Makin' Dinner as a firs date
 

Alright so Ive decided to invite this girl over whom I have known for awhile for a first date. Now Im just wondering what to cook. I wanted to make something thats creative and interesting and shy away from plain and boring/traditional food. My dad is a chef so we have many plenty of cookbooks around the house. The girl thats coming over likes anything and she isnt allergic to anything which is good. I was thinking about a three course meal. Does anyone have any suggestions???

Pasta/Italian.

For main entree-Something like three cheese baked ziti with chicken and/or veggies.

No talk about food early- i am hungry... need food HELP!

Watch Date Plate on Food Network...that should give you some ideas :)

Aw, Date Plate! Cute idea!

Just make something that you know how to make really well. The first time my last boy made dinner for me, it was an Asian peanut sautee that he'd created himself. It was nummy and extra-sweet 'cuz I knew that he'd put some time into it.

I'd suggest something unusual, like Indian. I made an Indian curry for my then-boyfriend... a few days later, he proposed :)

I'd also suggest that you pick something where you can do most of the prep work beforehand, so that you're not spending all your time in the kitchen once your date arrives.

Purely based on the indian food, right? ;)

Of course... http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/AZZANGEL.gif

That's SUCH a cute date!!!! I hope it works out awesome...not like MY last dinner being cooked for me date (that never happens) on valentines day where he stood me up because he thought I needed to call him that morning to confirm....WTF....oh welll.....
T/F my only advice is to make sure it actually happens...which DUH it will cuz u seem like an awesome guy :) :)

oh one other suggestion.....yummy yummy yummy desssert!!! That's my FAVORITE part of the meal :) :)

I agree with the dessert idea... make some special.

alright so I was thinking a salad for the appetizer. A summer salad filled with all sorts of greens like raddichio, bib lettuce, watercrest, etc. I was thinking about making my own dressing for it. A strawberry-balsamic viniagrette. Thats how far I am now.

I'm getting hungry just reading this! Time for breakfast!

I made an Italian dinner for the first date once and ended up with him for 3 years (whether or not that's a good thing now is totally irrelevant :p). You can't lose with pasta!!!!

Try seafood. Shrimp pasta might work well.

If you decide to go with a shrimp or crab dish, make sure she isn't allergic to seafood first (like me...). You could end up spending the whole first date in the ER (been there, done that, and it was really embarrassing) :p

Actually, I was just cooked for [as a first date thing] on Tuesday.

He was REALLY smooth. He had vacumed [probably a good idea], cleared out the main area sorta and set up a table with a white tablecloth on it. Had candles [all same color] all around the room. Jazz /dinner music playing in the background. He poured me a glass of wine as I walked in, and he was finishing up dinner. He made Chicken Marsella [sp?], and some cooked peppers to go along with it [i dont usually like them, but they were good]. Then for dessert was strawberries [sprinkled with suga] and coolwhip... with Champagne. Overall it was a HUGE success!

You may not want to go THAT far with it... but maybe some other time!

GOOD LUCK.

Surprisingly, if you're into seafood, the recipes on the backs of the foil pouches of tuna and salmon are pretty tasty and also quick and painless to make.

Here's one of my favorites:

SALMON OR TUNA CAKES WITH LEMON HERB SAUCE

• 1 7.1-oz. pouch Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon or Albacore Tuna
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper and green onion (I don't like it, but it's entirely optional - I usually leave it out.)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (regular, low cal or light)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tbsp seasoned salt (Old Bay seasoning will work just as well.)
• Cayenne pepper to taste (Old Bay already has cayenne pepper in it, so son't go overboard!)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs (Progresso makes decent bread crumbs, but if you can find the coarse Japanese bread crumbs, better still! Or mix 'em half and half. :))
• 3 tbsps butter or margarine

In a medium bowl, flake and combine the salmon/tuna, red pepper, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in egg and 4 tbsps of the bread crumbs into the mix. Divide and form the mix into eight balls, then roll the balls in a plate containing the remaining bread crumbs. Once breaded, flatten the balls into patties about 1/2" thick. In a medium skillet, melt the butter/margarine and fry the cakes until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately with Lemon Herb Sauce (recipe below). Makes four servings of two cakes each.

LEMON HERB SAUCE

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (regular, light or low cal)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp horseradish
• 2-1/2 tsp fresh or 1 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 1 cup.

Some interesting experimentations with the recipe:

Use the seasoned tuna pouches from StarKist (theres a red pepper and also a lemon pepper tuna). However, these pouches are smaller (5 oz instead of the 7 oz.).

Use dijon mustard instead of the seasoned salt.

Be creative!

OK so a question for those who have responded:

Do you think it's OK to tell the person in advance what you're cooking, or do you think it is more romantic to have it be a surprise?

