I need to impress my partner with food. What can I make? HELP!!?!
Answers: I need to make a really spectacular 3 course meal for my partner. Anyone have any great recipies for me or any good web sites I could go on?
Recipezaar.com is a marvelous recipe website, because you can get comments on the recipes from others, and the 5 stars system tells you the very best of the many recipes.
If your beau likes fish, then you look under fish and find the 5 star recipe that suits you.
The same applies for any other meat he likes. Pick the cooking method you prefer, such as grilling, or broiling.
Then pick a vegetable from the recipes, or do as I do, and make a potato dish and a salad.
With steak I find this very simple to do, the best steak you can afford, a great salad, and a potato made the way he likes it....can't miss.
Don't do spectacular to the point of maybe ruining the meal if it backfires. Go with something simple but delicious, and add a fantastic dessert to impress him.
Since I don't know his likes and dislikes, it is hard to give a full 3 course list of ideas, but because you know his favorite choices (known from when he takes you out to eat) follow this 'game plan' and you will do magnificent.
Good luck, and how exciting that you WANT to cook for him. So many want to only eat out, and they miss the joy of cooking.
Ingredients (steak with diane sauce)
50g/2 oz unsalted butter
2 x 175g /6oz fillet or sirloin steaks, flattened out with a meat mallet until 5mm/?in thick
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 shallots, finely diced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp red wine
3 tbsp beef stock
1 tbsp brandy
3 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
To serve
French fries
buttered peas
Method
1. Heat 25g/1oz of the butter in a large frying pan.
2. Season the steaks with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place into the hot pan to fry for one minute on each side. Remove the steaks from the pan and keep warm.
3. Reduce the heat and add the remaining 25g/1oz of butter to the frying pan with the shallots and cook over a gentle heat for eight minutes, until the shallots have softened.
4. Add the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the pan and stir well.
5. Add the red wine and stock and bring to the boil. Boil until reduced by one-third.
6. Add the brandy and carefully set light to it to burn off the alcohol. Allow the flames to subside, then add the cream and boil over a high heat for about three minutes, until the sauce is the thickness of single cream.
7. Fold in the parsley and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Return the steaks to the pan and warm through but do not boil.
9. Place the steaks on a warmed plate, top with the sauce and serve with French fries and buttered peas.
this is an amazing recipe ,,,,, enjoy x
-Starter can be simple, like a salad, make it small and light, it can be ready in the fridge.
- Main course, pasta is always good, except you make the sauce yourself, or if you feel like it, make a lasagna there are cook books and on-line recipes for you to follow and you can include some potato slices as well.
- Pudding is easy, Vienetta, the joy of ice cream and chocolate in one.
Besides, she isn't just coming for the food, it's to see you too. The things I've recommended is so that you can stay with her as much as possible. Just try to avoid looking at you watch all the time, make sure the clock is behind her or something like that. Basically keep it low maintenance so you can keep her entertained.
Kraftfoods.com has tons of suggestions and recipes ranging from really easy to elegant. You sure cant' beat steak, baked potatoe and salad though.
Hi, try the BBC food site, i think the address is www.bbc-food-recipes.com, they have all recipes from avocado soup to zabaglione,they have recipes by different chefs,making the same thing but with their own twist on it.I use it alot it has some great recipes on there also they are all print friendly so you can print them off and make up your own cook book . I hope this helps xx
Check out www.allrecipes.com.
Each recipe comes with comments and feedback from people who have actually made the recipes and improved them. Great source of ideas, too.
Suggestion: always practice your recipes on yourself or others before trying to impress someone. You'll learn a lot --- even what NOT to do.
Suggestion Number Two: have a Plan B in case something doesn't work, e.g. ice cream in the freezer if your homemade dessert flops.
Suggestion Number Three: vegetables are tricky because not everyone likes everything. Try to find out what he/she likes before making veggies.
Suggestion Four: Serve your food on larger-than-normal plates or serve just small portions on regular plates. It makes the food look more precious -- and more delicious.
There are so many good websites out there (and also mentioned by others here) that you will be spoilt for choice. However, remember that the more preparation you do in advance, the more time spent at the table (and together later(???). So don't be too ambitious. A simple starter, a maincourse that just needs the minimum of attention and fresh strawberries ...... mmmmm.
If anyone is cooking for a man - change the last course to something stodgy with custard (jam rolypoly, fruit sponge pudding, eve's pudding or syryp tart are all great with custard) and have plenty left for seconds.
Have a great evening.
my boyfriend makes this for me and its really good. this man never cooks lol. get a package of precooked chicken in the frozen section, a box of any fancy looking pasta noodles, and a can of alfredo sauce. you cant go wrong with this. cook the chicken in a frying pan until lightly brown. you can add any seasoning you like. we go with spicy stuff but you can make it plain as well. try louisiana seasoning, any kind of blackened new orleans seasoning, etc. that will be your main dish. you can add garlic bread of breadsticks.. you could even get frozen texas toast and thats very simple and good.
make a nice salad using anything. mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, green olives. dress it up with any kind of cheese or parmesean cheese.
then make a dessert or even buy one. jello has a really good cherry cheese cake mix you can make. it takes like ten minutes to perpare and you let it set in the fridge for an hour. my boyfriend freaks when i make this. hope this helps.. im all about the easy cooking.
