Attention All Great Cooks!

[Evie Lou]

I am in need of help!
I am planning to surprising my boyfriend of 3+ years with a romantic dinner. I've cooked very little, but so far I'm great with a recipe! I'd like to have an appetizer, salad, main course w/sides, and dessert.
Please, nothing too over the top - I'll be doing this alone and do not want to end up sitting in the floor of the kitchen in tears when he gets home.
I just want this to be special.

He likes just about everything so - I'm wide open!

Also, please include any time frames and LOTS of advice!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!

 

[WendyZ]

I've got an awesome recipe for choc swirl cake with cream cheese and mini choc chips. It's low fat though, I don't know what would happen if you put regular products in it.
Oh...I also have one for great twice baked potatoes. My friend just gave it to me last night. Their also good reheated....it was my lunch today!
I'm happy to share if you want it.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I have tons of recipes. Any idea of what you might like to fix? Are you thinking a main course as in a meat or something like a casserole or lasagne or baked ziti? I say decide on the main dish first and then add the sides that fit.

 

[babylisa4]

I don't know if she wants it but I would love the twice baked potato recipe!

 

[WendyZ]

Here you go....
My friend says she cooks her potatoes in the microwave (faster than the oven). How ever many you would like to make.
After cooking in micro, cut in half and scoop out the centers into bowl.
Mix with potatoes...1/2 c. Italian dressing, 1 c. sour cream, Pepper to taste. Shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you would like). Ham cubed (again as much as you would like). She said she gets ham sliced at the deli 1/4 inch thick, 2 slices and then cuts those into cubes. Mix everything together, then spoon back into potatoes. she puts two scoops in each potatoe.
Keep in frig until ready to reheat. 350* for 20-30 minutes, just enough to warm through.
She said it's a great dish to make the day before a party/event, then all she has to do it warm them.

They are great!!!
Hope you understand this...

 

[pumba]

tails......those are a good part of your meal.....with a nice lawn clipping salad...( my husbands name for a really good salad) a few small red potatoes that are gently boiled.....a sorbet for starters is a nice way to start your meal too.....have no clue why but some nice restaurants start you with this before your meal comes.....

 

[Evie Lou]

Wendy Z - the twice baked potato recipe looks great! Thank you so much! Even if I don't use it this week - it's going into my notebook!

MerryPoppins - Do you have a good lasagne or baked ziti recipe? We love pasta and I know he's a sucker for home made lasagne - like the real Italian style.
I'd like a recipe for both if you have it.

If I had a clue what I wanted to do, I'd definately fill you all in, but I'm just at a loss. So far, these posts have begun to inspire me!

Pumba - Do you have a recipe for a sorbet?
That would be a fun starter!

Anymore ideas???
I just keep adding recipes I receive to a computer disk and then printing them out for my three ring "Recipe" binder.

I'm getting really excited!
Thank you and keep them coming!

 

[poohbear1029]

Chocolate covered strawberries are a really easy and romantic dessert! You can buy dipping chocolate (some does not harden) Or, on the bag of chips (try Ghiardelli) there should be instructions.

Also...they sell little bags of baby potatoes at our grocery. I take and toss them with a little olive oil, salt and fresh dill. Roast in the over for about 25 min at about 375, or until tender. Very Yummy!

Sorbet is served between courses to cleanse your palette. You might be able to find some in the grocery store in near the icecream.

A yummy salad that I love, and seems "Fancy" is...salad greens (romaine - or the spring mix of baby greens), chopped up walnuts, blue cheese and pear or apple diced up and toss with a light storebought vinegrette, like a raspberry or zinfandel.

 

[Evie Lou]

Poohbear1029 -
Wow! That salad sounds great!
My boyfriend is not a big fan of blue cheese - could a different type of cheese be used?

Thanks!!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Baked Ziti
1 lb ziti
15 oz ricotta (or you can use cottage cheese)
8 oz grated mozzarella
32 oz spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta and drain. Pour 1/2 sauce in baking dish or coat with olive oil. Return pasta to the pot and combine with ricotta and sauce. Stir in mozzarella. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Add cooked ground beef if you want a meat dish.

Lasagne
2 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb lasagne noodles, cooked
1/2 ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 lb sliced mozzarella cheese
2 t. salt
1/2 t. rosemary
1/4 t. pepper
2 cans tomato paste
3 c. hot water

Fry garlic and onion in olive oil. Add beef and brown. Drain. Mix in seasonings, tomato paste and water. Simmer 30 minutes. In shallow baking dish (13 x 9) put a think layer of sauce, half the cooked noodles, all the ricotta and half the mozzarella. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Serves 6-8
Note: I have added a little extra water to the sauce and layered the noodles uncooked. The only catch is I can't tell you exactly how much water I added.