I was going to suggest telling her what he was going to make, because I am soooo picky and I would hate for someone to spend a lot of time making something for me that I wouldn't eat. But then I thought that maybe I am just weird and other girls might eat it anyway? :p

awww...i think makin dinner for someone will always be one of the cutest things ever...i just made dinner for my boyfriend twice this past week and he really liked it even though it was just lemon herb chicken breasts, whole white potatos and green beans lol i think no matter what you make it'll be the work and thought that count whch will get you far :)

your salad sounds really good - fruit vinegarettes are soooo good..i had this cranberry one once with craisins sprinkled on it which was realllly good :)

alright so after a lot of suggestions im going to go with seafood pasta with a white wine lemon sauce. Im going to use fettucine pasta with chrimp, scallops, and muscles along with other summer vegetables. For dessert puff pastry with vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries and raspberries or whatever looks good at the grocery store. So that sums up the menu I think. This will all take place tomorrow night.

It wouldn't hurt to discreetly ask what your date's preferences and possible allergies are. As mentioned before, you don't need to have a date end in the ER because of an untold or unknown allergy!

Sounds like it'll taste good... but chrimp and muscles? You mean shrimp and mussels! ;) If you're choosing shrimp and other seafood BE SURE they are the freshest available.

You must really like this girl, because fresh shrimp, scallops, and mussels are going to cost a small fortune for one meal, lol! ;)

Good luck! The meal sounds delicious.

my dads a chef and he knows this guy in the seafood imdustry so we get it at a fraction of the cost in the grocery store.

Your dinner sounds great Matt!!! I wish I could eat seafood. I used to love crab and scallops when I was like 6... oh well. Maybe you can make me a seafood-free pasta dish one time ;)

anytime meg, just let me know.

One Suggestion..
 

Find out if she has any food allergies /dietary restrictions before you go any further. :D

yeah she isnt allergic to anything.

Woohoo!!! :D

Sounds like a great menu! I'll be right over with a bottle of sauvignon blanc. :D

You might want to check with her to make sure she doesn't have any dietary restrictions for religious or health reasons. For instance, people who keep kosher won't eat shellfish. Although, if you've told her you're cooking for her and asked about allergies, she probably would have said something.

That salad sounds yummy!

Here is a few entree suggestions (for future dinners):
Penne alla vodka
Baked ravioli or tortellini
Chicken, beef, seafood or tofu stir-fry
Crepes filled any or all of the following:
beef, chicken, seafood, vegetable in a light and flavorful sauce
Curries
Thai

Desserts:
Chocolate Truffle Cake
Tiramisu
Strawberries (or a mixed berries) with Whipped Cream (lightly sweetened and flavored with a hint of Grand Manier
Gelato

http://216.40.249.192/s/contrib/blac...milecrunch.gif

How did the date go??!

it is tonight

duh...im retarded!

lol!

BTW, good luck!

Good Luck Matt!!!! Lots of love! *muah*

Good luck with your date! The dinner sounds yummy...I'm hungry just hearing about it.

I want to hear how the date went too : )

So the date went extremely well. I did a lot of the prep work thursday night like marinating the seafood and what not. So my date was supposed to come over at 6 pm, all up to then I was extremely nervous. Up till 6 I spent the entire time doing last minute cleaning of my house and my room. So I put the pasta on and my best friend calls and is talking my ear off. I lose track of time and when I got off the phone my pasta wasnt al dente, it was all mushy. Its like 5:30ish so I make a B-line to safeway to pick up more. So i get back and cooked the pasta.

Other than my pasta catastrophe the cooking was a breeze. My date arrived a little after 6. She looked awesome, from her hair to her clothes to her gorgeous smile. So i give her a tour of the house and all, and we pretty much talked about everything: school, family, work, dreams, etc. Come to find out she loves seafood which was good for me. She loved the entire meal, she said it was better than being at a restaurant D :D . After dinner we took a stroll around my neighborhood. Walked past the library of congress, and the capitol, and supreme court. All along talking, no awkward silent moments. We ended up at this bar, had a few drinks. Maybe a few too many lol.

So we leave there around 9 and head back to my house. And the strangest thing happens, she sees I have a gamecube and she wanted to play lol. We played "ssx tricky", which she kicked my ass in, she swore that she never played before. We lost track of time playing games. We call it quits at 11. I walked her to her car, she gives me a kiss on the cheek and hug.

This date was one of the best dates I have ever had. Never had I cooked dinner for someone that I was just beginning to date. And I have never had a date or girlfriend for that matter that wanted to play videogames lol. It was awesome. There were definitely sparks, but kinda bummed about the kiss on the cheek. But when we were talking earlier in the evening she said she doesnt kiss on the first date. So I had a a good time. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I am SO happy for you that things went well! Wish I could find a guy that sweet, she's really lucky to find who'd go through such extremes on a first date! Best of luck w/ her and I hope to hear more updates!