what is the best thing to cook if you have a g/f coming round your house for the 1st time?

Question

I mean something she will be impressed with and something that will get her in the mood!! if you know what i mean!

Answer 1

First find out if there's anything she's allergic to or doesn't like, such as hot spicy food, or maybe she's vegetarian. You'd be surprised at the things people refuse to eat - I know one girl who has a phobia of fresh tomatoes, another who hates olives and coriander, and yet another who won't touch any seafood though she's not allergic.

All that said, I highly recommend the following:

Starter - My Oven Steamed Mussels recipe

500g Live Mussels (don't worry if it sounds like too much, remember, that weight includes the shells)
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 Leek, trimmed and julienned
A small handful of Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 Spring Onions, trimmed and julienned
1 Red Chilli, partially deseeded & finely sliced into rings (normal chilli, not Birds Eye or anything lethal like that)
2 Large Cloves of Garlic, peeled and grated or crushed
2 Inch Fresh Ginger root, peeled and grated or cut into matchsticks
4 Tablespoons of excellent quality Dry White Wine (if it's not good enough to drink, it's certainly not good enough to cook with)
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sake (or very dry Sherry if you don't have it)

Get a big piece of foil that'll hold all the mussels & put it shiny side up. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Thoroughly scrub, debeard, and rinse the mussels. Tap any open ones, & if they don't close it means they're dead so put them in the bin.

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together with the mussels, and then empty everything out into the centre of your big piece of foil, folding up the corners so none of the liquid leaks out (easier than it sounds).

Dot the mussels on top with a few knobs of butter, then fold up the foil and scrunch together the edges so it makes a tightly closed packet. Put on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 mins until all the mussel shells have opened.

Here's the best part - serve them in a big bowl, still in the foil & open the parcel at the table in front of her - the dramatic waft of steam filled with the aromas of Ginger and Soy is bound to impress. Then you can either have a plate each or just sit close to each other and help yourselves out of the bowl - also great for making it more cosy and informal, and romantic. Have some crusty bread like a fresh baguette ready to soak up the juices - or at least one lightly warmed in the oven for 2 mins so it seems that way ;)

Remember any closed mussels that haven't opened after cooking are dead so don't eat them.

Main Course - My Seared Beef Sashimi with Zasai Chilli Noodles recipe

Zasai Chilli Sauce for Noodles:
2 Fresh Red Chillis, roughly chopped (seeds included) - you can tone it down by removing some or all of the seeds if you want
1 Red Onion, roughly chopped
2 Large Garlic Cloves, peeled & roughly chopped
1 Orange Pepper, trimmed, deseeded & roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons of Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 Tablespoons of Sharwoods Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
Pinch salt

Put all ingredients into a blender and make into a thick puree.

Seared Beef Sashimi:
400g of the best Fillet Steak you can find (try and avoid any fat - I know people say its where all the flavour is but trust me in this case)
Pinch Salt
Pinch Ground Black Pepper
Pinch Ground White Pepper
Vegetable Oil
Bowl of Iced Water

Rub the Steak with a little vegetable oil on all sides.
Get a nonsick frying pan really hot until almost smoking.
Rub both sides of the steak equally with the salt, black pepper, and white pepper. Immediately sear the beef for 30 seconds on each side. Remove beef and plunge into iced water for about 30 seconds, then pat dry with kitchen paper, wrap in clingfilm & put in the freezer for 1 hr to firm up - this'll make it easier to cut into thin sashimi style strips later.

Zasai Chilli Noodles:
2 inch Fresh Ginger Root, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 Red Pepper, deseeded, and cut into thin strips
1 Small Red Onion, sliced thinly
4 Spring Onions, trimmed and sliced
A handful of Shiitake mushrooms
A handful of Mangetout, halved diagonally
A handful of beansprouts
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
300g packet of Fresh Noodles
Toasted Sesame Seed Oil

Get a wok or large pan almost smoking on medium heat. Add a splash of the Toasted Sesame Seed Oil, and add all the vegetables to the wok and quickly stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the Fresh Noodles to the wok and stir fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the Sugar, Soy Sauce, and the ready Zasai Chilli Sauce (to taste - I find about 2/3rds of it is enough) and stir fry for 1 further minute. Then immediately take off the heat and arrange half in a pile on your plate & half on hers.