Both of these are easy. Obviously, the ziti is simpler, but the lasagne is very good. Serve with french bread or rolls and a green salad and you have a great meal.

Do you like ham? Here is a great ham recipe. Fix it with a bread and a vegetable. We've done this for Easter and Christmas (it's that good!)
Jacque's Ham
brown sugar
1/2 qt honey
shank or butt ham with bone
(the larger the better because the leftovers are so good!)
bbq sauce optional

Put ham in roaster with lid. Rub with liberal amount of brown sugar. Drizzle with all the honey. Bake 14 hours at 225. Last hour add bbq sauce if desired. It will be falling apart and very tender. The pan is always pretty sloppy with tons of juice. Be careful when getting it out of the pan because it will fall apart.

Here's a good salad that I often take to pot lucks. They always eat it all. It's one of my husband's favorites.

Layered Salad
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 head cauliflower
1 bag frozen peas
parmesan cheese
1 small jar mayo
salad seasoning

Tear the lettuce up into a large bowl. Break the cauliflower into little bite-sized pieces. Put on top of the lettuce. Spread the whole jar of mayo over the cauliflower. Make an even layer of mayo and seal at the edges. Shake a layer of parmesan cheese over the mayo. Then a layer of salad seasoning. Top with a layer of frozen peas. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. I usually make it a day in advance. When it's time to serve, toss. The cheese and seasoning mix with the mayo to make the dressing.

 

[DizneyDogs]

I've got an awesome recipe for choc swirl cake with cream cheese and mini choc chips. It's low fat though, I don't know what would happen if you put regular products in it.

Wendy Z could you post the recipe sounds yummy.

Thanks!
Crista in Idaho

 

[WendyZ]

Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake Bars...

3/4 c. water
1/3 c. butter (no substitutes) I use country crock, works fine.
1-1/2 squares (1-1/2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate
2 c. flour
1-1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c. reduced- fat sour cream

Cream Cheese Mixture:
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg white
1 T. vanilla
1 c. mini chocolate chips

In saucepan, combine water, butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over low heat until melted & smooth. Set aside to cool.
In mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and baking soda. Add egg, egg white and sour cream, beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate mixture until smooth. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg white and vanilla, set aside.
Spread chocolate batter into 9x13 pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Drop the cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls over batter, cut through batter with knife to swirl. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake 375* for 20-25 minutes. Let cool.


Happy Cooking!
YUMMY!!

 

[poohbear1029]

Originally posted by Evie Lou
Poohbear1029 -
Wow! That salad sounds great!
My boyfriend is not a big fan of blue cheese - could a different type of cheese be used?

Thanks!!

Thanks! I cant take credit, I have had it at several restaurants, several different variations. Umm...gorgonzola is like a blue cheese but has a milder flavor. Or, with a sharp flavored apple, you could use a sharp cheddar and dice it up into little cubes.

Another salad that can be yummy if you like it is baby spinach, strawberries and a poppyseed dressing.

 

[Evie Lou]

Merrypoppins!
What great recipes! I'm looking forward to using those! The lasagna will be one I do on a Saturday when I have all day.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.

Wendy z!
I about drooled on my desk at work reading the recipe to your fabulous dessert! Jeff loves cheesecake so I cannot wait for an opportunity to try that one out!
That's one I'll be making for a church dinner for sure!
We have a friendly competition that goes on - all in fun.

poohbear1029 - thank you for the cheese substitue suggestion. I believe it is gorgonzola cheese that he does like.

Wow!
I have really enjoyed checking out (and copying and saving) everyone's recipes! I'll make a decision today as to what I'm doing tomorrow for dinner and I'm sure it will be a success!
Thank you!

(and if there are more - I'm just learning to cook, so the more recipes I get - the better! *Keep um coming!)

 

[LindaBabe]

If you'd like to try a cookbook for beginning cooks with some awesome recipes, may I recommend

Emeril's "There's a cook in the family"

Just got a copy for my "new cook" husband and everything is spelled out so clearly a kid could do it and yet, these are not "childish" recipes.

 

[ladyv]

Steak Oscar - it's fairly easy and is my FI's favorite meal. It can also be pricey, and you didn't say if you had a budget. We typically have it only around very special occasions.

Here's what you do:
Steak (cooked the way you like it - either grilled, broiled, etc. I've used ribeye or filet mignon cuts)

top with:
Steamed Asparagus and

warmed king crab leg meat
(we can only get king crab legs frozen. Let them defrost in the fridge, then wrap them in damp paper towels, add a sprig of dill then wrap in saran wrap. You want to make reasonably small packages. Put the package in the microwave for 2 minutes on high)

Then, top the whole thing with bearnaise sauce
(most basic cookbooks have the recipe and it's pretty easy to make - you might also be able to find it at your grocery store if you don't want to make it)

Good Luck!

