Date night dinner ideas

What would you make if you are cooking for a guy for the 1st time? I like to cook, it's a Friday evening, so I don't have a lot of prep time and don't want to be slaving in the kitchen when he arrives. He likes eggplant but I don't, otherwise I would have tried eggplant parm!

I'm still getting to know him and his tastes in food. Is a roasted chicken safe enough? Steak?

Message edited 10/15/2012 11:30:00 AM.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

Chicken Parm? If he likes Eggplant parm, I'm sure he would like Chicken Parm

Re: Date night dinner ideas

I would not do a roast chicken just in case he's heard of that stupid "engagement chicken" thing

if you can sear off a nice steak, roast some potatoes and make a nice saute of greens (spinach, chard, green beans) i would do that. it comes together quickly, does not require a lot of pots or mixing and is a "man's meal"

I would focus a little more on dessert

Date night dinner ideas

I'd probably go with steak and mashed potatoes - they're easy to make and usually a man pleaser!

Date night dinner ideas

I like the steak and potatoes idea as well. You can throw some potatoes and a green veggie like asparagus in the oven to roast which is about as easy as it gets. You can also do a compound butter in advance to put on the steaks.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

It depends on what he likes. I only cooked for a few of the guys I dated. Each time it was after I’d gotten to know them and had a sense of their favorite foods and things they didn’t like. I also never wanted to make a guy’s FAVORITE meal because I didn’t want the pressure of living up to their mom or whomever the first time I cooked for him!

With Rob, I did make roast chicken.. it was one of his favorites, easy to make, kept me out of the kitchen and it’s hard to **** up chicken. And I knew he wasn’t a fan of steak. I also like to sneak in something that they may have indicated they weren’t wild about to see if I can make them re-think a non-favorite. With Rob it was asparagus.

I'd sneak in a few suggestions and see what he says.

Message edited 10/15/2012 5:02:11 PM.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

I made chicken cordon bleu my dh fav

Re: Date night dinner ideas

One of the first things i made for DH was parm crusted chicken and pasta with my homemade vodka sauce. Still one of his favorite meals, although we often do parm crusted chicken rollatini instead!

I feel like some nice slow cooked ribs and mashed potatoes would be yummy too!

Re: Date night dinner ideas

You can do a baked ziti with a side salad and bread (not garlic!).

Prepare the ziti the night before and just bake it on Friday night. Spend your prep time Friday cutting up veggies for a salad. Plus, your house will smell amazing when he come in!

Re: Date night dinner ideas

One of the first things I remember making for hubby was a pasta with a meat sauce along with salad and some garlic bread. Super easy and rather quick to make.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

My first dish for DH was Chicken Marsala over egg noodles with steamed asparagus

Date night dinner ideas

Dh loves baked flounder stuffed with crab with a side of creamy mashed potatoes and some roasted veggies.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

sausage and peppers maybe
dh used to like that a lot but we were already over the romantic date phase so that was a more casual thing.

i think most guys like meat and potatoes.

dh loves a gourmet burger and homemade fries.

but if i was with someone other than dh, i'd probably make something italian, chicken parm or penne alla vodka with some wine and some bread and a special dessert.

you can win a guy over with dessert. usually anything chocolate.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

If you do the steak and potatoes idea, you can make it a bit more impressive with some special extras.

For example, instead of baked potatoes, you could do twice-baked potatoes. I have a really good recipe (with cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, chives, etc.). They are so easy to prep in advance (and then you just bake them for 25-30 minutes before serving), and they look impressive and are really flavorful.

You could make a sauce or an herbed butter to go with the meat. Barefoot Contessa has a really good gorgonzola cream sauce that I've made with beef tenderloin. I don't even like blue cheese, but I like the sauce (heating it mellows it out). My dh and my dad always like bourneaise sauce with filet mignon.

You could do a really delicious salad dressing and make it homemade.

If you don't want to do beef, you could do a similar meal with a marinated pork roast (marinate it ahead of time and just bake it in the oven right before dinner). I have a really good recipe for a carrot souffle that goes great with pork (it tastes almost like cake!). It's not a true souffle, so you can make it in advance and just reheat it.

If you want to go another route, homemade lasagna is always a hit and I feel like it's safe and men like it.

Are you trying to surprise the guy or could you just tell him you want to cook dinner for him and get some info in advance? I love seafood, and so does my dh, but that may be a risky choice if you don't know what he likes or what allergies he may have.

Re: Date night dinner ideas

I made rib eye steak, roasted asparagus, sauteed spinach and mushrooms and baked potatoes. We had fresh mozzarella and tomato as an app. I had very little time to cook so it worked out and he was impressed and kept thanking me. There was no room left for dessert, and no time either lol

Message edited 10/21/2012 8:39:26 AM.