What's a good default item to bring when someone makes you dinner?

I would be happy with cheese, of some sort. I don’t know if the type of cheese would depend on the type of meal, though.

I’d be happy if you just showed up.

There are wonderful organic fruit juices – grape, blueberry, cherry, pomegranate, etc. You dilute them with ice and water and can drink at any meal, or in between.

Cheesecake.

A decadent treat from your local bakery would be a nice gesture.

wine, dessert, flowers….....

If i had to decide what to bring, i’d bring something sweet for dessert or to go with coffee after dinner (just in case he doesn’t have any dessert, which is sort of a crime in my eyes).

Bottle of Baileys for after dinner coffee.

A nice Brie with crackers. It’s soft and sensuous and can go with any part of the meal.

Wine cheese and crackers. (@worriedguy…is that what Brie is? Wine cheese?)

I always take a decent bottle of wine

Guys. Read the deets. I’m not bringing alcohol.

@Dutchess_III
Brie is a soft, mild, delicious cheese. Often it is paired with grapes as an appetizer or dessert. If you serve it slighly cooler than room temperature the mouth feel is scruptuous.
I consider it one of the sexiest foods around. Even sexier than cranberry sauce with it’s lipstick red color. .

If served warm you can push your tongue into it.—Arrgh. Don’t get me started!

Fruit juices seem like they would make an excellent replacement for the wine, and cheese.

@nikipedia I did read it. I still take wine. Somebody will drink it. The host. Another guest. Somebody.

Then, I would go with the cheese and bread or a dessert.

If the host already has cheese planned the Brie will keep well for the next dinner.

@worriedguy That’s one of the best descriptions of Brie ever. Now I’m hungry and excited.

@Adirondackwannabe Try it body temp warm. Oh my! Now I’m getting excited.

If it is served warm, it gets drippy on your fingers. Eating it can be like foreplay.

@josie: The dinner is just the two of us, and the host already has a bottle of wine. Which I already explained….

I’m in the delicious decadent dessert camp. Who doesn’t appreciate deliciousness?

And wine.~.

Angel food cake, fresh, sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

@Dutchess_III Does that give you an idea of what Brie is? Try some with your s/o, if you haven’t thought of it already.
@worriedguy stop or I’m going to need to be hosed down. lol

@Adirondackwannabe and @worriedguy Got it. To @nikipedia Good Lord! If you bring Brie cheese, you better bring birth control too!!

Cream in a can!! The cream you can squirt on desserts or yourself even! Depending on how the evening is going ;-) Lol…..

YOU GUYS!!! I’m getting the impression this may be a first time deal, and she doesn’t even know him very well! NO BRIE and NO CREAM and NO DECADENT!!! Save that for the second date! :)

@Dutchess_III I figured it was more like date 3 or 4. Date 1 is most often a restaurant. Date 2 is most often going somewhere. He is making dinner for her. That is special.

Umm… can you stand one more?
Alcohol is a depressant. It can hinder performance. Brie on the other hand…

@nikipedia Enjoy your dinner! (Do tell us what cheese he serves.)

@Dutchess_III So… no whipped cream and strawberries?
Condoms and lube was going to be my next suggestion.

@worriedguy True that! And yes. Please tell us what cheese he serves. I hope it’s not American cheese…. :(

Sorry, @nikipedia I skipped the details (didn’t read the alcohol part).

Two fancy cupcakes in a nice box.

Are you in NYC, @nikipedia? I’d just go to Magnolia, Cupcake Cafe or Buttercup Bake Shop and get a couple of chocolate cupcakes with pretty buttercream frosting on top.

Muffins! :-/
There’s nothing like a nice soft warm muffin……….With butter but I’m sure he’ll have plenty, I always keep a pack in the fridge. My friends usually bring truffles, not muffins,,,, the chocolate variety :-)

@aprilsimnel: Oh, I wish. Or if I was still in San Francisco, I would have just the place. I think if I want to bring dessert I’d have to make it.

@Dutchess_III: Close; we are past date 1 but still in early stage dating.

and @jjmah, I forgive you! <3

Maybe strawberries and homemade whipped cream?

Oh yeah & some treats for my cats… :-/

@Scooby: He does have cats. Plural. Maybe you’re onto something?

Catnip!

@nikipedia
There you go then ;-)

@Dutchess_III

Careful…. DECADENT!!! Lol…. :-)

Chocolates, or something else nice to have with the coffee at the end.

@Scooby Cat nip is decadent??? I din’t no that!

It sounds as if the meal is planned, and no other foods are required. If your friend likes wine, it is quite acceptable to take a bottle. I often do and don’t expect it to be opened.

The cat gift idea is quirky and would probably be appreciated. Have you discussed music, movies or books? Maybe there is something that he hasn’t heard/seen/read that would make a nice gift.

Lingerie and baked goods. Can’t go wrong with either.

addendum: also if you decide to bring music make sure you include the Foo Fighters’ version of Prince’s “Darling Niki”

Hail! If you’re going to bring lingerie, then you might as well bring decadent Brie cheese too! And plan on drinkin’ that wine!

Uh oh, is this starting up again?

