Help me cook a posh meal

[IdleRich]

Right, I've started seeing this girl, it's her birthday tomorrow and I'm broke so I said I would cook dinner for her on Sunday. Problem is, I'm rubbish at cooking. So I need tips on a (maybe three course) meal that is

a) Easy to make
b) Cheap (or at least not super-expensive)
c) Gonna impress her, be really nice etc

Obviously b, er, I mean c is the most important criterion. Actually a is pretty important too 'cause it doesn't matter how impressive it is if I fuck it up.

 

[baboon2004]

Main course gotta be white fish (any should be fine) with salsa verde, which is great cos (a) it's q cheap given that some of the ingredients are storecupboard stuff - just go to a market and get mint/coriander/parsley/basil, and combine with anchovies/capers/lemon juice/vinegar/oil/garlic ; and (b) it's impossible to fuck up, whil making it look like you can cook amazingly.

Starter - dunno, honey and goat's cheese on nice toasted white bread?

 

[IdleRich]

Oh yeah, I'm not a big fan of fish. I mean, I eat it but it's not my favourite.

 

[mistersloane]

Cornbread is dead easy to make (I say that and I don't know how to bake) plus you can make it the day before. Would make a good starter with something else, or a good side thing. I'm always impressed by people baking, anyway. It seems more magical than 'cooking'.

Polenta is always good as well.

Theming it would be nice, you could cook all deep south and then watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

 

[Lichen]

Fish not so great if you're broke.

How about

Rib-eye steak, cooked rare - m. rare and served sliced (monolithic grub not good for a date) at an angle on a wooden board.

Rosemary roast potatoes - skin on, no par-boiling, chopped to the size of half a matchbox cooked for 40 mins in olive with some garlic and rosemary thrown in.

Good green salad, mebbe with some parmesan shaved atop for chefly kudos

Bottle of Chianti or other Italian

Simple, elegant, sexy

Pudding is important too. Maybe bake some choc. brownies - easy enough - served with a high-end vanilla ice cream, creme fraiche.

 

[Lichen]

This on the side of anything. Wonderful

Sweet and sour roasted red onions

Caramelised on the outside and super-soft within, these are delicious alongside almost any meat or fish. Serves three to four as a side dish.

500g small red onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1 stick celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp rosemary, picked and finely chopped

1 tbsp concentrated tomato purée

3 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp light muscovado sugar

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Peel the onions and cut them in half from root to tip. Put into a small oven dish, so they fit snugly in one layer.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the celery and garlic. Fry gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Remove from the heat, add the rosemary, tomato purée, vinegar and sugar, and stir so the sugar dissolves. Season generously, then pour over the onions and mix well. Roast for an hour, until soft and caramelised, stirring halfway through. Serve hot, warm or cold.

 

[DannyL]

Lamb or pork chops or steak would work well with the salsa verde mentioned above. You can cook these in a frying pan but a griddle pan would be better. 3/4 minutes each side. Borrow mine if you want.

For a pudding - how about this, stew some apples with some sugar (not too much) nutmeg, cinnamon and a clove or two, you need a dash of water here. Allow them to soften and flavour but you don't want 'em to lose shape. Put 'em in a dish, allow to cool, refrigerate, when they're nice and cold, grate dark chocolate all over the top. Serve with cream.

 

[you]

Rich - go online and find Nigella Lawsons Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe - really indulgent and creamy AND you make it in advance.

Fish isn't too expensive compared to red meat - you could get some nice mackerel, put some lime, ginger, lemon grass and whatnot in it and wrap it in foil and cook it in the oven????? - She may not like fish heads though, some people dont.

A nice rice to go with it is a touch classier than a dollop of dauphinoise spuds......?

Or make any thing that involves chorizo? I often make a bastard bolognaise with chorizo - could pair that with some badass italian barolo or chianti?

Loads of options dude

 

[Mr. Tea]

...storecupboard stuff...

Haha, you've not been to Rich's flat, have you?

Rich, given that she's Spanish, do you think cooking something Spanish-y would be a) kind of sweet and go down well or b) a bad idea because she's naturally going to know it better than, say, Thai food? Hmm, tricky. Paella looks and tastes great and isn't all that hard, could be a bit complicated to get all the stuff for it if you're making a proper one though...stirfry is generally a safe bet as long as you use good ingredients and keep your eye on the ball so it doesn't burn. Mistersloane's been posting some great stirfry recipes in the other food thread just recently - mainly veggy stuff but easy to beef up with some, er, pork.