FIRST of all you need to find out what they like. Google spinach dip recipe to start out with.
I serve that on french bread.
Baked chicken is always a winner.
I Use SAM'S club Barbecue sauce
BECAUSE its used by a lot of Restaurant's.
what does she like to eat? seafood? meat/steaks? I'd recommend you take her to a nice restaurant so you can give her 100% attention and let the chefs do the hard work.
Main course: Steak with the works
you wil need: 2 rib-eyes, steak sauce, Worcheister sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, meat tenderizer, two potatoes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, oilve oil, honey, egg
1. Tenderize your meat
2. marinade steaks with 1 tbs of steak sauce, 1 tsp of W.sauce, sprnikle garlic powder,salt, and pepper
3. leave in fridge for 1 hour
4. grill until well-done or medium rare
Baked (grilled) potatoes
1. cut a thick slit into each potato and sprinkle salt and pepper in there
2. wrap in foil
3. grill until cooked
4. open the foil and add lots of cheese into the slits so it'll melt
Salad
1. Wash the lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers
2. skin cucumbers
3. slice cherry tomatoes
4. sepreate lettuce
5. boil eggs and slice
5. mix honey olivee oil together
6. Toss into salad and enjoy
Dessert: cinnamon triangles
you will need: pillsberry pre made canned croissants, cinnamon, diced peaches, hersheys chocolate bar, vanilla icing
1. mix icing, cinnamon, peaches, and broken up pieces of the chocolate together
2. open canned croissants
3, spread onto each triangle but do NOT fold them up
4. toast in toaster oven for 10-15 minutes or until party is cooked
Enjoy your meal and serve with iced water or wine
hope your partner likes this meal! xD
Prawn cocktail
Serves 1
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time no cooking required
Ingredients
30g/1oz fresh chives, chopped
30g/1oz fresh chervil, chopped
olive oil
1 lemon, juice only
3 cooked prawns, heads, tails and shells removed
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
dash Worcestershire sauce
Method
1. Place half the chives and all the chervil in the base of a deep cocktail glass.
2. Top with a little olive oil and the half the lemon juice.
3. Top the herbs with the prawns.
4. Combine ? chives, the rest of the lemon juice, the ketchup, Greek yoghurt and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl.
5. Spoon the above sauce on top of the prawns and serve.
Roast chicken with cheese mash and garlic gravy
Serves 4
Preparation time 30 mins to 1 hour
Cooking time 1 to 2 hours
Nigel serves this dish in two courses - the chicken and gravy, followed by the cheesy mashed potato.
Ingredients
1.5kg/3lb 5oz whole chicken, with giblets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
butter
4-5 bushy sprigs thyme
2 whole heads garlic
2 large potatoes
For the gravy
1 small onion, halved
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
150ml/5fl oz white wine
400ml/14fl oz water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the cheese mash
5 large floury potatoes
50g/2oz butter
100ml/3?fl oz hot milk
125g/4?oz mature cheese such as Wensleydale, Lancashire or cheddar, grated
Method
Set the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6. Remove the giblets from the chicken and rub the bird all over with salt, pepper, butter and thyme leaves, pushing a couple of sprigs of thyme inside the cavity. Place upside down in a roasting tin. Cut the heads of garlic in half horizontally and tuck them beside the bird. Put the bird into the oven to roast.
Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut each one into about six (you alone know exactly how big you like your roast potatoes to be) and bring them to the boil in deep, salted water. Cook until they are almost tender, a matter of twelve minutes or so, then drain them.
After forty-five minutes' cooking, turn the chicken the right way up, add the potatoes to the pan, rolling them over in the fat, then let the chicken roast for a further thirty to forty-five minutes.
While the chicken continues to roast, make the gravy and the cheese mash. Put the chicken giblets in a pan with the onion, carrot and bay leaves and about 400ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut them into large pieces and bring them to the boil in deep, salted water. Once they have boiled, turn them down to an enthusiastic simmer till they are tender to the point of a knife, a matter of twelve to fifteen minutes or so.
Remove the chicken and potatoes from the roasting tin, together with some of the roasting juices, and keep them warm whilst you finish the gravy. Put the roasting tin over a moderate heat. Pour in the wine and 150ml/5fl oz of the giblet stock. Bring to the boil, pressing the garlic cloves with a wooden spoon to squash them, then season.
Drain the potatoes and beat them with the butter and hot milk. I do this in a food mixer but you could do it with a potato masher if you prefer. Stir in the grated cheese. Cover with buttered foil and place in the switched-off oven.
To serve: carve the now rested chicken and serve it with the roast potatoes and the small quantity of roasting juices that have collected in the dish. Once you have eaten, bring the gravy to the boil and check the seasoning. Serve the mashed potatoes on the same plates, spooning over the gravy and holding back the thyme and garlic as you go.
Strawberry Dessert
by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine
Yield: Makes 9 to 12 servingsIngredients: 2cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3cup margarine, melted
1/4cup granulated sugar
2packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1cup powdered sugar
2containers (6 ounces each) lemon-flavor yogurt
3pints strawberries, sliced
1container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Preparation: 1.Combine cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and margarine in medium bowl; mix well. Press into bottom of 13X9-inch baking dish.
2.Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar 1 minute in medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in yogurt until blended. Pour mixture over crust. Arrange strawberries on cream cheese mixture. Spread whipped topping over strawberries. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.