What would you consider a great housewarming meal?!
What would you consider a great housewarming meal?
My boyfried is moving into his new APT in mid August. I wanted to cook him something extra special in order to "christen" his new kitchen. You know, buy all the spices and little cooking utensils he'll need...Then actually get to use them.
I was thinking something like a 3 course meal would be nice. Plus something that would be fun for us to cook together. I enjoy cooking and consider myself a pretty good cook. So ANY suggestions would be VERY appreciated.
Answers:
Stir fries are always kinda fun to cook. You could get him a nice cutting board and a good chef's knife, plus a wok. Woks are great for guy-cooking.
I would make an easy egg drop soup for starters, amybe pick up some rangoons from a chinese restaurant or look up a recipe.
For stir fry, just thinly slice your favorite meats and veggies, and add a bottled sauce. Just make sure your wok is smoking hot and cook the meat/veg in small batches. Serve with steamed rice, or fried rice. You can get that at the restaurant, too, but it is also easy to make.
For dessert, fortune cookies or sorbet would be great, not too hot and easy.
Another fun thing would be to make homemade pizza. Go to your favorite pizza place, and they should sell you a few rounds of dough. Then, you could buy him a pizza stone. When you get ready to make the pizza, roll it out on cornmeal, while the stone heats in the oven. Then top it with whatever (that is the fun part) and serve it with a salad, some wine, and fruit for dessert.
One other fun idea would be to get a fondue pot, and have a fondue meal...you could do cheese fondue with veggies and bread, or use oil in the pot to cook pieces of meat. a simple salad would be great with either. For dessert, chocolate fondue with fruit, cake cubes, marshmallows, etc.
The most important thing is to HAVE FUN!!
grill up some nice strip steaks on a stove top grill pan
saute some spinach or bok choy with garlic,kosher salt, black pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and butter
bake some cheese biscuits
make some ice cream
I would go with spinach salad w/warm bacon dressing or blanched asparagus in prosciutto ham for course #1
Course #2 Can never go wrong w/Lasagna w/homemade sauce and garlic bread
Dessert Chocolate lava cake with real whipped cream(homemade) and strawberries. Fun and easy!
Have fun and good luck!
roast a chicken... it's easy and makes for great comfort food. Perfect first meal for his new place. Have some white wine with it. When the chicken is out of the oven... deglaze the roasting pan with a glass of the wine.... reduce and add a little flour disolved in water and you have sauce! Make the sauce even more special by adding sauteed mushrooms and onions. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans... maybe a salad. Don't forget to have a little ice cream on hand for afterwards.
A Chinese meal can be very involved with lots of ingredients and utensils.
Maybe start with an egg drop soup with green onions and tofu.
Main dishes that you can try if you are not too familiar with Asian cooking are stir fry, teriyaki chicken (it can bake in the oven while you're using the stove), fried rice or noodles.
I made this as a new roommate dinner at my place for 3 guys and they loved it!
(You can also drink some sake while you're cooking and have even more fun!)
I don't enjoy cooking so I would pick up carryout or something - then eat it at the new house.
I think that an italian feast is a great way to celebrate! Make bruchetta with tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar as a starter. Then have stuffed shells or manicotti, and make tiramisu for dessert.
I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
salad with his favorite dressing topped with crouton's
filet mignon steaks
bake potato with butter and sour cream
corn on the cobb
texas toast
key lime pie
ice tea (don't forget the lemon and sugar)
or
chicken rotel
green bean casserole
fried cream corn
rolls
strawberry short cake
ice tea (don't forget the lemon and sugar)
or
salisbury steak
mash potato's and gravy
green beans
corn
rolls
lemon ice box pie
ice tea (don't forget the lemon and sugar)