VertexSquared Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 I want to surprise her with a nice dinner tomorrow... I have always been interested in cooking (my gf is huge on it) and I'd like to make something for her. The problem is that I am quite inexperienced. 1. She is a bit lactose intolerant and can't handle cheese/milk 2. She loves mushrooms 3. Generally likes beef/seafood/rice/fish/veggies/etc Can anyone offer any insight? I need something somewhat easy to make but still delicious. I have access to a microwave/oven/stovetop/fridge.
Green Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Well salad might be a good starter, just by some romaine lettuce in a bag ready to go. Ad some chopped walnuts on top and use a greek dressing A stir fry might be easy to make. Just go on the internet and look into YOUTUBE videos or cooking recipes for a stir fry. You could make it all win a pan. Just add fresh vegatables, noodles, maybe some egg, maybe some chicken, pork, or beef and you have urself a meal. I made one using soy sauce, noodles, vegatables and shrimp. Then for desert you could keep it simple, Just by pre sliced pineapple and add some cool wip maybe serve it on top of angle food cake with cool wip.
Stockalone Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 I want to surprise her with a nice dinner tomorrow... I have always been interested in cooking (my gf is huge on it) and I'd like to make something for her. The problem is that I am quite inexperienced. 1. She is a bit lactose intolerant and can't handle cheese/milk 2. She loves mushrooms 3. Generally likes beef/seafood/rice/fish/veggies/etc Can anyone offer any insight? I need something somewhat easy to make but still delicious. I have access to a microwave/oven/stovetop/fridge. Appetizer: because she loves mushrooms: Grilled, stuffed Portobello mushrooms Since she can't handle cheese/milk, I'd use a polenta and spinach filling. That is really simple, even if you aren't an experienced cook. Main course: because she likes rice: A nice risotto, if you can pull it off. Can she handle parmesan cheese? Fully matured parmesan cheese hasn't much lactose left and many people who are lactose intolerant can handle it. You could go with a risotto nero (the risotto becomes black and flavored by the squid's own ink) with calamari. That way, you have rice and seafood, which she both likes. But that is probably not the best thing to try for someone unexperienced. Another option would be "Spanish Rice" with steak. That's not difficult. Dessert: Caramelized bananas. Serve them with some frozen yogurt (soy yogurt in this case). That's a very simple dessert.
spookie Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 -curry - I make mine using the little jars of curry paste you can buy at any supermarket and follow the directions on the back, adding more veggies than specified -baked chicken with portabello mushrooms, asparagus, and potatoes on the side. rub mayo, salt, and pepper on the chicken before baking. saute the mushrooms in olive oil, adding wine. saute asparagus in olive oil with lots of garlic. -Pasta with shiitake, portabello, and cremini mushrooms - combine 1 lb portabello, 1lb cremini, .5 lb shiitake (chopped), .25 cup olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 2 tblspoons thyme, 4 cloves minced garlic, salt + pepper, bake 10 min, stir, add 1 cup cream, bake 5 min until cream thickens and mushrooms are tender, toss with pasta and parmesan. This dish is easy and amazing. My bf is lactose intolerant as well but he loved it, its not too cheesy/ creamy.
sweetjasmine Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Steak can be hard to do right without a proper grill. If you want to stick it in the oven, pan sear it first (high heat) to get just the edges cooked. With the outside cooked and the center raw, the juices will stay inside as it cooks in the oven. I suggest using the search feature at Food Network's site. You can search by main ingredient, meal type, dish, etc. and then check out the easy/intermediate recipes to find something that suits you.
Author VertexSquared Posted June 6, 2010 Author Posted June 6, 2010 Well salad might be a good starter, just by some romaine lettuce in a bag ready to go. Ad some chopped walnuts on top and use a greek dressing A stir fry might be easy to make. Just go on the internet and look into YOUTUBE videos or cooking recipes for a stir fry. You could make it all win a pan. Just add fresh vegatables, noodles, maybe some egg, maybe some chicken, pork, or beef and you have urself a meal. I made one using soy sauce, noodles, vegatables and shrimp. Then for desert you could keep it simple, Just by pre sliced pineapple and add some cool wip maybe serve it on top of angle food cake with cool wip. This seems like something I could do (not to knock on everyone else's suggestions but I need something really, really easy). Am I better off buying raw proteins and cooking those or should I buy some kind of pre-ready meats? What spices are good?
alphamale Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Am I better off buying raw proteins and cooking those or should I buy some kind of pre-ready meats? make her a salami sandwich
sweetjasmine Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 This seems like something I could do (not to knock on everyone else's suggestions but I need something really, really easy). Am I better off buying raw proteins and cooking those or should I buy some kind of pre-ready meats? What spices are good? Buy fresh ingredients. They should have pre-cut [raw] stir fry beef at your supermarket if you don't want to cut sirloin yourself. But if you want to do shrimp, go for the pre-cooked, pre-peeled, deveined frozen kind to save yourself some time. Plus, it can be tricky to get shrimp right. Most people overcook them. Seriously, check out Food Network for recipes. They're thorough and have lots of easy ones: http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=beef+stir+fry&fnSearchType=site As for dessert, you can make your own whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip. It's very easy. You just need an electric mixer and heavy cream -- put the cream in a bowl, and mix it until it starts forming peaks. Add some sugar, and if you want, you can also add a little bit of vanilla extract, lemon juice, or both. I'm not giving you measurements because it depends how sweet you want it, so you'll have to try a little bit and then taste it.
