i want to make italian food for my boyfriend!! what do i make???

Question

my boyfriend absolutely loves italian food. we go out to eat almost every other day....(he doesnt get fat since he burns it off playing football and a million other sports every day lol)
his birthday is coming up and i want to surprise him with a homecooked italian meal. he loves pasta, lasagna, etc.
what are some great foods that i could make??
i dont wanna ask him because then he will get suspicious.
thanks for the help :D

Answer 1

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes...a guilty pleasure that's pretty easy to make, and my guy loves it! Just serve it with some crusty Italian bread!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
1 pound dry spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

Have a fun night!

Answer 2

I think you should make Spaghetti & Meatballs, Garlic toast & tossed salad....and for dessert, Tiramisu or Spumoni(if it's warm where you live.) & Coffee my meatballs: 1 onion, grated ( make sure you grate it) 3 Tbl chopped fresh parsley 1 large egg 2-3 tablespoons ketchup 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 2/3 cup grated Parmesan 1/4 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs 1 1/2 lbs ground beef Mix all ingredients and roll into quite large balls. I normally cook my meatballs in my sauce.I do use jar sauces but I mix them up, different brands or flavors. Let's face it we don't always have time to make homemade gravy. A link for a good tiramisu recipe is below

Answer 3

This is the easiest homemade meal ever. You can't mess it up.

Sautee up 1/2 onion, 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Don't brown them, just let them get soft. Then add 1 c. of red wine and let reduce for about 5 minutes. Then add 2 large cans of diced tomatoes. Let this simmer for about 20 minutes. Perfectly light sauce.

Then pound chicken breast into an even thickness, about 1/2". Bread the chicken in equal parts parm cheese and bread crumbs. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then dredge in flour, next in eggs then in the bread crumb mixture. Press the bread crumb mixture into the chicken and let it sit about 5 minutes before cooking. Sautee on a medium heat for about 5 - 6 minutes per side. Perfectly juicy.

Next boil up some ziti and mix with the sauce, ricotta cheese, fresh basil and oregano. Top with the chicken cut on the bias and parm cheese.

It's a great lighter version of chicken parm.

Answer 4

There are some great recipes on the back of pasta boxes. Add a couple of extra ingredients that you both may like - such as mushrooms, onions or sausage.(sweet Italian). You can find lots of recipes on the net if you want to start from scratch.

Answer 5

I usually send people to allrecipes because I don't know their tastes and figure they can choose what sounds best to them But somebody beat me to it. So you might also go to foodnetwork.com and see what Mario Batale has this week.
I get tired of the tomato based sauces myself so I like seafood in olive oil, with garlic, fresh oregano ( or Marjoram ) olives and slivered almons. With a salad and crusty bread I'm good.

Answer 6

Spaghetti and meatballs with hot sausage, garlic bread and a nice Chianti. Antipasto as an appetizer and canollis for dessert.
Classic and delicious.

Answer 7

Check out
http://www.yummyfood.net/recipes-category40.html

There are some authentic Italian recipes and moreover they are usually very simple.
Ciao from Italy.

Answer 8

this can work