desert, and you can't go wrong.

Do a little bit of reading on how to make a perfect steak, whether in a pan or on the grill.

Go for a t-bone, don't be cheap. Get nicely marbled pieces of meat, at least an inch thick.

A nice salad of fresh tomatoes, real lettuce, avocado, pine nuts, olive oil, herbs, spices, can't be beat.

Big old loaf of sour dough bread.

Nice bottle of wine.

How about a nice pie or cake?

Can't be beat... enjoy, relax.

and he won't care what you fix. Hell, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup is damn good when cooked naked. Trust me.:9

but he already see me naked so often... ;-)

It only requires a few minutes of stove time. Most of it can be prepared in advance, and you only need basic equipent.

I actually did this as a Valentine's indoor picnic once.

If you drink alcohol, get a bottle of Prosecco. It'll be under $12 (it's an Italian sparkling wine, but cheaper than Champagne).

Three courses:

1. Salad of hearts of palm and olives
Take one 14-ounce can of hearts of palm. Drain, and slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Slice 1/2-cup mixed good olives. Mix together.
Toss with dressing made from 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 3/4 tsp dried oregano, 1 clove garlic (if you're OK with garlic on a date) and 3 tbsp olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on a bed of Boston lettuce. (If you're making this in advance, you can refrigerate the salad but take it out 1/2 hour early to bring the oil back to room temperature, and then plate with the lettuce.)

2. Prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches
Put two slices of Italian bread side by side on a board. Layer the following:
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 large roma tomato, seeded and chopped
3 oz. prosciutto
1 bunch arugula, trimmed, chopped and tossed with olive oil (S&P to taste)
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly
Two more slices of bread to top
Cut sandwiches in half diagonally, wrap tightly in plastic, chill at least one hour, up to a day.

Serve with sweet potato chips or something similar.

3. Dessert: Chocolate-raspberry pot au creme
Bring 2/3 cup whole milk to a boil, slowly over medium heat.
Meanwhile, combine one egg, 2 tbsp sugar, pinch salt, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 2 tbsp hazelnut liquor (optional) in a blender. Pour in 1/3rd of the boiling milk, blend for 30 seconds, repeat until milk is gone. (This cooks the egg -- although if you're at all worried, use pasteurized eggs -- and melts the chocolate.) Blend until smooth. Pour into four 4-5 oz ramekins or even teacups (you won't fill them all the way) and chill until firm (about an hour, but you can do this a day in advance too).
Top with raspberry sauce (1 cup unsweetened frozen raspberries, thawed slightly; 1/2 shot Chambord, 1/2 tbsp confectioner's sugar, pureed and strained), whipped cream and fresh raspberries. (This recipe serves four, but there's no good way of halving it, with the egg, so you'll have leftovers.)

You can also have...fun...with the raspberry sauce and whipped cream later. :o

Good luck.

Great suggestions! :-)

This sounds wonderful!

Warm the oven while browning the porkloin in a skillet on the stove and then place in the oven to cook through. Slide into medallions to serve.
Make a salad of fresh spinach, sliced strawberries, blue cheese and balsamic vinegar.
Bake the potatoes, cut in half scoop out the insides leaving the skin intact. Mash the potatoes(w/milk, butter, salt and pepper). Refill the potato skin half way then add some shredded cheddar, finish filling the skin. Bake until browned on top.
Dessert, just bring a can of whipped cream. Something will come to mind.

with spinach and smoked gouda, they were soooo good!

It is really tough to screw up a good cut of beef as long as you don't overcook it. Spend the cash to get a couple of good fillets, and wrap the edges with bacon. You can marinade them if you like, but I honestly think that cut of beef is so good it really doesn't need it.

Salads are a good bet along with a twice baked potato.

Fresh asparagus is an option in place of the salads, but that is something that you either really like or you don't. I love it, personally, and there is something sexy about eating asparagus together...

I strongly urge strawberries dipped in warm (dark) chocolate for dessert along with some kind of sparkling wine.


Regards, and have fun!



Laura

Shallow fried with salt and pepper. Nothing more required.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29450,00.html

Just all you need is a good bottle of wine and a nice salad to go with the recipe and you have a nice meal.

it sounds good :-)