What is a good dish to prepare for a candle light dinner?

Question

I have a new girlfriend who has never had a candle light dinner. I want to give her one but was thinking what could I prepare. I need a dish that isn't too difficult yet above hamburgers and hotdogs if you know what I mean.

Answer 1

This is a really good chicken dish. Serve it with asparagus risotto and you're good to go!

Dijon-Tarragon Cream Chicken

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine


Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and coat the chicken with lightly seasoned flour prior to browning them, and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside and keep warm.

Saute garlic, onion, and sliced mushrooms until the onion is soft and the mushrooms are mostly cooked. Splash about 1 tablespoon cup of white wine in the pan to deglaze. Then I added the cream, mustard and tarragon with the garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet to coat with sauce. Drizzle chicken with remaining sauce to serve.


Asparagus Risotto

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
7 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place asparagus in a large saucepan; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and maintain at a simmer. In a large heavy skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add rice and stir to coat well; cook 3 minutes longer. Add wine and cook until absorbed.

Stir in 1 cup simmering broth. Cook until broth is almost completely absorbed, stirring frequently, then add another cup of simmering broth. Repeat until only about 1/4 cup of broth remains (discard remaining broth); the process should take about 20 minutes. Rice should be slightly firm in center and look creamy.

Add asparagus; heat through. Remove from the heat; add the butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Everyone is giving you great ideas and recipes but there are two questions that you need to answer.
1. Do you know how to cook?
2. Do you know what she likes?

The idea of a nice romantic candle lit dinner is wonderful. But if you're not comfortable in the kitchen or don't have the right ingredients or tools, the meal preparation will become work and detract from the mood.
On the other hand, let's say you spend $$$ on steak and a nice bottle of wine. What would you do if you found out she was a non-drinking vegetarian?
Done correctly, even a simple meal of salad, macaroni & cheese, ice cream and iced tea could be served by candle light.

Answer 4

One of my easy favorites is penne pasta with chicken, vegetables, sauce, and cheese.

You can cook the chicken on the grill, or you can put some olive oil in a pan and cook it with some spices (garlic, pepper, onion power, oregano, salt, whichever you have). After the chicken is cooked, cut each piece into strips, and then cut each strip in half.

In a different pan, sautee sliced or diced vegetables the same way (choose your favorites - mushrooms, onions, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, etc,).

Finally, select a sauce, either from a jar, or you can buy a packet where you add milk/water. Mix it all up in an oven-safe container with cheese (mozzarella and/or romano), plus sprinkle some extra cheese on top.

The entire meal can be cooked in about an hour and a half (because it may take a while to chop the chicken and vegetables). Also, you can add garlic bread or a salad if you like.

Answer 5

Cheese pringles and hashbrowns!! I'm just kidding. Cheese fried shrimp with bell peppersand onion, teriyaki stake and mashed potatoes with just the right amount of salt and butter and sprinkled with chopped scallions. decorate the plate with teriyaki sauce and sprinkle paprika on the plate before you put the food in. Dip the tip of the glass in cheese cake and then in the graham cracker crumbs from it. Pour a little red wine in the glass. and give a little bit of romantic cheesecake for desert. Cherry cheesecake with cherry sauce and cherries on the top make sure roses are on the table and soft romantic music is playing out of site in the bnackground, hide the sterio or where ever it's coming from. Sit closeo her. None of this stuff is difficult if there is a recipe which I'm sorry I don't have. But I'm sure she'd love it. That's so sweet of you.

Answer 6

To be honest with you it's not so much the food as it is the atmosphere....you want to do something that is easy so you can sit and enjoy too. Once I made some chicken curry with basmati rice...one dish and I could sit and eat too.....I just had some of that mixed fruit you get next to the salads I got one tropical and one with grapefruits in it and mixed them together it was really good in fact they took it to work the next week when they had an office party. But long story short.....it was a really nice dinner...

Answer 7

You can buy prepared cheese stuffed canneloni, frozen, at Costco. Follow package directions to heat. A good grocery store will probably have a high quality brand to buy. Make a nice marinara sauce or purchase a good quality jarred sauce to put on the canneloni. Cooked asparagus with a bit of butter and parmesan cheese on the side. Make or buy a few assorted dinner rolls. Cut a slice of butter, set on a flat plate and make a design in it with a fork-a few stripes look great. Purchase spring mix salad or make your own salad and serve with a light oil/vinegar dressing or bottled greek dressing. For dessert, soften a couple of tablespoons of nutella spread (hazelnut spread that comes in a jar) by warming it in the microwave for 15 seconds or so. Cool slightly Drizzle on your favourite icecream. You can put a light italian cookie in the dish for flair. Something good to drink-don't repeat your flavours in the same meal, eg) don't serve tomato juice if you are serving tomato sauce. White grape juice is nice.

Have a great dinner!

Answer 8

THIS IS SOOO EASY! And it gives you time to spend with your girl while the house smells yummy. You just take a casserole dish (cake pan shaped) put in four skinless boneless chicken pieces. Cover each piece of chicken with a slice of swiss cheese. Mix together one half cup of white wine and cream of mushroom soup. Pour over chicken. Dot with large croutons and dabs of butter. Cook 350 for 45 minutes. Sooo yummy. Tastes very elegant. Serve with Uncle Ben's wild rice and a vegie. Have fun!

Answer 9

Think about this. What do fancy restaurants fix only for two? Go find out how to cook a Rack of Lamb. A Cesar Salad. A nice bottle of wine.

Answer 10

A grilled fish fillet or grilled chicken breast would be nice. Serve with risotto and grilled/sauteed veggies such as zucchini, squash, onions, peppers, and broccoli. For dessert have something decadent like chocolate cake or cheesecake. Set the mood with flowers, chocolates, and lots of candles and light music.

Answer 11

Manicotti would be real nice and it's really simple. I'd serve a green salad and crusty bread along side it. This always amazes people because they think it's difficult to make, but it's sooooo easy. Checkers at the market always comment on it when I buy the noodles. Very impressive.

1 box (8 ounces) BARILLA Manicotti
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar BARILLA Tomato & Basil Sauce
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

COOK Manicotti for 5 minutes; rinse under cold water and drain. Cover; set aside.
PREHEAT oven to 375 F.
MIX ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt and pepper in medium bowl.
POUR one cup of Tomato %26 Basil Sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
FILL Manicotti with filling;( I recommend using your fingers to stuff the cheese in the Manicotti.) place in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells; sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese.
COVER with foil; bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated thoroughly




Tip: May substitute Italian Bakiing Sauce for Tomato & Basil Sauce.