 

[nomos]

rich, i'm going to bestow a secret here. i made this for a first at-home date. she was so impressed she married me. powerful stuff...

tomato feta shrimp with baguette:

1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic (more if you like)(chopped)
red pepper flakes (to taste)
fresh basil (chopped - save a few nice leaves for garnish)
6-10 fresh tomatoes (chopped)
a few shrimp
a block of feta (cut into large cubes - 1" or more)
baguette (thickly sliced)

1. fry stuff
first, cut everything up so it's ready to go. in a frying pan, heat the oil on medium. add the shrimp, then the garlic and pepper flakes (go easy - you can always add more later). saute for a couple of minutes without letting the garlic brown. when the shrimp is pink on both sides, remove and set aside (leave the garlic).

2. tomatoes and feta
in the same pan, add the tomatoes. cook undisturbed on med-high until the pieces break down and start getting saucy. let some of the water steam off. when the tomatoes look nice, turn down to low-med. stir, and return the shrimp to the pan. few minutes before serving, add the chopped basil and the feta. you want the feta to keep it's shape but get a bit melty, giving the tomatoes just a slightly creamy look.

3. eat
serve, as you go, from a large bowl or deep plate (garnished with basil leaves) in the middle of the table (because sharing is nice). have another bowl for bread. spoon the mixture onto your baguette pieces and enjoy.

very nice with a modestly priced italian or spanish wine. you could add an arugula salad too (arugula, pecans, cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan pieces, and dressing if you like).

 

[Dr Awesome]

Ok ok, but a much more esoteric task is the selection of music to accompany the meal.

I suggest "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate. Crispy and slightly tangy, it goes particularly well with poultry and seafood dishes.

 

[simon silverdollar]

I'd go for a white bean and chorizo soup for starters: get a couple of tins cannelini beans, blitz them with the water from the cans. Fry some cooking chorizo with chopped garlic and add to heated blitzed beans. Add loads of chopped parsley to serve. Dead easy to make and delicious.

Yeah meat with salsa verde for main is a big look

nigella dense chocolate loaf cake for dessert. Piece of piss and ultra classy. Recipe is google-able

 

[Leo]

rich, i don't have a recipe to offer, but do have to commend you for having the courage to undertake this task. it's one thing for an experienced cook to host a first-time dinner with a new love interest, but it's pretty ballsy for an admitted cooking novice to do it.

of course, it could also be a can't-lose situation: if it comes out well, you're a star; if it bombs, it gives you two something to chuckle about and shows her you aren't afraid to take a chance.

btw, i think i did a super-simple broiled salmon/boiled potato/salad thing on my first try (and ended up marrying her!)

good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[Mr. Tea]

I'm not married yet, I must be a shit cook.

 

[Dr Awesome]

I'm not married yet, I must be a shit cook.

Indeed. Perhaps you should invite your next sweetheart to drinks?
Much easier to spike in reliable doses than food.

 

[mistersloane]

Been thinking about this all night. I think I'd cook a ratatouille :

http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1041307-ratatouille-by-gordon-ramsay

and with it italian chicken with garlic, you fry the chicken in a bit of oil and butter until it's brown, then add a bit of white wine, loads of salt and pepper then chuck in loads (at least a whole bulb) of garlic unpeeled, cover and cook for 40 minutes. You don't eat the garlic at the end. It makes even cheap chicken taste wicked.*

Both are dead easy and you can cook the rat the day before. They've both got that home cooking thing going on which is always romantic, and people love ratatouille cos of the film.

Love this thread and regardless hope it goes well Rich.

*if you wanna do this I can post the exact recipe

 

[routes]

prawn linquine. sexxxy...

prawns
olive oil
garlic
chilli
parsley
tomato puree
white wine
lemon
linquine

get the pasta on
get a frying pan really hot, flash fry garlic with some oil. add prawns fairly soon and the chilli.
give them a squirt of white wine so that it evaporates a bit in the pan sortof steaming the prawns.
then lower heat, add juice of lemon and a bit more white wine, a bit of tomato puree and salt and pepper. give it a minute or two, then remove from heat, add all your chopped parsley. add your buttery linguine to the saucepan, not the other way around (that's key!). serve with a glass of that same white wine.

 

[Mr. Tea]

That sounds wicked, routes.

Rich, if you decide to cook anything that involves frying garlic BE CAREFUL as it burns easily, and burnt garlic will ruin a meal. Fry either on a low heat, or if you're using a high heat - like in the recipe above - fry it very quickly, just a few seconds really before you add the wine (or stock or whatever).

 

[IdleRich]

Loads of good tips there chaps, thanks a lot - I'll assimilate properly later (at the moment I'm at her house hoping she doesn't notice what I'm doing). I'll let you know what I went for and how it went etc - thanks very much for your help and well-wishing everyone!

"Rich, given that she's Spanish, do you think cooking something Spanish-y would be a) kind of sweet and go down well or b) a bad idea because she's naturally going to know it better than, say, Thai food?"

Definitely gonna avoid Spanish.

 

[baboon2004]

(at the moment I'm at her house hoping she doesn't notice what I'm doing).

that would possibly redefine the term 'epic fail'!