Romantic (but quick/easy) meal?!
Romantic (but quick/easy) meal?
Hi! My friend is planning to wine and dine his girlfriend tomorrow night, but isn't the most accomplished of cooks! I've recommended a really nice pasta with a homemade cabonara sauce but that's boring apparantly! I said do a steak with one of the sachets of flavour you can buy, fry slices of new potato in olive oil and rock salt and pepper, and do some green beans and mini sweetcorn on the cobs, but that's too complicated apparantly! Any other suggestions? Thank you :)
Answers:
Well, I think the carbonara is a wonderful suggestion - what's sexier than a smoky sauce over pasta, with a beautiful salad and a bottle of wine?
My next suggestion is shrimp scampi, provided she's not allergic to shellfish...
Linguine with Shrimp Scampi...
Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.
Not too difficult, but great tasting and impressive! He still should do the salad and wine though! And let him know that carbonara would have been my first choice! lol!
Girls love this..... Get a package of boneless skinless chicken breast. (usually 2 - 3 in pack) Toss it in an oven safe dish. Put a whole bottle of some kind of sauce on it. you can use pretty much any kind of salad dressing. I suggest Italian, honey mustard, or for some spice BBQ sauce. Throw it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Turn it a few times while it is cooking. Then toss some already made bread from the bakery in with it for the last 2 - 5 minutes to get it warm. Open up a can of veggies, put it in a pretty bowl and nuke it till it is warm. Green beans or corn sound good. and your are all done. 1 meat, side dish, bread and of course a bottle of wine. Don't forget the candles. That makes everything better. Have fun.
a hot dog and a taco
Pizza and much beer