Birthday dinner for my bf...HELP PLEASE?!
Birthday dinner for my bf...HELP PLEASE?
my boyfriend is turning 24 in a little under a month and i am cooking a HUGE dinner for him. his favorite food is shrimp scampi so i am making that plus a garden salad and crescent rolls cuz those are just so yummy :) the only thing is i dont know what wine to get becuase when we go to dinner he usually drinks beer (bud light or corona) and i usually drink martini's or beers. anyone have any suggestions what wine would go well with the meal im making? im assuming some kind of white wine cuz theres seafood but i could be wrong...HELP :) also anything else i could add to the dinner cuz i feel like im missing something...and any guys out there...should i do the whole candle light dinner thing or skip the candles? would that be cheesy?
* serious answers only please
**forgot to mention i am 21 so yes i can legally drink :)
2 months ago
sorry forgot to mention that the scampi has angelhair pasta in it so the meal is the pasta, the scampi,salad and bread. is that enough or should i make 1 more side dish (suggestions please ) i asked him if he liked wine and he said "sure" but when i asked what kind he said "i dunno but i like it" so i figured id get whatever goes best with the food and a 6pack of beer...just in case. if push comes to shove i can put his beer in a pretty glass ;)
Answers:
2 months ago
sorry forgot to mention that the scampi has angelhair pasta in it so the meal is the pasta, the scampi,salad and bread. is that enough or should i make 1 more side dish (suggestions please ) i asked him if he liked wine and he said "sure" but when i asked what kind he said "i dunno but i like it" so i figured id get whatever goes best with the food and a 6pack of beer...just in case. if push comes to shove i can put his beer in a pretty glass ;)
Your dinner is perfect as it is. The best wine (because scampi has shrimp, garlic and oil) will be a pinot grigio. Look for Kris Pinot Grigio (Italy) but if you can't find it, then Gallo Family Vineyards Reserve Pinot Grigio (California) is a lovely substitute. You should be able to get either for under $12 no matter where you live. Serve it well chilled :)
The only thing you're missing is dessert... and something light with fruit would be a good choice after the weight of the meal. Think... angel food or sponge cake with peaches or berries... dollop of whipped cream and you're set! (Either of these wines will complement that sort of dessert if you're still sipping at dessert time as well. The Kris has an apple/honey note and the Gallo Family is more peach, fig, apricot.)
Good luck with your meal!
To be honest i always loved when my girlfriend gave me candle light dinners it shows that you still think we are special to you. umm as for the wine i am not sure i am not a big wine drinker i am sure the bottles at the store should say what kind of food you should drink it with. or i now that you can go to a winery and ask them. like a little small on around town . Wel good Luck i hope all goes well.
a pure semillon or a chardoney\semillon wil work... Austrailain wines are usually quite good without being overly expensive.
A nice side dish could be linguine tossed with garlic butter and parasean or romano cheese (since you are already making a garlic butter for the scampi)
as far as the candles go... go right ahead.. as long as they aren't the only light source.. just be certain to dress in your most killer outfit for the occasion
Edit: If you are including pasta as part of the scampi (something that isn't always done - which is why I suggested it) then you should be fine..
I don't know anything about wine, but since he usually drinks beer does he even like wine? and I agree with the linquine suggestion. I think that would be a great addition. If he doesn't like pasta, though, you could steam some vegies to do along with the shrimp.
Martin Weyrich Muscatto Allegro. It can be found in most liquor stores. Almost like a deset wine. Dirt cheap, about $10 to $12 a bottle. Every time I go to my parents house for holidays, I take about 5 or 6 bottles. None gets left behind.
Side dishes? Stay away from broccoli. Get's you gassy, and that could ruin a romantic evening. Something like stuffed mushrooms. Quick and easy recipes online.
Ok, most white wines are ok with fish dishes, but be carefull. A chardonay will have an acidic taste with fish. Thats better with white meat, ie, chicken, turkey etc.
Try to go for a columbard and make sure it is betweem 10-12% alcohol volume. (anything higher/lower is just awful, in my humble opinion)
As for beer, see if you can get a Fruit Beer, yes, they are sweet and sickly, but are just so nice to share with each other, ahem!!!
Good luck and hope your B/F appeciates all you are doing for him.
xxx
Being a beer drinker myself, it would suit me fine to have that yummy-tasting dinner with my favorite beer. Of course the best part of the evening would involve oral sex afterwards.
Here's something creative that will be appreciated and you will have fun doing:
Make up a crossword puzzle and have all the hints be personal inside moments and jokes that only you two would know about. Put it on a poster board and add some clipart and some pictures to it!
The crossword puzzle could be time consuming and a bit frustrating ... you could do the same idea with a WORDSEARCH or WORDFIND puzzle.
Put your computer skills to work! Use Excel, get clipart from Yahoo Images Search, copy them, and reformat them, use a gluestick to put on posterboard.
Use graph paper, and pictures from magazines if you are not as good on the computer, and it will give it a homemade feeling.