ISO Food recipe for date!

[Plusone]

Hey,
I need some help from you guys. I got a hot date tonight and I told her I would cook her a nice dinner, the thing is, I can't cook!!

Please, could someone give me some advice here? I need something that is simple to do, yet very tasty and looks really cool. Doesn't matter if the ingredients are expensive.

What would you cook if you were in my situation?

 

[DaCook]

I'm thinking I would throw together a lasagne. You can buy the sauce premade, you can buy no cook noodles, shredded cheese, frozen spinach just thaw and chop, cottage cheese just needs to be drained, and don't forget you will need eggs. Toss together a caesar salad from a mix, add some garlic toast and you are set.

Editted to add - Be sure to let the lasagne rest for 15 minutes before you cut it.

 

[lyndalou]

Whatever you decide to do, make it simple. A meat (or fish) a great salad (you can buy them premixed at the supermarket and steamed veggies should do it. Store bought ice cream or sorbet with a cookie garnish or brownie would be great.

I just remembered, my supermarket sells preseasoned pork or turkey tenderloins which are easy to prepare and very tasty. Hope this helps.

Good luck

Lyndalou

 

[Gretchen]

Make a nice chicken marsala, rice, roasted asparagus, dessert. Rolls.
Cook your rice--get Uncle Ben's converted (not instant) for good results.
Put the asparagus (drizzle with a little oil, S&P) in a 400* oven for 20 minutes.
Chicken marsala is dead easy.
Boneless chicken breasts. Pound them lightly with "something".
In a saute pan put some olive oil in to heat. Stir a little chopped garlic in, but don't let it brown. Dredge the chicken in flour, knock off excess and brown the breasts to golden on both sides. Remove from pan.
Add 8 oz. sliced mushrooms and saute. Add 1/4 (+) cup of marsala to deglaze the pan. Return the chicken and cook 5 minutes or so at a simmer to complete cooking.

 

[Constance]

The first time my husband cooked for me, he fixed steak and salad. He didn't even have a kitchen table...we sat on the floor on big cushions and ate at the coffee table. It was a lovely meal.

 

[Caine]

Chinese take-away.

Remove the items from the cartons and put them in/on serving bowls and plates, put a couple of pots and some cooking utensils in the dish drainer and a greasy wok on the stove top, throw the restaurant cartons in the garbage, and be sure to take the garbage out to the dumpster!

 

[BreezyCooking]

First off - 2 things. One - do you know (or can guess) her basic food likes/dislikes (although if she likes you she won't care one way or the other - lol!!); Two - even though you say you "can't cook", I'm sure there is something you have successfully cooked - even if it's just a steak, pasta, or an omelette.

That leads us to the age-old adage - "If you want to impress - stick with what you know". Don't choose this moment to try to learn something with lots of steps, even if someone tells you "it's easy". Those of us who do love to cook & have been doing it for years tend to find many things "easy" or "2nd nature", that really aren't to people who haven't done a lot of cooking.

If I were you, I'd keep everything as simple as possible. Forget about fancy sauces or anything that's going to take more than an hour total to put together. A broiled or grilled steak, baked potato, & green salad; a simple pasta with a purchased sauce, salad, & purchased garlic bread; lobsters (which only need be dropped into boiling water for 15 minutes or so) & a green salad - stick to simple ingredients that only need simple cooking.

 

[Bangbang]

Fry some spam and serve it with canned pineapple. I would freak if I had told my date I cook dinner and did not know how to cook. Can you make pasta? Just add a canned sauce to some well draine pasta and serve it with fresh italian bread and butter.

 

[Andy M.]

Tell her you lied and take her out to dinner.

 

[Bangbang]

Tell her you lied and take her out to dinner.

Get chinese.

 

[amber]

How about lobster? Easy! Though it's a bit messy. Just boil it for 15 minutes per lb. and whatever sides you like. Of course pasta is always good and easy too.

 

[Claire]

I'd be a coward and buy some Barilla spaghetti, a jar of sauce. cook the pasta to instructions on the box. If you want to make this something special, if your grocery store sells fresh basil, chop some into the sauce and then scatter some artfully on the plates just before serving.

Make garlic bread. Buy a bag of mixed greens and buy the package of Good Seasons Italian dressing, the one with the cruet included. BUT, make it your own with some good olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. Grate some good parmesan cheese. Put some in both the salad when you toss it, and leave some out to put over the spaghetti to taste.

Buy some cheese and crackers for an nibble before you move to the table.

Buy some really good ice cream and a liquer to pour over it for desert.

Put candles on the table and a table cloth.

This will take you maybe 45 minutes to prepare, and the instructions are all there for you.

Then, if all is going well, confess everything, and let her know you were trying to impress her. Promise (and follow through) that you're going to learn to cook. If she runs screaming ... oh, well. Nothing's going to happen to a relationship built on a lie but unhappiness.

 

[Bangbang]

Make shitlins and hogmaws with hotsauce on the side and fresh bread.

 

[BreezyCooking]

So how did it go, Plusone?

What did you end up making & how did it turn out?

 

[amber]

I have the feeling plusone was a one hit wonder on here. I hope not! So many people helped him out.

 

[Bridgett]

I realise the dinner has probably been and gone, but for future reference (or future dates, if you were successful) - i would grab some nice atlantic salmon steaks, pan-fry them with a little pepper and make a nice simple sauce & serve with salad greens. Its so simple, but could easily be a restaurant meal. Plus its not messy like pastas or saucy dishes (which can be a distraction - trying to eat politely while at the same time being amazingly charismatic and charming...).

Plus, the sauce is up to you - i always order this at restaurants, and it usually comes with a creamy mayonnaise, hollandaise, or sometimes a salsa. I like to make mango chutney or salsa, or greek yoghurt mixed with sweet chilli sauce & lime to go with it.

For dessert - you don't even have to cook to make it fancy - get some sundae glasses, fill with ice cream, drizzle with liquor and top with crushed nuts, chocolate shards, or both.
Good luck in the future.

 

[CookSource]

Man its too bad I didnt see this sooner, I have an awsome pad thai recipe that is super easy and super good ! darn it ohh well maybe next time.

 

[lyndalou]

How aboout sharing the pad thai recipe with the rest of us?