Good date meal recipes?

Question

I want to cook dinner for my boyfriend Friday night. I've cooked for him before and I'm a pretty good cook, but I don't have any good cookbooks to find something new to cook. I'm looking for any ideas for a romantic dinner. Nothing with seafood though, I'm allergic. Thanks.

Answer 1

You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

This recipe will make enough for 2 couples. If you plan a romantic evening where more than two's a crowd, reserve half the sauce to freeze for another supper before the addition of basil, and only cook 1/2 to 2/3 pound of penne.


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Crusty bread, for passing


Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread.

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Let me start by saying this doesn't really taste like pumpkin...it's just really good and creamy. It's not spicy either. It's very very good. I hope you try it!

Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

1 pkg. (16 oz.) penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
Ground nutmeg to taste

COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, place cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, butter and milk in large saucepan; cook on low heat until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently. Add pumpkin and spices; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.
ADD pasta; toss lightly. Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

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Simply Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended; set aside. Drain meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended. (You should have about 5 cups sauce.)
SPREAD 1 cup of the meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1-1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil.
BAKE 45 min. Remove foil; continue baking 15 min. or until center is heated through (160°F). Let stand 15 min. before cutting for easier serving.

P.S. I always top this with loads of extra cheese...make sure to buy extra!!

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Veal Marsala
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

8 veal cutlets (about 3 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 ounces assorted mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sweet Marsala
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
Leaves from 1 fresh rosemary sprig

Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 veal cutlets and cook until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer the veal to a plate. Add another tablespoon of butter and oil, if necessary. Repeat with the remaining 4 cutlets. Set the cutlets aside.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil, if necessary. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender and the juices evaporate, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Add the Marsala. Simmer until the Marsala reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and the rosemary leaves. Simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Return the veal to the skillet. Pour in all of the pan juices. Cook just until heated through, turning to coat, about 1 minute. Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using tongs, transfer the veal to plates. Spoon the sauce over the veal and serve.

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Steak Carpaccio Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
See this recipe on air Wednesday Oct. 25 at 1:30 PM ET/PT.

Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Romantic Dinner

1 (10-ounce) piece beef tenderloin
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups lightly packed fresh arugula or fresh baby spinach
1/2-ounce shaved Parmesan
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Tie the beef tenderloin with kitchen twine to help maintain its shape, then freeze the tenderloin until frozen (this ensures that the center stays rare when cooking a small piece of meat). Then, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy small skillet over high heat. Rub the frozen beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the hot skillet and sear on all sides, about 4 minutes total (the beef will be just barely seared on the outside but will remain rare). Freeze the beef until it is almost frozen, about 1 hour (this makes it easier to cut into very thin slices). Using a large sharp carving knife, slice the beef as thinly as possible. Arrange the arugula and Parmesan shavings on a serving platter and lay the beef slices on top. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.
Alternative: Use 6 ounces of thinly-sliced bresaola instead of the tenderloin. Do not cook the bresaola. Serve it as you would the tenderloin, above.

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Cherry Pineapple Crumble


1 20oz. Can Crushed Pineapple (do NOT drain)
1 20oz. Can Cherry Pie Filling
1 Box White or Yellow Cake Mix
1 Stick Butter
1 – 1 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
Warm Water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cake pan (8x13) spread crushed pineapple and juice. Spread cherry pie filling over pineapple. Sprinkle cake mix (dry) over fruit. Cut stick of butter into thin pats and top cake mix with pats of butter. Bake 30 minutes.

After the crumble comes out of the oven mix the powdered sugar with enough warm water to make a glaze. Pour glaze over the crumble. Best served at room temperature. Top with ice cream if desired.

Enjoy!!

Answer 2

What kind of stuff does your boyfriend like? You could go to the food network and get some recipes and try something new and daring, or you could BBQ a good steak and make some nice vegetables and a salad. Nothing to filling... so he has room for dessert.

Answer 3

First, not that this matters, but cook food for him, like his mother would cook for him. (ie- if he is italian, cook him a pasta dish; fettucini, tortelini, (any pasta) with sauce, and maybe a veggie, with buttered garlic bread. Any meal you prepare for your boyfriend, he will think its romantic.

Answer 4

BEEF WELLINGTONS WITH GORGONZOLA

four 1 1/2-inch-thick center-cut filets mignons (about 6 ounces each)
4 large mushrooms (about 1/4 pound total)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large egg
1 puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry), thawed
4 tablespoons Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
For sauce
1 cup veal or beef demiglace
2 tablespoons Sercial Madeira




Preheat oven to 425°F.
Pat filets mignons dry and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow roasting pan roast filets in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 110°F for rare, and cool (filets will be baked again after being wrapped in pastry). Chill filets, covered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Thinly slice mushrooms and in a heavy skillet cook in butter with shallot, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool completely. In a small bowl lightly beat egg to make an egg wash.

On a lightly floured surface roll out puff pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Trim edges to form a 13-inch square and cut square into four 61/2-inch squares.

Put 1 tablespoon Gorgonzola in center of 1 square and top with one fourth mushroom mixture. Top mushroom mixture with a filet mignon, pressing it down gently, and wrap 2 opposite corners of puff pastry over filet, overlapping them. Seal seam with egg wash. Wrap remaining 2 corners of pastry over filet and seal in same manner. Seal any gaps with egg wash and press pastry around filet to enclose completely. Arrange beef Wellington, seam side down, in a non-stick baking pan. Make 3 more beef Wellingtons in same manner. Chill remaining egg wash for brushing on pastry just before baking. Chill beef Wellingtons, loosely covered, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Brush top and sides of each beef Wellington with some remaining egg wash and bake 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

Make sauce while beef Wellingtons are baking:
In a saucepan boil demiglace and Madeira 1 minute and keep sauce warm.

Serve beef Wellingtons with sauce.

Serves 4.