Romantic meal?

[joesfolk]

You can have a salad prepared and in the fridge waiting for when she gets there. Pears poached in a little wine with some sweet spices is always an elegant and eay desert that you can have ready. (And it is light enough not to weigh you down if you are planning other after dinner activities A chicken fricassee makes a nice homey yet not every day kind of meal that can be warming on the stove. Really anything you can braise will work for this situation. Serve on individual plates, not family style. Bring the plate to her as she is already seated at the table. Makes you appear very gallant. If you can afford it get some cloth napkins. Be sure the plates look appetizing. Candles, especially long tapers might appear too romantic if I am reading your situation correctly but a short jarred candle will help to set the mood. Good luck.

 

[merstar]

You can have a salad prepared and in the fridge waiting for when she gets there. Pears poached in a little wine with some sweet spices is always an elegant and eay desert that you can have ready. (And it is light enough not to weigh you down if you are planning other after dinner activities A chicken fricassee makes a nice homey yet not every day kind of meal that can be warming on the stove. Really anything you can braise will work for this situation. Serve on individual plates, not family style. Bring the plate to her as she is already seated at the table. Makes you appear very gallant. If you can afford it get some cloth napkins. Be sure the plates look appetizing. Candles, especially long tapers might appear too romantic if I am reading your situation correctly but a short jarred candle will help to set the mood. Good luck.

Good idea about the chicken fricassee - Coq Au Vin would be nice.

 

[jacky77]

zathorious, i hope you have a great evening! let us know what you made!

 

[Rocklobster]

Don't forget the Dean Martin.

 

[Silversage]

I'm getting a kick out of the Casanovas here giving you dating advice. You need to ignore these two Romeos and listen to the women!

Men seem to find it romantic to be fed something that their mothers would make - spaghetti, meatloaf, mac & cheese, steak & potatoes, heavy pasta sauces. Women, even if they're still young, usually have to cook that stuff too often. They are more bowled over by something that they DON'T get at home. Instead of spaghetti, make linguine with white clam sauce. Instead of meatloaf, make a beef bourguignon (fancy beef stew in red wine). Merstar's suggestion of coq au vin would be nice, but I'd give it an updated lighter twist. Fine Cooking has a great version with reisling, shallots & fennel. Get the idea?

Women also usually have lighter appetites, especially when they're dating and trying to make an impression. It's been studied and shown that they eat lighter in front of a man than they do with their girlfriends. So don't put her in a difficult or potentially embarrassing situation. Don't make something big and heavy, especially if you are serving dessert. Make something that is lighter, like chicken or seafood, rather than red meat. She won't feel sexy when she slurps spaghetti and gets tomato sauce on her blouse. Pasta is good, but keep the sauce light. Make sure that whatever you serve her, don't overload the plate. She'll feel obligated to finish it, even if she is stuffed to the gills. Keep the portions small and go back for seconds.

For dessert, anything with fruit or chocolate is sexy. And if you can combine the two, you'll hit it out of the park. Put a couple big beautiful sliced strawberries atop that mousse. Or top it with a raspberry sauce. It has been shown repeatedly that chocolate stimulates certain hormones in women that are closely connected to sexual hormones.

Selkie, Merstar & Joesfolk have some good suggestions from a woman's point of view.

(I still love you Bucky!)

 

[jacky77]

mmm if a guy makes a good steak a salad and maybe a lava cake, he's got me wrapped around his finger! haha.

 

[kadesma]

I adore a huge fig cut in half stuffed with a small amount of mascarpone drizzled with some honey and then wrapped in a very thin slice of prosciutto.
A big green slaad and some cappelini pasta with sauteed mushrooms in a little butter and either white wine or lemon
kadesma

 

[Zathorious]

I'm excited for this. I'll choose tomorrow what to make and then start looking for ingredients, luckily I live not too far away from a very good market

I'll check the figs at the market, but let's be honest they're not in season.

I may be able to sneak a picture on here of the food

You guys are great, I have used literally hundreds of forums, and i'd say that this is easily the friendliest I have come across!

Z

 

[buckytom]

ss, i respectfully have to disagree. your advice might be ok for an older generation, but is also a bit confusing.

you recommend light meals including seafood, and that's exactly what i posted. not a heavy sauce.
first you say don't make spaghetti like mama, but then you say it's ok. i don't get it... i think you might have confused some of the posts.


if zath were dating an older woman then i'd agree about the blouse and sauce. but they're 18. i don't think young women even wear something called a blouse anymore, let alone worry about getting food on themselves.

actually, it's a good test. if a young woman does "slurp" sauce onto herself, (besides being a pig) it's a good indication of how she'll react in other ways.

if she freaks out and demands you run out for club soda, then she's too high strung.
if she insists you pay for the dry cleaning, then she's too high maintenance.
if she starts a food fight so you're both in the same boat, well, you might be onto something there, or she might be crazy. either one, lol.

all of this doesn't matter, though, if she's hot.

ok zath, so get in there, and just be yourself. funny works well, can you be funny?

if you really want to try tricks and smoke and mirrors to get to your goal, find out about a subject she likes and do a little research on it. then include some of this new knowledge in to the conversation, again casually. but then eventually let her know that you researched it to impress her.

for some reason that kind of subterfuge is looked at as you being a caring guy, wanting to please her.