Get your beef out of the freezer, and unwrap the cling film & set on a chopping board.
Then quickly toast some sesame seeds and sprinkle over each plate.
Then, thinly slice your beef like sashimi and arrange over the pile of noodles on each plate. The heat from the noodles should warm it through a bit so its not freezing cold.
Then just top each plate with a a little bit of Pickled Ginger (like you get with Sushi & Sashimi - you can buy jars of it from Waitrose or Asian supermarkets) in the centre, and serve.

Now of course in terms of logistics, it's probably best to have the Zasai Sauce blended and ready way before she comes round. Also have the mussels all ready and wrapped up in their foil just before she comes around - you can start about 30min before she comes round that way they won't be sitting out on the kitchen counter for ages. And have all the vegetables for the main course noodles chopped round the same time.

That way when she gets there all you have to do is switch on the oven to preheat while you take her coat, give her a drink, and then whack the mussels in for their 15min. While the mussels are cooking, quickly sear the beef and put it in the freezer. Best not to do that any earlier, cause you don't want it to freeze, and by the time the mussels are cooked, and you sit down and eat them and have a drink and a chat, that'll have been about an hour. At which point you can go and take it out, to stop it freezing, get the ready chopped vegetables in the wok, pour over the sauce, slice the beef, and hey presto she only had to wait about 5 (ish) minutes and the main course is ready - plus if you want to impress and you know what you're doing with a wok, she may enjoy watching you tossing the veg in the air & hearing them sizzle away, etc.

As for dessert, after all that work, it's probably just best to buy something you can serve straight from the fridge - like a nice creme brulee or chocolate mousse or sorbet.

All this stuff should be suitably impressive as not many people make this kind of stuff at home or know how to (especially the Japanese Zasai Chilli noodles with Beef Sashimi), and Seafood (the mussels) and Chilli and spicy food are well known to help put people "in the mood" so to speak ;)

Hope you pick my answer as your favourite...
Enjoy!

Answer 2

whatever you do, don't make anything that's come out of a packet. She'll think 'if he can't be bothered to cook now, how lazy will he be in 6 months?'
My bf impressed me early on by making something elaborate out of Mrs Beeton (very Victorian). It was partridge or pheasant and the sauce alone took 2 hours to make as it had so many ingredients and he had to 'reduce' it etc. By the time dinner was ready it was 10pm and I was aching with hunger and the partridge was a bit hard, but it was still impressive that he'd been that imaginative!
Oh, and do wash up afterwards: your gf won't want to see your kitchen full of dirty pans as she'll be afraid she'll have to clean up in future.

Answer 3

something like pasta - that will fill you up but not leave you bloated

try a three courses - always nice

pasta, salad (garlic bread depends on kissing lol)

it's not really bout the food but the way it is set up - set the table all fancy -tidy the place hehe

good luck

Answer 4

i think you should cook her something that is within the limits of your culinary skills. If you are a fantastic chef go for something fancy but if not it really won't impress her if it goes wrong!

Answer 5

Tomato and mozarella chicken kievs with ham & cheese tortellini covered in carbonara sauce. With plenty of rohypnol ;-)

Answer 6

Whack the kettle on...two minutes later she'll have a lovlely pot noodle. No bird on earth could resist that lad.

Just a minute... are you a fellow pot noodle luvr teaze?

Answer 7

DON'T TAKE A CHANCE, JUST ASK WHAT WOULD SHE PREFER, ,,, ASKING IS GOING TO BE THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT HER THAN JUST GUESSING,,,,DON'T YOU THINK ?

ON THE OTHER HAND , IF YOU ARE REALLY NOT WANTING IT TO GO ANY FURTHER,,,, JUST GRAB A CAN OF CAMPBELLS SOUP AND TELL HER TO OPEN IT AND PUT IT ON THE STOVE AND HOLLER WHEN ITS DONE,,,,

HAVE FUN !!!

Answer 8

spaghetti bolognaise, with crusty bread (warm) and cheese seperate to put on top.
If my man cooked that for me, it would certainly get me in the mood!
Good luck and enjoy!

Answer 9

Be natural. forget how to impress rather let her love you the way you are. it is better to take her out. best of luck!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

grill some peppered steak or chicken with loads of fresh salad,, new potatoes,, and some sparkling white wine...

Answer 11

not spagetti, that's too messy. Garlic is a no no. Whatever you choose, strawberries are always good to end with ;o)