HELP!! Dinner for two Dilemma!?

Question

Need your help everyone!! My soon to be husband is coming home at the end of this month on his mid-tour leave from Iraq. I want to make him a welcome home dinner, but I have absolutely no clue what to make him! I'm no top chef but I can whip up a pretty good dish here and there, so keep it moderately simple. Also it's been like 123 degrees for him over there and he'll be coming home to 60-75 degree weather so I'm aiming towards something comforting yet suitable for summer. He's not a picky eater, but I'm sure you all can understand how i want this to be perfect for him. I'm seriously considering pairing dinner with a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert...so maybe suggest a dish that will go with it!? Thank you! I really appreciate it!!

AHH!!... everyone is saying steak steak steak and here I am without a grill!...what is a poor girl to do?

Answer 1

Since you don't have a grill... how about a traditional Thankgiving dinner. We do it a couple of times a year aside from Thanksgiving. Now THAT is comfort food. A small, stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, veggies, dinner rolls/crescents... I'm getting hungry right now just thinking about it!

Answer 2

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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

This is a good one and something my husband loves, were havign it Saturday and he doesn't know it yet.

First, for an appitizer chill some wine glasses in the freezer. Once they are chilled fill 3/4 of the way with crushed ice and then top the ice with cold cocktail sauce and then ring the glass with shrimp cocktail sized shrimp, and a lemon wedge. This is an AWESOME presentation and so much fun to eat. You could carry the glasses to the table on a plate lined with a linen napkin.

So, for the dinner, keep it simple.

Ingredients:

20 to 30 shrimp with no tails
1 bag of pre cooked grilled chicken stips cut into bite size pieces (don't buy the frozen, just grab the Tyson ones in the meat section)
Garlic
Olive oil
Butter, not the margerine, real butter
Salt/pepper
Linguini, cooked not rinsed
Fresh Parsley
Lemon
Artichokes, chopped
Capers
A cup of White Wine

In a large pan, heat oil and butter combo, about 4 tablespoons of each. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes, not burning. Add the chicken and shrimp and cook until the shrimp is done. Add the rest of the ingredients (including the wine) and heat for about 5 minutes, let the alcohol burn off and reduce, then add the noodles that have been cooked and drained but not rinsed and mix it all up and top with fresh parsley and lemon juice when you plate it.

For Dessert you can make these ahead....

Chilled wine glasses
vanilla pudding
chocolate pudding
crushed oreos
cool whip

In the wine glasses, add a layer of vanilla pudding, then a layer of crushed oreos and then chocolate pudding and keep going until you top it with cool whip and more oreos!

You will win his heart with this meal!
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Thank you, that was helpful and i think i will d this.. i like the desserts. I think this would be fun.
Thanks

Answer 3

I see everyone saying steak and that would be my first answer.

My daughter returned from her second tour last summer, and let me assure anyone who thinks they are eating steak over there, uh, they're NOT. She was living on K-rations, not even MRE's.

If you decide not to go with the steak, how about a simple dish of pasta and chicken? Get some boneless/skinless chicken breast, dice up and saute in some olive oil and garlic. Prepare some al dente pasta, when the pink is gone from the chicken, drain and add the pasta right to the skillet. You can add any veggies you like such as cut up broccoli or mushrooms, just toss and heat through. If you want you can add some jarred Al Fredo sauce to this. Serve with a nice crusty french bread and a nice fresh veggie salad.

Thank your husband for us. God bless him and those still serving over there and elsewhere.

My son is finishing up his infantry AIT training. I'm very sad they he may end up there soon.

Answer 4

Hey girl I know the feeling my brother has done 2 terms over there and is on his 3rd we just had the blessing of having him home for the week and we asked him what he would like he said something cool and homey. So we decided to whip up some of his favorites. Maybe you could do something like that. We did the following but, we also come from a farm home.

Apricot-Glazed Ham Steak

1 boneless fully cooked ham steak (we did one each)
Each steak will need the following
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apricot perserves
3/4 teaspoon ground mustard
dash of ground cloves
Place ham steak in a dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients and spoon over ham. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 10-15 or until heated through. Serve

We served mashed potatoes and corn on the cob with it. Yes it is all warm but "homey" as kids this was one of our favorite meals.

we served snicker salad with it which is cold.

mini snickers (package of em, cut in half or big ones cut in bite sized pieces)
1 tub whipped topping
desired fruits in bite sized pieces (we use)
apples
banana's
strawberries
Mix all fruit and snickers after chopping together then add whipped topping, refridgerate covered for at least an hour. Serve.

Answer 5

This time of year, there are *so* many seasonal foods that are wonderful.

Sliced dead-ripe tomatoes.
It's starting to get late for corn on the cob, but sliced fresh peaches will still be in.
Waldorf salad.
New potatoes, sliced, and boiled, with butter and maybe a little Italian flat-leaf parsley.
Watermelon, or perhaps muskmelon.
Home-made ice cream.
Fried eggplant slices with mustard.

Does he have a favorite entree? If not, stick a bone-in pork shoulder to roast, low and slow, for 12-14 hours, then pull the meat off the bones (which will be *very* easy*) and add BBQ sauce to make pulled-pig sandwiches.

Mostly, though, he won't be wanting home-cooked food nearly as much as he will be wanting the home cook. Wear a dress, not slacks, maybe something white with a few flowers, that's very feminine, rather than "elegant" or "chic", to let him know how much you've missed him, and how glad you are that he made it back alive.

Answer 6

Well...speaking from the man point of view...
After spending time in Iraq...I am sure he will be estatic over anything you make (as long as it's not MRE's or something that comes out of a big pot). I would suggest Simple Steak dinner (good cut of course) grilled with some garlic mash potato's, grilled marinated asparagus, with a nice cool cucumber salad. Then your cheesecake to finish him off. You will problably be to excited to want to concentrate on a complex dinner...simple easy, and you get to spend more time with him... Good luck...

Answer 7

I gotta be honest - my first thought was a nice steak dinner! So I gave everyone a thumbs up! I just think that a nice steak will be perfect and without a ton of fuss - seriously, what man doesn't love a great grilled steak? Just do that, with some of his favorite taters and veggies, relax with his favorite beer or a bottle of red wine and enjoy your evening together.

Answer 8

I think you should just grill a couple steaks outside, baked potatoes and makes some nice salads. This is also the time of the year for good sweet corn. Cooking outside would keep the inside of the house cool.

Answer 9

After being in Iraq and in the 123 degree heat, your man needs a good steak. Go purchase a couple rib eye steaks, and grill them on the barbecue. Sprinkle them with some Montreal Steak Seasoning, and salt first. That's all they need. Serve it with some type of potato and vegetables or salad, whichever he would prefer. He probably hasn't had a good steak since he left, and what man doesn't like steak!

Thank him for serving our country for me, and enjoy your time together! God Bless.

Update: Since you don't have a grill, broil the steak!

Answer 10

If you have an oven--how about a nice roast chicken, with mashed potatoes and some vegetable, maybe asparagus. My family's favorite was to stuff the chicken with a quartered lemon and fresh rosemary, salt & pepper the bird. I always start my chicken upside down on a v-rack and then turn it over half way through. It keep sthe chicken breast nice and moist and the whole bird has a great browning.