Got to impress my girlfriend.

[Kiddo.]

I've been going out with my girlfriend for a while, and i want to do something to impress her. I decided to make her a special dinner for her. I have my own pasta sauce that i made myself, and i'm going to make her some sort of chicken breast.
The pasta sauce is a citrus tomato sauce, with ginger/garlic in it (just for an idea of the flavour)
What should i pair with the pasta/ do to the chicken breast (i'm currently leaning towards stuffed, but with what, feel free to offer not stuffed ideas.)/ anything i'm missing.
We're 15, so no wine.

 

[mollyanne]

Where were you when I was 15?
You sound like one special kiddo!
Since your pasta dish has ginger in it you may want to
choose a chicken recipe that is more asian but I like this:
Check out this recipe link. I love the sauce oozing out...
Chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto, and Boursin cheese.
Personally, I would use mushrooms instead of prosciutto
only because I just love mushrooms.
All that and she cooks, too: Chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and Boursin cheese

 

[Kiddo.]

That looks really good. Like... damn. Thank you. Would getting some french bread be good too?

 

[Rachel Keeth]

You could make chicken parmesan, The best recipe I know of is in "The Cook's Country Cookbook" they also have the recipe on their website but you have to pay for a membership to use it. Recipe - Skillet Chicken Parmesan- Cook's Country
Garlic bread also goes perfectly with it, and a fresh salad. Hope this helps!

 

[mollyanne]

I like how you think kiddo...french bread sounds mmm mmm good. But you are having pasta so it's not all that necessary and you may want to leave room for dessert.

Have you got any edible flowers growing in your garden that you could use for presentation? Just one on the plate even is special and girls go gaga over it.

Careful...key word is edible (some, like lantana are poisonous and that would be a scene). I grow nasturtiums in container gardens on my deck. Just one is plenty to add color and uniqueness. They're also great in a salad if your careful not to pick bitter ones like Dandelions. Perfect for summer.

Some Edible Flowers:
Any and all Herbs
Apple Blossom
Bachelor Buttons
Citrus
Clover
Dandelion
Elderberry
Freesia
Gardenia
Geraniums
Hibiscus
Honeysuckle
Impatiens
Jasmine
Lilac
Marigold
Nasturtium
Orange Blossom
Pansy
Rose
Snapdragon
Begonia
Violet
Viola

Surely, you've got Dandelions tsk tsk

.

 

[Claire]

Got to have a salad, and the edible flowers to top it off (especially nastutiums are great if they're in your folks' garden. What are you doing for desert? I cannot imagine you doing this at 15. Who else is going to be around?

A non-stuffed chicken idea is to pound the living daylights out of it to get it as flat as possible, then dredge through egg then bread crumbs and (very quickly) saute. Drizzle a little of the pasta sauce on the chicken, et voila!

 

[DaveSoMD]

One note on edible flowers: do not go out and buy flowers or pick them from unknown sources. Professionally grown flowers have been sprayed with different pesticides that could be poisionous. You should only eat flowers that you know were grown without pesticides or sprays or you have grown yourself since most flower growers/suppliers grow them for dispaly and not human consumption.

mollyanne - what is your trick for growing nasturtiums? I gave up after several years of trying.

 

[Bigjim68]

I would marinate the breast in a mixture of the spices in the sauce minus the red stuff, stuff with parmesian, romano, or swiss and proscuitto, and grill. The garnish would be lemon zest, maybe some orange. If you want to get really fancy, pound and roll the breasts with cheese and italian ham, and bake in phyllo dough. If you do this, buy the best cheese available. Bland cheeses get lost in red sauces.

 

[mollyanne]

mollyanne - what is your trick for growing nasturtiums? I gave up after several years of trying.

It's interesting that you should ask that Dave because I grew them in several pots on my deck this year...the ones on the floor of the deck haven't produced any flowers and look sickly. The ones I planted in oblong clay pots and set up on top of the wood railing are flourishing. The ones on the floor get a little shade at certain times but the ones on top of the railing have full sun all day.

So I would say the secret is:
FULL SUN & WATER
..and some MiracleGro All-Purpose Plant Food twice a month
(I called Miracle-Gro and they confirmed that it's completely safe to eat the plants/vegetables/flowers and no waiting period needed)

I had no problem when I lived in San Diego but I admit that I have less luck in North Carolina...except on that top railing of my deck.

And, Dave, thanks for the warning about bought flowers...i never knew that.

.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

That looks really good. Like... damn. Thank you. Would getting some french bread be good too?

Remember to count your starches. No more than 2. Usually no more than one but this is a special meal. I would consider marinating the chicken. I like to make a paste out of basil, lemon juice (small amount) and veggie broth and then marinate the boneless breasts in it for up to 24 hours. Please note that I said a small amount of lemon juice or else a long marinade will mess with the texture of the chicken. When I'm done marinating I remove from the bag but I don't wipe or shake off the marinade, I just bake it on. It stands up well to a rich tomato sauce.

 

[Mimizkitchen]

Where were you when I was 15?
You sound like one special kiddo!
Since your pasta dish has ginger in it you may want to
choose a chicken recipe that is more asian but I like this:
Check out this recipe link. I love the sauce oozing out...
Chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto, and Boursin cheese.
Personally, I would use mushrooms instead of prosciutto
only because I just love mushrooms.
All that and she cooks, too: Chicken stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and Boursin cheese

Mollyanne will you make that for me!!!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I know that this post was put in back in June. But... other things you can do with boneless chicken breasts are to place between sheets of plastic wrap and pound thin with a meat mallet. Then, roll the chicken around whatever you like. With your sauce, this might make a unique and interesting presentation. I'll call it Chicken Ravioli. After pounding, cut the chicken breasts into three inch squares. Dip in half of the squares in egg wash (1 egg mixed with a bit of milk and beaten with a whisk or fork until smooth) and place on a plastic cutting board. Dust with cornstarch. Place a half-tsp of filling on top. season with salt and pepper. Place another chicken square on top and press the sides together. Carefully lift and set on a wire cooling rack to dry. Do this with all of the chicken squares to make raviolis. Dip the raviolis in egg wash, then cornstarch. Again, let dry, just for a couple minutes. Dip in hot oil, but not hot enough to sizzle. Let sit for thirty seconds or so until the coating turns white. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Get your sauce hot and ready. Heat the oil to 360' F. and dip the raviolis in egg wash, then flour, then egg wash, then panko bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown. Serve on plate with sauce lightly spooned over top.

Some filling ideas:
1. ricotta cheese with spinach and fresh basil
2. minced black olives, fetta cheese, and ground and browned Itallian Sausage
3. Mushrooms, minced olives, and mozarella
4. herbed compound butter
5. Muenster cheese with minced pepperoni or capiacola
6. Chicken flavored rice pilaf with minced mushrooms
7. Cottage cheese with a bit of lemon grass or dill
8. A great, homemade liver pate', but the pate' has to be silky smooth and she has to like liver pate'
9. Your favorite pizza toppings
10. savory bread dressing and substitute chicken Veloute sauce for the tomato sauce.
11. Combination of Swiss, and Havarti cheese
12. Creamy mashed potatoes with dill and minced mushrooms
13. cream cheese mixed with crab meat and a touch of sugar, Served with a lightly thickend sauce of clam juice with green onion and a touch of Old Bay seasoning, or with your tomato sauce.

Hope this gives people ideas for something a little bit extravagant that they can use to really give something good to someone they love.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North