forevertoday Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 No offence.. but is it me or posting on a love forum asking for advice on what a guy should cook for his girlfriend is.. kinda gay
Author VertexSquared Posted June 6, 2010 Author Posted June 6, 2010 No offence.. but is it me or posting on a love forum asking for advice on what a guy should cook for his girlfriend is.. kinda gay Not at all
TaurusTerp Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Shrimp risotto has become my go-to date meal....women are always impressed by it and it's not very difficult.
threebyfate Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Veal Marsala Veal medallions One egg Flour Salt and pepper Olive oil (you decide if you want more flavour with extra virgin or not) Mushrooms washed and sliced Marsala wine Pound medallions flat with a mallet between two layers of wax paper. Crack and beat egg with fork. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Dredge individual medallions in egg, put in bag and shake so it's coated in the flour mixture. Repeat until all medallions are coated. Heat up olive oil in a cast iron pan. Fry medallions until done and keep warm on a plate by tenting aluminum foil over it. After all the medallions have been cooked, put sliced mushrooms into the same frying pan until mostly done. Put in enough marsala wine so all the pan juices and drippings are incorporated into the mushroom sauce. Simmer until the wine has been reduced to a demi-glace texture. Remove from heat. Plate medallions and spoon the mushroom and marsala demi-glace on top.
anne1707 Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 No offence TBF but veal could be a huge turn off. I know I would never eat it considering how it is produced
threebyfate Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 Beyond seafood, most meats have a horrible history. We used to have a member who lived in a rural neighborhood. She used to laugh at people who paid more for organically raised beef since most often, it's a crock.
CLC2008 Posted June 6, 2010 Posted June 6, 2010 I second the veal comment. Other meats, the animals are rendered unconscious (most are protected under humane treatment guidelines within the US at least, not sure about other countries). As for din din, this is a great website for ideas and recipes: http://allrecipes.com/ You can search for recipes based on the desired ingredients (i.e. mushrooms, etc.)
Author VertexSquared Posted June 7, 2010 Author Posted June 7, 2010 I just got back from the supermarket... decided to go stirfry route. I bought raw chicken (although it's precut and labeled as stir-fry chicken), raw beef (also precut and labeled as stir-fry beef), and some pre-peeled shrimp, a bag of broccoli/mushrooms/etc made for stir-fry, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and a carton of eggs. They did not have yakisoba noodles or anything so I got linguine. :X I hope it'll still work. I hope I don't botch this, haha. Tomorrow she's also in anticipation for when she stays over (I told her 50% of something new I wanted to try in the bedroom and she's hooked on trying to figure out what it is). But I redid my room layout and bought a few nice scented candles which look really slick with the lights off. Hopefully, I can get home from work and stall her long enough so I can cook everything properly and then enjoy a fun night together.
vicssea Posted June 7, 2010 Posted June 7, 2010 check out allreceipes.com You can add Mushrooms as your main ingredient and all kinds of receipes will pop up with Mushrooms. This way you can pick receipe that suits your level of ease. Make it a 3-4 course meal...salad...appeitizer..main dish, and desert. Oh, candles and a bottle of wine are always nice too!! Good luck and awesome effort
alphamale Posted June 7, 2010 Posted June 7, 2010 I just got back from the supermarket... decided to go stirfry route. thats pretty safe, you shouldn't be able to botch that up too bad
CLC2008 Posted June 7, 2010 Posted June 7, 2010 They have prepackaged stir fry. Birds Eye brand and a few other brands offer it in the frozen section and you can add rice, noodles and/or pasta.
Author VertexSquared Posted June 7, 2010 Author Posted June 7, 2010 What kind of seasoning is especially good for chicken, and then beef, and then perhaps shrimp -- in the stirfry? I am guessing three separate sauces/spices to put each in, and then maybe when mixed with the noodles, add soy+hoisin?
alphamale Posted June 7, 2010 Posted June 7, 2010 What kind of seasoning is especially good for chicken, and then beef, and then perhaps shrimp -- in the stirfry? I am guessing three separate sauces/spices to put each in, and then maybe when mixed with the noodles, add soy+hoisin? use those kikkoman pre mixed sauces, just add at the end of the stir fry process.
CLC2008 Posted June 7, 2010 Posted June 7, 2010 You could do: Mongolian Peanut Thai Garlic & Red Chili Ginger & Garlic Ginger & Orange Zest So many to choose from.
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