Any romantic home-cooked dinner ideas?

candles and porterhouse and Beck’s Dark

My wife loves grilled lamb, I’ll do that on the rare occasion we have the place to ourselves.

lamb’s good

i’m thinking spaghetti and meatballs with a nice red wine, but my wife is not big on pasta for some reason. so i gotta cook “for her.”

and if it’s “for her,” she wants shrimp and fries with ketchup and hot sauce. romantic? in my opinion, no. but i gotta go there.

don’t get me wrong, because i can cook whatever because i love to cook. watch the food channel morning noon and night. have my own catering business to boot, but shrimp and fries?!

lurve is working now, it wouldn’t a minute ago radio head

yeah, lamb is good. she likes that.

Lambchops are like little porterhouses.

ok, i’m going grilled lamb with mint and a nice white sauce, like, you know at greek restaurants. which wine?

Italian pinot

Shrimp, artichoke hearts, olives, mushrooms, and pasta in a light garlic and white wine sauce. We had it for dinner tonight and my husband said it was a “romantic” dinner, not a family dinner. Whatever. It was good, healthy, and easy!

@steve6 thanks bro! great choice for a dude from the great suburb of harvey, iL.

My dad just came back from Landstuhl to Winter Park, FL to Chicago.

How’d ju no I’s from Harvey?

Fresh cut flowers is always a nice touch. You can get them at the grocery store for under $10.00.

Hazelcrest Memorial Hospital; Harvey, Illinois

A lovely Chateaubriand for two with… wait for it… Bordelaise sauce.

Candles, yes. Flowers, yes. But spending nearly a day to cook a sauce? That’s love. That’s l’oeuvre. (“Work is love made visible.”) And if she doesn’t love you for that she can’t be pleased. Kick her to the curb.

Oh, yeah: and a 1989 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti. And a lovely romaine salad. And creamed beets. You love her, so you make nutritious meals for her.

@chyna oh yeah, i love fresh cut flowers. unfortunately my wife could care less about ‘em. isn’t that weird?

i always buy flowers for the kitchen table because i love color and ambiance. when i go to the store for groceries, i also buy flowers, only for the cashier to say: “hmmmm, you must be in the doghouse.”

i adamantly say, no i am actually buying these for myself. that always gets attention, but from the cashier. is that a good thing?

They are just jealous. I buy them for myself too.

@Sorceren well, i love healthy and nutritional and she knows that. when i cook for “her” based on “what you need” and not “what you want,” i get the “now you know i don’t want that.”

so, in love, i—er um—give her what she wants. how to make nutritional “hot and romantic?”

i love challenges.

made grilled mussels for her one time and she liked that. she said it tasted like chitlins. i do not concur.

@charliecompany34 so do you have a single brother as sweet as you? haha

I’ve had some romantic half-baked ideas recently….

@janbb really? what?

Knowing what your partner likes is most important! Many people here are saying lamb or seafood. I would never eat lamb because I wouldn’t want to eat a baby animal. And seafood leaves your mouth not so fit for kissing after said dinner!

I would say a good fancy meal for a romantic dinner might be something with a lot of flavor but definitely on the safe side like orange glazed chicken with wild rice and vegetables. But in my case, as long as my partner was there with me, I’d be just as happy if he surprised me with my favorite take-out dish of sweet and sour chicken!

@Songbird Thoughtful answer. Welcome.

@Songbird right! i can cook that too! good suggestion!

2nd on spaghetti & meatballs. My gf made that for me once on Valentine’s Day using Bobby Flay’s recipe. Excellent. Be careful with lamb chops—if they aren’t frenched (grisly fat layer cut off) that’s an extra hour’s worth of labor (if you’ve never done it before). Lasagna is also a good choice and easy because you can do it the night before. Pair it with fresh bread, salad and a pinot noir or robust zinfandel

sub question: what dish will cinch the romance for your valentine’s day date?

i mean, stay with the thread, but i ‘m just wonderin’.

@kevbo Ok, now I’m starving. I love lasagna, its my favorite meal.

@kevbo MY MAN! go the extra mile with the food love! i certainly dig bobby flay. i plan on hooking up a video just to get on his cooking show.

@charliecompany34 Definitley the dessert will be the real romance setter. What is her favorite? Dipped strawberries is always portrayed as romantic.