 

[ladyv]

For an app, here's another simple, recipe that I like to use.

Carmalized Onions with goat cheese puff pastry.

First, take the goat cheese out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you put the whole thing together, so it can soften up a bit.

Start the onions: Thinly slice 1-2 sweet onions (vidalia, texas sweets, etc) and pop them in a frying pan with 1-2 Tb. of butter or oil over Med Low heat. Cook until carmalized anywhere from 20-40 minutes stirring every so often. If they start to dry out too much, you can put a small glug of wine (OK, so I don't cook without a glass in hand) or some water. A few minutes before you pull them off the heat, pop in some fresh chopped thyme leaves (although usually I just pull the leaves off the stem without even chopping). I'd say I use about a tea. of fresh leaves, or you could use 1/4 or 1/2 a tea of dried (dried herbs are usually more potent than fresh, so you use less). Take off the heat and keep warm. You can make the onions hours ahead and just heat them in the microwave before you're ready to serve, too.

Now take some puff pastry (found in frozen food section - not filo dough! Made this mistake before ) and defrost one sheet. When it's defrosted, unfold the sheet and cut into rectangles about the size of your hand (3"x5"). Put the rectangles on a baking sheet, prick lightly all over with a fork (so they don't puff up too much) and pop into the oven 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.

When the pastry rectangles come out of the oven, spread / top with some of the goat cheese and then the onions and serve. If you really want to get fancy, garnish each plate with a sprig of thyme.

I think I originally found this recipe over on gourmet.com a few years ago if you want to search for the exact recipe.

 

[ladyv]

I'm going to post another (Hope you don't mind...I LOVE to cook and share recipes)

For a salad, why not try homemade caeser salad? The dressing is very simple - although I'm really sorry that I don't have better measurements for this one it's been handed down in the family. I'll try to do the best I can.

Caesar Salad

Dressing: (mix all ingrediants with wisk in bottom of large salad bowl)
Olive Oil (2-3 turns around the bowl)
Coddled Egg (egg placed in simmering water for 30 seconds)
Dijon Mustard (big squirt)
Worchesshire sauce (about the same as mustard)
2 cloves minced garlic or 3 if you really like things garlicky
Anchovey paste (small squirt) this is optional if you really hate anchovies - but trust me - it makes the dressing)
juice of 1 lemon
salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper to taste

Once you mix the dressing (and taste in case you think it needs a bit more of this or that) dump torn romaine lettuce leaves (1 bunch) on top, some parm cheese (fresh grated is best), and croutons and mix everything together just before serving. If you're nervous about having too much dressing, make it in another bowl and then pour on top of the lettuce, parm and croutons. I've found it's better to have underdressed greens with extra dressing than overdressed greens swimming in dressing.

 

[ladyv]

OK last one and I promise to leave this post alone. If you've followed the meal I've posted (carmalized onions on goat cheese puff pastry, caesar salad and steak oscar), dessert should be something lighter (I can never seem to make it to dessert)....so how about chocolate covered stawberries? Or you can do the european thing and have different cheeses (like brie, or cambaret with mushrooms) pears and port wine.

My personal fave, is the strawberries with some champange. To do the strawberries, take some good chocolate (I'll usually use ghiradeli bars because that's what I can get at the grocery store).

Melt the chocolate with a tiny bit of veg. shortening (crisco) - this will help the chocolate dip better. Make sure to melt on low heat on the stove or in the microwave or else it will seperate and make small hard sugar chunks (been there, done that).

Dip the berries in the choc. and let dry on wax paper. To make things extra fancy, also melt some white choc. and put into a small ziplock baggie and then make a very small cut in the corner and drizzle lines over the dipped choc strawberries.

Move the berries into the fridge to harden the choc or else it will melt if you leave it next to the stove (can you tell I've done this too?)

Anyway, good luck with your dinner!!

 

[Evie Lou]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Wow! What great ideas!

Ladyv - don't feel bad for multiple posts - I'm saving every recipe I get to a disk to eventually combine into my own personal cookbook/binder!

LindaBabe - thank you for the recommendation of Emeril's book. I'll have to wait for my next payday, but I can't wait to get it in my possession! One of my fears as my life progresses is that when I get to be a wife and mom - I won't be able to put dinner on the table. I'm starting late (26 years old), but better late than never.

Everyone has been so great in sharing and the ladies in my office have started to get me to print off recipes for them to take home and try. My logging into the forum has become an office event.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! to everyone posting!!