@Dutchess_III the wine drinking might interfere with the training for next week’s half marathon. Maybe not the best idea.

@Dr_C O. I didn’t know about the marathon!

At this point we may as well go with clothing optional, a couple pounds of brie, strawberries and whipped cream, chocolate syrup, case of wine, assortment of birth control, invite the neighbors with their pets, catnip, and just make it an orgy.

@Pied_Pfeffer: Well, I have an idea for a gift I’d like to get him at some point if we do keep seeing each other. But this was really just about me trying to be socially appropriate and not show up at his house empty-handed looking like a total nob.

@Dr_C: Bingo, not drinking until after the race. Now that you mention it, decadent desserts may not be great for training either. :( And @Dutchess_III, it’s only a half!

@nikipedia you may be right about the dessert… but I stand by the lingerie idea.

@Dr_C: How does that work, exactly? Do I wear it under my clothes or try to surreptitiously change in the bathroom? Could get awkward with his roommates. Ugh. I hate dating.

@nikipedia Skip the lingerie (nice thought, though :)), and you say that he was cats? Get him something for his kitties.

@nikipedia depending on what you plan on wearing (talking about the underthings here) If it’s not too ruffly and is more understated (read that as not complicated) then you can wear it underneath your clothes.. especially if it’s a dress.

I’m with @Adirondackwannabe! Pull out all the stops!

Mmmmmmmm, one can never go wrong with chocolate. At least with me… I’ll take chocolate over wine and flowers anyday!

@Dutchess_III

Depends how your mind works I guess, mines usually in the sewer :-/ …
When my cats .Plural. . get hold of catnip they get upto all sorts of shenanigans & they’re both female kitty’s.. maybe just my two but it can lower the tone :-/ when I have guests or a guest……

I would take a table decoration.

Candles

Cheese and crackers are a nice appetizer. When I’m going to dinner, I like to bring some fancy cheese, a little bit of prosciutto, and some french bread or mini toast. All that stuff goes great with wine or with salad. Brie is good, but the flavor might be a little sharp. Saint Andre is like a milder-tasting brie and it’s one of my favorite types of cheese. Goat cheese is also really good. A restaurant near my house does an appetizer that’s just goat cheese, honey, and roasted hazelnuts- the combination of flavors is a lot more interesting than any of those things on their own. If I don’t bring appetizers, I like to pick up a nice dessert like a mini tiramisu or a fruit tart.

Or you could just bring over a CD of music to listen to during dinner, or a movie.

I second the suggestion of pillar candles and also some fruits, good coffee, tea or liqueur.

Well in Québec, a case of beer or a wine bottle is pretty mandatory…depends on which side of the social class you’re on; but I often improvise by making salads, or bringing a cake and such. Plenty of people do actually.
(Keepin mah beerz to myself.) XD

A great dessert
Godiva chocolates
Chocolate covered strawberries

Screw the food. It’s got us all wacked out. Take a Lifehouse CD.

It’s now the next day. What did you take?

Well. I brought nothing, which turned out for the best, as he did not exactly go to great lengths with dinner.

@nikipedia Well, damn. All the effort we put into getting you worked up and he drops the ball? Give us his name and we’ll round up the villagers, get some torches, and kick some ass.

@nikipedia: So, what was the menu?

@gailcalled: He had a beautifully plated spread of cheeses, fruit, olives, bread, and guacamole. It was very elegant, but I thought it was a little weak for dinner.

I’m glad you didn’t take anything because he provided all default items himself and that’s all he provided. Humph.

Any Brie?

@nikipedia: You’re right. How very odd to serve you only hors-d’oeuvres, Where’s the beef?

@Adirondackwannabe: No! Someone should let him in on the secret to wooing women with cheese!

@gailcalled: Right? Although we are both herbivores, and it sounded like he had a particularly hectic day, so maybe he had to throw together the only things he had in his fridge.

@nikipedia: He could have so easily taken you to a restaurant for the rest of the meal. (Or rescheduled).

I’m a little bit conflicted. On one hand I could say as a guy, thanks for setting the bar so low. But on the other hand, he had a lady coming to his place for dinner: Knock the frigging ball out of the park! elegant dinner, nice after dinner treat, maybe something else romantic, It isn’t that hard to pull off with a little effort. Is it?

Ah, well, the good news is he is sufficiently charming that he will have at least one more chance.

@nikipedia Invite him to dinner at your house this time!

Well! In all fairness to this dude, it’s not healthy to eat a huge meal at dinner time ya know. :) I’ve had my fill (and i mean FILL) on foods such as those one time – my mum had such a spread for Christmas one year, but she had a huge variety and a lot of everything, and i couldn’t even get to everything because i was so full. Maybe your guy misjudged the amount of foods he’d need for the evening.

Hey! So why didn’t you end up taking anything??? It seems dessert was very much needed here anyway…

A good virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar with a loaf of fresh baked bread.

@judochop has a great point! Trader Joe’s makes an awesome pain rustique that goes very will with the oil and vinegar.

Oh god. He has just invited me over for dinner again. What’s he going to make this time? Pop tarts?

No upcoming races so I guess I can bring wine.