@chyna yeah, she loves chocolate. i think strawberries and chocolate is good, for me at least. she’s just as happy with plain vanilla ice cream. boring. i love the exotic.

Anthing chocolate has to be good.

I cook and she cleans every night. A romantic meal would be going out and letting the kids fend for themselves. We could both use a night off!

Fresh flowers, candlelight, tablecloth,cloth napkins. Chocolate is good. I get carryout dessert all the time from 4 star restaurants. I had a really great inexpensive wine, Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc.

@AlfredaPrufrock subtleties like dinnerware that represents “take-out” makes an impression. i once bought white traditional “chinese take-out” cartons to put my own stir-fry in. had the chopsticks to go with it. MAJOR ROMANCE points.

It all depends on the woman.. I’m sure it would mean much more if you were to specifically NOT use a cookie cutter romantic .. thing… instead something catered specifically to what she likes… instead of roses, use her favorite flower… throw on “your song”.. or something she really likes.. it’s all about what she likes really.. lol

^^^^ We have a win-NAH!

Enough with the lamb. Are you really going to cook that? I’d suggest fondue. Cheese fondue with a loaf of sourdough bread. You can feed it to one another, very sexy!

jonsblond’s idea is good, especially if you’re already a couple.

I would like to remind you of a general rule about the cooking if this is a date: there is a possibility that she’ll stand you up, and you don’t want to spend the whole day in the kitchen (and also stink when she gets there) and end up eating something cold. There are two ways of getting around this issue:

1) make something in the morning that you could warm up later. I usually go for beef goulash, which is quite easy. I broil the meat in medium-sized cubes and then throw in some onions and salt. Then some wine, tomato sauce with some water (half-fill the pot), ground garlic, some red pepper, muskat, a stick of cinnamon and a couple of myrtle leaves. Bring the whole thing to boil and then let it simmer for a couple of hours. You can either put in some whole potatoes for the last hour or make some puree just before she gets there (it is also easy to do and doesn’t stink). And just warm up the pot when she arrives.

2) an on-the-spot meal that she can watch you prepare. This can be quite impressive if you are confident enough to make it flambee, but let’s stick to the normal recipe for now:
you buy a couple of chicken breasts and cut them into small cubes (or stripes). Also some peppers (try different coloured ones). And an onion. Have the things ready (might want to use gloves when cutting the onion) and then when she gets there, throw everything into a pan (I prefer to use a wok). Get some olive oil really hot and start with the chicken, remembering to turn it over so it doesn’t get burnt. You only need a couple of minutes, then throw in the other ingredients, some salt (and maybe tabasco) and perhaps a drop of wine (if you didn’t use it all on the other recipe). You could serve the whole thing with rice that you have already prepared while waiting for her to show up, or some other side dish of your choice (I’ve always had a problem with this bit because I want to avoid frying chips the last moment). Would be nice to have some fresh bread ready.

Serve both meals with a nice glass of wine (find out what she likes). Candles, nice music, a nice smell to the place (which you will have of course cleaned the previous day) are all vital details. And of course the way you look.

Do not slave all day in the kitchen and end up looking (and smelling) like a cook. Try one of the recipes above and you can open the door in your best suit (and even fry the chicken in it).

Women love the smell of a man working

This is quick, easy and somewhat inexpensive: Steamed mussels and salad. Warm, crusty bread.

When we make the mussels, we steam them with white wine (among other things) then finish the bottle with the meal. The whole meal is less than $30, which for the level of fancy you get to enjoy is pretty good. Obviously it will cost more if you get a nicer bottle of wine. 2 pounds of mussels is perfect for 3 people.

why exactly would he cook for THREE people? ;)
hmmm….

A verrrry good date.

No, actually we tweaked the recipe until it matched one from a favorite pub. We don’t do it for a romantic dinner, it’s a roommate free-for-all with us. It just worked better that way—we all like the dish, the boy doesn’t drink, but his roommate does and will help finish the wine, and his other roommate doesn’t eat seafood but gives us an excuse to make the excellent fries and garlic aioli that come with it at the pub. Garlic aioli does not make for a romantic evening.

fruit on your belly or various other bodily parts

oh you said home-cooked…sorry…

Chicken. Very Romantic. And don’t forget wine. If you are like me and under drinking age or do not like wine, sparkling grape juice.