What's a fancy dinner to make for V-day? *PIC of GF*

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
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I'm not a great cook by any means, but for a 26-yo working professional, I'm one of those guys who just 'get' the kitchen. The fanciest dish I can crank out is high-heat cast iron ribeye steak with au jus & potatoes.

The GF is very familiar with that dish and I want to make something fancier and new, but not CRAZY difficult.

Any ideas? Feel free to post your favorite recipe.

And I know better to post the pic of my GF from the get-go. (Taken with my lovely 85mm f1.8)
 

Jimmah

Golden Member
Mar 18, 2005
1,243
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Focaccia, shin stew and some chianti. Its stupid easy, costs about 20$, and takes no supervision. I had it last night, was probably the best stew and bread I've ever had.

Second to that, nice piece of leam beef, and a lima bean hot salad. Sounds weird but man is it ever good.
 

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,559
4
0
Freaky good. Pasta Carbonara. Just mix light or heavy cream with grated Romano cheese, salt and pepper over a low heat. Add crumbled bacon and pour over spaghetti.
With some bread this is the most fantastic meal you can make in less than 20 minutes. Although it is killer calories and fat.
 

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
2,676
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Originally posted by: techs
Freaky good. Pasta Carbonara. Just mix light or heavy cream with grated Romano cheese, salt and pepper over a low heat. Add crumbled bacon and pour over spaghetti.
With some bread this is the most fantastic meal you can make in less than 20 minutes. Although it is killer calories and fat.

Thanks for all your suggestions but these are bit Too simple. How about suggesting some things that are one notch higher? :)
 

bigrash

Lifer
Feb 20, 2001
17,648
28
91
I never cooked in my life (don't even ask me to cook an egg), and decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to learn, so I went to allrecipes.com, looked up a few different top ranked dishes and tried a couple. I tried the chicken cacciatore first and it came out very good. I also tried a couple of other chicken/pasta dishes. Go to the site and check them out. Honestly, they're not that hard to make.

Btw, there's a Which Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake that I tried from that site, and man it is soooooo good. I made it for work and my friends a few times and every time they think that I'm lying when I tell them that I made it. That should be a good desert dish for valentine's day. There's a lot of steps in the instructions, but if you follow it right, it's easy. And I had never baked anything in my life before that and was afraid of the oven.

Hope that helps. PM if you have any questions.
 

homercles337

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2004
6,340
3
71
"Complicated dish" is a really subjective term. Obviously many here think that "complicated" really means simple. When i think of complicated i think of time. If it takes a long time to make then its complicated. Lasagna is an example when everything is made from scratch (yes, even the pasta). Try some french dishes, Coq a vin, chicken cordon bleu, and others come to mind.
 

jarfykk

Senior member
Mar 29, 2001
501
1
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Essentially a gourmet hot pocket, best dish I've made in ages goes as follows (serves 2):

A-Hard-boil 2 eggs, peel, then chop into decent size chunks (not too big, not too small), do step B while waiting for eggs to boil. Also, get 2 frozen puff-pastry sheets (usually 1 box has two inside) and lay them out to soften, the creases might break so just kind push back together.

B-Combine 1/2 cup chopped & washed button mushrooms (regular ones work too), salt, pepper, and about 1 tbsp EACH of chopped, FRESH basil, parsley, and cilantro (can vary to taste).

C-Pre-heat oven to 350F.

D-Pour 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in frying pan, and combine above ingredients and cook for 2-3 minutes or so, mixing regularly, and adding 1-2 tsp of lemon juice (~1/4 lemon).

E-Remove the mixture from the pan and set aside. Add another tbsp of EVOO into same pan, and sear 2 6-8oz salmon fillets (boneless skinless) for about 1-2 minute on high heat for each side to give it a nice exterior.

F-Pour the 1/2 the mixture onto each puff pastry, then place a salmon fillet on top. Fold each corner to the middle and then turn the whole thing over and place on a cookie sheet or other baking pan large enough to hold it (will need two pans unless very large). You want to seal the folds by pinching them, though not to the extreme to prevent holes from forming.

G-Glaze the smooth top of each (as the folds are on the bottom) with a mixture of 1 egg and water. Use a brush if you have one, fingers are fine if not. Cut a 1/2 inch slice/hole in the middle of the top for venting. Then place in the pre-heated over for 17-20 minutes, sometimes a bit more though certainly not less. They're done with the pastry is a golden brown. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes. In those 5 minutes do next step.

H-Steam for 3-4 minutes your choice of a green vegetable like broccoli, asparagus, etc. with a pinch of pepper and salt. Can boil if no steamer for similar time. Drain and service along side the entree.

 

lokiju

Lifer
May 29, 2003
18,526
5
0
Fish with crab cake, fresh salad with light dressing.

Bed of rice or pasta.

Easy and fast to make and very tasty.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
126
We are doing

- rack of lamb, fairly easy, 30-45 mins prep max
- grilled asparagus?
- some type of carb, brown rice or something
- wine
- dessert
- after dinner pootang

Total cost w/o wine 25-30 bucks


fairly cheap, tasty, and fun for all parties involved
=D
 

MaxDepth

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2001
8,757
43
91
Unfortunately...I need more data...

Does she have any food allergies?
Does she like savory more than sweet?
Is she a vegetarian?
Does she like any regional cuisine more than another? (North, South, Southwest, Asian, French, Indian, etc.)
Any food that she definitely does not like?
Both of you old enough to legally drink?


 

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
2,676
1
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Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Unfortunately...I need more data...

Does she have any food allergies?
Does she like savory more than sweet?
Is she a vegetarian?
Does she like any regional cuisine more than another? (North, South, Southwest, Asian, French, Indian, etc.)
Any food that she definitely does not like?
Both of you old enough to legally drink?

no allergies

she likes both

no, she loves everything

she loves asian and korean food but frankly we eat those often and wanna try something fancy. she's not a big fan of italian for some reason (_I_ love italian).

mexican and italian she doesn't care for

yes.


Crab cake really sounds good..
 

FP

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2005
4,568
0
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I was going to suggest homemade pizza but I don't think you would understand the physics involved in tossing the dough.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Roast chicken with fettucine alfredo? Shrimp scampi over linguine with roast asparagus? Pan-seared scallops with a red pepper sauce?
 

LS21

Banned
Nov 27, 2007
3,745
1
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if you want impressive dinner, just plate it well. that means add things with different color. easy combo has already been put - pink samon, with some green asparagus. easy peezy. you can add a few boiled potatoes in there for a change of texture and color and flavor.

always add some fresh herbs to the main course. a twig of this here and a leaf of that there. always makes it seem more fanciful.

instead of serving plain lettuce, get a fancier mixed bag so you dont have to chop, but it adds more visual appeal. throw on croutons, bacon bits, eggs, sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, etc

finally, the piece de resistance... MAKE YOUR OWN SAUCE. its easy. all sauces are a variation of a reduction of butter, broth , wine/vinegar. if you cook salmon on stove top and have salmon fond left on the pan, put some butter on it to work the sticky fond off the plate. throw some shallots on there and let it sweat. then add some white wine and let that thicken/reduce in half volume. if you want to throw some fish or chicken stock on there let that reduce also. finally add a bit more butter for that nice body. drain the sauce and top the salmon