What's a nice dinner and desert to cook for your date?

Question

I'm looking for something that's simple to make but tastes great.

Answer 1

CHICKEN PICCATA

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley. Serve w/ linguine.

-- Giada De Laurentiis, FoodTV
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Green Beans with Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 pounds green beans
2 bacon slices
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped almonds
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

Cook green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well; set aside.
Cook bacon in a small skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet. Crumble; set aside. Add shallots to bacon fat in skillet; sauté 1 minute. Add almonds; sauté 1 minute. Remove and let cool. Add sugar and vinegar; stir until sugar dissolves. Add crumbled bacon.
Pour vinaigrette over beans, tossing gently to coat.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 75(31% from fat); FAT 2.6g (sat 0.5g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 54mg; SODIUM 50mg; FIBER 2.8g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 11.8g
Cooking Light, November 1996.

--Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

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Chocolate Pudding Cake

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 Tablespoons cocoa
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 Tablespoons melted, cooled, margarine

Sift sugar, flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa together in pan. Stir in milk, margarine and vanilla. Batter will look like brownie batter. Spread batter into greased baking dish (Pyrex bowl or 9”x15” dish).

TOPPING:
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Mix topping sugars and cocoa together and sprinkle dry ingredients over batter. Pour 1 ½ cups of tap water over all. DO NOT STIR.

Place in oven and bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes or until topping is done. (In the baking process, ingredients will reverse themselves - finished product will look like a brownie on top and have chocolate pudding on bottom.)

Serve in bowls with spoons. Serves 6-8 people. Good with vanilla ice cream or cool whip.

Answer 2

Feta Chicken With Sauce

6-4oz.Chicken Cutlets (pounded Thin)
6 oz. Feta Cheese (traditional)
3 to 4 cups Easy Tomato Sauce
(See my recipe)
or use what ever sauce you prefer
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on chicken.
Take 1oz. of feta cheese and put on chicken with some sauce, roll and place seam side down, you can use tooth picks if you prefer pour sauce over chicken, just enough to cover chicken slightly. Bake in a covered pan on 450 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings about a ½ cup of sauce per serving

I know it's for 6 but it's easy to cut down to 2

Dessert
Ice Box Cake

This was my grandmother's recipe, it's over 80 years old, but it won't last 5 minutes. I call it from the Lips To The Hips.

2 Boxes chocolate pudding
(not instant)
4 cups of milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 TB. sugar
1 jar maraschino cherries
1 box of chocolate snaps, chocolate graham crackers, or any flat chocolate cookie
1 tsp. real vanilla extract

Put your mixing bowl and the beaters in the freezer the cream will whip better.

Cook the pudding according to directions on box use whole milk or 1% do not use skim.
Let cool to room temperature. Put plastic wrap over pudding so it doesn't form skin.

To make whip cream:
Take out bowl and beaters from freezer, put heavy cream in bowl and start mixing on low, add the sugar and vanilla extract, then up the speed, when the cream thickens and forms peeks it's done. Don't over whip or you'll have butter.

You can use almost any medium size pan or bowl and just keep layering, you can make the layers as thin or thick as you want. Cookies, pudding, whipped cream, cherries and so on.

If you want a more elegant looking dessert you can use champagne glasses, just crumble the chocolate cookies and layer the rest. Keep refrigerated.

My recipes and others can be found at:
http://www.bakespace.com/
My recipes can be found under redflower.

If you want the easy way out, get the cookies and cherries, and buy the pudding, and use cool whip. I'll never tell.

Answer 3

Depending on how long you have dated this women (2 date minimum for this), but I would fix her a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup and for desert some jello with cool whip. It's simple and comforting. Women like to imagine a guy in the "big picture". And a grilled cheese allows her to imagine you in pj bottoms cooking her cheese eggs in the morning. Besides- who knows what she may want to do with the cool whip.

Good luck and don't try to hard. It's the little things that add up and make something special.

Answer 4

Italian food is always good for a date, but stick to red sauce because some people don't like Alfredo and garlic sauces. You can make penne pasta, spaghetti, rigatoni or anything else you wish. Add a salad with Italian dressing and some garlic bread and you are good to go.

You could also do a very simple baked chicken with potatoes if you don't want the pasta. Just get some chicken boil it, throw it in the oven with some seasoning. When its done top it off with fresh rosemary. Boil the potatoes add butter and parsley and your ready to serve this meal.

For dessert do a nice strawberry shortcake. very simple to make. Just get sponge cakes. mix strawberries with sugar pour on top of the sponge cake and finished it off with some whipped creme on top.

Answer 5

Spaghetti, salad & garlic bread, with strawberry shortcake or hot fudge sundaes for dessert.

Shish kabobs are impressive but easy--marinate beef or chicken cubes in Italian dressing, thread on skewers with onion, red & green pepper, and mushrooms. Grill til desired doneness. Great with fluffy rice and hot rolls---and toast marshmallows on the grill for dessert!

Stuff Cornish hens with instant stuffing mix and rub with your favorite seasoning blend. Roast until golden brown. Roast new potatoes in the same pan, serve with peas & carrots and fresh baked breadsticks (from a can). Dessert could be angel food cake topped with a dollop of lemon pie filling & cool whip.
Good luck & have fun.

Answer 6

I had a date cook me a wonderful italian meal on one memorable date. It was a home-made spaghetti and meatballs dinner with quick-fried italian squashes and garlic bread.

Then for dessert I got to make an ice-cream sundae on her belly! I think it was colder than she expected, but it was fun!

Answer 7

I think a nice Alfredo is a classic that most people love...serve it with a salad and warm loaf of bread.
Or do a simple broiled salmon, brushed with butter, and sprinkled with lemon and dill...serve it with wild rice and roasted asparagus.
A small rib-roast is pretty impressive, but easy to do...serve it with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.
For dessert, do a cheesecake with fresh berries on top.
foodnetwork.com and epicurious.com will give you some great ideas!

Answer 8

A pasta dish and cheesecake!
Its quick, easy and delicious! Use the Jello No Bake Cheesecake.

Answer 9

Anything Italian is usually delicious food and very easy ! I don't think I met anyone who didn't like Italian food !

Chicken parmigiana
Eggplant
Spaghetti and meatballs
stuff shells
lasagna

Answer 10

go to kraftfoods.com they have a great ho,emade chicken pot pie recipe that helped me win over my husband. lol and they have plenty of deserts too. i love the chocolate valcano thing it takes like 15 minutes to make and seems like you took hours

Answer 11

Tortilla de Patatas ( Spanish / Potato Omelette ). that is an absolute ought to, the two as a sidedish, or shrink up and skewered onto crispy bread as tapas. numerous tapas to be skewered onto bread would desire to comprise: Chorizo - even warm. respectable cured ham. Garlic mushroom. Slice of boiled egg with mayo and an anchovy. Spanish peppers. Angulas (toddler eels, or the guy-made option ). yet basically someplace interior the meal you're able to desire to have respectable ham, crusty bread, and potato omelette!