Simple but good meal ideas for dinner date

KidLifeCrisis · #1 04-10-2007, 04:40 PM

This girl is coming over tonight, and I was going to take her out to dinner because she isn't going to be here until a little later, so I thought that would be the easy solution. But she's spending the night tonight and tomorrow, so I thought I'd make her dinner tomorrow.

As of right now, I'm planning to make the following, but I'm open to ideas.

1. Breaded chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella cheese baked in some corning ware in the oven,
2. Mashed potatoes (I usually add garlic salt or something, but thought I'd avoid that for the sake of making out and such -- any suggested flavor replacements?),
3. Green beans (I'd usually cook these with garlic too, but as per #2, any suggestions?)

I already have drinks covered, and I didn't even think about dessert until I got to the end of this post. I'm open to ideas.

samjjones · #2 04-10-2007, 04:42 PM

How about grilling up some steaks? Ridiculously easy, and assuming she isn't a vegetarian, will impress her.

sonneti · #3 04-10-2007, 04:43 PM

Don't be a pussy if you start cooking now you'll be doing it for the rest of your life.

TobDog · #4 04-10-2007, 04:45 PM

Pasta and sauce is very easy. just dont let her see any jars or boxes, and get a pasta type that is not too ordinary.

RoundGuy · #5 04-10-2007, 04:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
How about grilling up some steaks? Ridiculously easy,

[/ QUOTE ]
Unless you overcook them -- like chewing leather, or undercook them -- eating raw cow. Yep, ridiculously easy when trying to impress a date.

Toro · #6 04-10-2007, 04:48 PM

Take out.

z28dreams · #7 04-10-2007, 04:51 PM

It might be fun to do something you can cook together.

Lasagna is actually pretty easy, but takes a while to cook. (40min or so). You could always do appetizers and drinks while it cooks though.

Stir-fry chicken is quite fast and easy. You can even grab the frozen pre-mixed stir fry packages.

If you have a grill, shish kebab is a really fun thing to do together. Just slice up some steak and chicken cubes, get green pepper, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, whatever else you want. You two can work as an assembly line and customize your skewers [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

ScottieK · #8 04-10-2007, 04:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How about grilling up some steaks? Ridiculously easy,

[/ QUOTE ]
Unless you overcook them -- like chewing leather, or undercook them -- eating raw cow. Yep, ridiculously easy when trying to impress a date.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you don't know how to cook a steak, that's just too bad.

One recipe I think is fairly easy is pan-seared salmon. Coat salmon filets with olive oil, pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook on skillet over medium heat, about three minutes a side for seared or five minutes a side for fully cooked. Can serve with pasta or roasted potatoes and just about any veggie.

ScottieK

KidLifeCrisis · #9 04-10-2007, 05:05 PM

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Making shishkebabs together sounds like a fun idea, but I unfortunately don't have a grill since I'm in an apartment. They do have public grills outside though, so maybe we can do this sometime when it's warmer.

The salmon idea sounds pretty good too. I'll give her a few options since I'll have time to shop and cook tomorrow.

RoundGuy · #10 04-10-2007, 05:07 PM

[ QUOTE ]
If you don't know how to cook a steak, that's just too bad.

[/ QUOTE ]
Grilling the perfect steak is an art, and far from "ridiculously easy", especially if she likes her's done differently than his. Based on OP's current menu, he doesn't seem to have the experience necessary to impress a date with a grilled steak -- imho.

Your salmon recipe sounds excellent, and much less susceptible to a menu catastrophe.