 

[Zathorious]

We're sorta already seeing eachother, like I said it's complicated. It'l be fun i'm sure. Thursday night= D-day

 

[buckytom]

of course it's complicated, there's a woman involved, lol.



good luck and we'll await your report.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

ss, i respectfully have to disagree. your advice might be ok for an older generation, but is also a bit confusing.

you recommend light meals including seafood, and that's exactly what i posted. not a heavy sauce.
first you say don't make spaghetti like mama, but then you say it's ok. i don't get it... i think you might have confused some of the posts.


if zath were dating an older woman then i'd agree about the blouse and sauce. but they're 18. i don't think young women even wear something called a blouse anymore, let alone worry about getting food on themselves.

actually, it's a good test. if a young woman does "slurp" sauce onto herself, (besides being a pig) it's a good indication of how she'll react in other ways.

if she freaks out and demands you run out for club soda, then she's too high strung.
if she insists you pay for the dry cleaning, then she's too high maintenance.
if she starts a food fight so you're both in the same boat, well, you might be onto something there, or she might be crazy. either one, lol.

all of this doesn't matter, though, if she's hot.

ok zath, so get in there, and just be yourself. funny works well, can you be funny?

if you really want to try tricks and smoke and mirrors to get to your goal, find out about a subject she likes and do a little research on it. then include some of this new knowledge in to the conversation, again casually. but then eventually let her know that you researched it to impress her.

for some reason that kind of subterfuge is looked at as you being a caring guy, wanting to please her.

I concur master, my father taught me about the noble art.
1 Women are the best thing God invented,if he had invented anything better he kept it for himself.
2 Never fall asleep before your partner.
3 When a woman is in your arms it matter not a jot what she has done before you.
4 Never revisit a failed romance.
5 Earn enough to heat your house and sleep in the nude.
6 Look at the mother before you marry the daughter.
7 Respect yourself for without that you cannot respect her.

 

[buckytom]

wow, those are some powerful words, bolas. i agree on the best thing god ever created, but i think i should throw my coat over you and get you safely out of here, away from brandished albeit polished claws, lol.

i have to disagree with #4. there's nothing better than something new but familiar at the same time. inhibitions are easily overcome in that dichotomy of the new and familiar. yay-uh!!!

and the one about the mom, well, we can't hold the sins of the father against the son, so therfore we can't expect a daughter to turn into her mom. not if we tend the fields of her heart first, always, unending.


and pay for the gym membership...

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Tom mate I can take it, after all I am a true British New Age man fully in touch with my feminine side, I found it easy after visiting 20 handbags and shoe shops with my fragrant wife then going back to the first one she visited to buy the first pair she tried on
Ps Tom when younger I found it time to move on when your partner leaves the toilet door open when you are away for the weekend at a romantic hotel

 

[buckytom]

lol bolas, the fact you noticed the eventual succession of purchase makes you a better man than i. i gloss over and find an inner space when shopping far too easily now.

lol, zath you poor kid.

if you're lucky, she,ll be the love of your life. someone to make something with you so great you find purpose in life, pride in your abilities, and reason for your existence.


no matter, i hope she's hot.

it"s funny to listen to a couple of ol' lions talj about the more toothy days...





lol.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

What do you mean lion before this marriage I was a Jaguar driving Cheetah


Ps its not true,I did have a Jag for work, I drove this for hunting till I could not enter and exit it with dignity

 

[CWS4322]

Begin as you wish to finish. If you are trying to convince her that you cook (but you really don't), then perhaps you are misleading her. If you wish to continue cooking--go for it. If you are only cooking to impress her--hmmmm...that's misleading.

Keep it simple. A salad, a steak, veggies. Simple.

 

[roadfix]

Regardless of the outcome post photos......of her, not the food.

 

[betterthanabox]

As a woman in my early 20's I think I can impart a little knowledge. When my husband and I were dating he made me a great meal in his dorm. We had grilled chicken, broccoli, and rice. It was a great meal and was no pressure. We had a great time laughing and talking.

That said, when we do romantic meals now we enjoy the following:

Indoor picnic- make finger foods and small desserts and enjoy them on a blanket on the floor.

Pasta- Pasta goes a million directions. It can be casual or formal. Why not go for thin spaghetti with olive oil, a few diced fresh tomatoes, a little garlic, artichokes and some black olives served with some grated Parmesan.

I know there has been discussions about sauce, I like sauce and if I'm staying over I probably brought at least 2 shirts, so I would say go with a sauce.

We like to pick up a rotisserie chicken, a nice baguette, and make a nice salad and some rice for a meal that comes together in minutes.

Your turkey looked good, why not roast a chicken or try some Cornish game hens.

I'm a little worried you are going to come across as a little over zealous in your romantic endeavor and make her uncomfortable. Sometimes the most romantic and sexy thing a man can do is have a little self control and let things happen in their time. If she doesn't feel respected, it doesn't matter what you do she isn't going to take the bait if she feels like a piece of meat.

 

[Zathorious]

Better than a box! Brilliant! Roast chicken or cornish hens would be perfect! There is literally no other word for it!

I really appreciate the advise guys, really I do, I was going to go with a seafood mediterranean stew, I had cooked for friends with saffron rice, it's like the italian seafood but a little lighter, last time I used scallops squid salmon and mussels.

Okay so now all I need to know is the best recipe for roast chicken, now no arguing, everyone has one which they've sworn by i'm sure.

I just read a good one which includes pricking a lemon all over and sticking it in the cavity of the chicken.

The way I got that turkey to look as such was by using a rubber spatuala to separate the skin from the meat, This done I proceeded to rub a half pound of butter under and over the skin mmm moist.

I'm in the hat, and I have since cut my hair don't worry I have also joined the gym and gained 22lbs of lean muscle I say lean because my body fat is around 5% The girl is not at the table, as I said it's complicated.

Another of the turkey, before

After

My friends REALLY loved it

The idea was that everyone bring one dish and I cook the gobbler it was fantastic.
So the best roast chicken? Let the games begin!