Cook For Your Date, Its Easy & Romantic!!

Its the fourth date. Things are looking serious. You are really enamored with this girl and you just have to make an impression to seal the deal. DON’T GO TO A FANCY RESTAURANT! All us men, we need to make a romantic, home cooked meal instead. Its easy, its super-effective, unabashedly charming, and utterly irresistible. So save your money and your restaurant reservations, and pay attention!

Cooking for the Senses!

No matter how good the food at your fancy restaurant may be, there is something about making the effort to cook a meal at home, that will already hit the right notes with your girl. Before the appetizer is even tasted, her senses will swell and she will be ‘ooing’ and ‘aaing’ out of fondness for you.

With the fairer sex positively predisposed because of this uncharacteristic display of romanticism, its time to up the ante and play to the senses gallery. Device a simple, but sensual menu. A great one that you could adopt is:

MENU

Drink: Sangria

Starter: Italian Hummus

Main Course: Honey Mustard Salmon + Spaghetti

Dessert : Chocolate Covered Strawberries

As you might have noticed, the accent is all the way, on stirring up the senses. By liberally using ingredients like Strawberries, Honey, Chocolate and Wine (greatest romantic foods and aphrodisiacal content) – you can quickly and tastily ensure that it won’t just be the Salmon, that will be caught hook, line and sinker!

Keep It Simple, For Simple Works Best!

As you will find out shortly, fancy sounding and romantic seeming food may not necessarily be tedious and hard to prepare. In fact, quite the contrary. Here, the aim is to get 3 strikes. You can go much more complicated, but suffer the inherent risk of bumming up the food! NOT WORTH IT. Stick instead to the kind of menu given above.

Lets Cook…

SANGRIA

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Bottle (750 ml) of Rosé  wine
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups lemonade
1 cup sliced strawberries (may use frozen strawberries in a pinch)
2 cups ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour wine in the pitcher and add sliced strawberries. Next add sugar, lemonade and stir gently. Add ginger ale and ice just before serving. If you’d like to serve your Sangria right away, use chilled white wine and chilled ginger ale – serve over lots of ice.

TOMATO BASIL HUMUS

Prep Time – 20 Minutes

Cook time – 10 minutes

For those who like a little bit of an Italian flare to their hummus…

Ingredients:
2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tablespoon of basil chopped
2 teaspoons grated Parmesean cheese

Salt to taste

Directions: Combine all ingredients together in a food processor until blended smooth. Again, feel free to experiment with the different ingredients to get the right flavor your want – some people like a lot of garlic, others like a lot of basil. Serve with garlic bread, cold cuts, bell peppers, crackers or just about whatever you may fancy.

HONEY MUSTARD SALMON

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 2 salmon fillets
* 2 tbsp honey
* ½ tbsp spicy brown mustard
* 1 small clove garlic, very finely minced
* Dash dried leaf basil
* Dash freshly ground black pepper
* Salt to taste

Preparation:

Combine honey, mustard, minced garlic, basil, and salt and pepper in a food storage bag or a glass or plastic container. Add salmon and seal or cover; refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Remove salmon from the marinade and brush lightly with olive oil. Grill the salmon fillets, in a non stick pan. Keep adding the marinade while turning over the sides, for 14 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through (It’ll turn flakey).

SPAGHETTI AGLIO OLIO E PEPERONCINO (Sounnds complicated, but isn’t!!)

Prep Time – 10 minutes

Cook Time – 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 packet spaghetti
2 pods garlic
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of chopped parsley
1 large dried red chilly or plenty of crushed red pepper
Salt to taste

Method

* While the pasta is boiling, put garlic, oil and chilly in a pan, over medium heat.
* As soon as the garlic turns golden and you can smell its aroma, switch off the heat, add the chopped parsley, the cooked pasta and just a little bit of pasta water.
* Toss well and serve right away.

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1 dozen ripe strawberries
* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
2. Wash the strawberries and dry them thoroughly.
3. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave them until they melt, stirring every 45 seconds. It should take about 2 minutes.
4. Holding a strawberry by the stem, dip it in chocolate, twirling it in a circular motion to evenly cover most of the berry. As you lift it from the chocolate, twirl it so that any excess chocolate drips back into the bowl.

5. Place the berry on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining berries and chocolate.

The Finishing Touches…

So there you have it.. The perfect meal for the perfect date. There are however a few more things you must take care of. Don’t just put out this exquisite meal in your less-than-presentable apartment. Take some time and make the effort to clear the area. Some mood lighting and soft wafting music, and you are set to serve and to impress!

Finally, and I know it is probably cheap to speak of money when it comes to true love – but the fact is, the afore-described meal will cost you a fraction of your exclusive restaurant dinner. In today’s scenario, where you may well have coughed up close to INR 5000 if you really wanted to set things right, the home-meal will be at least half that cost, if not lesser. Maximum ‘bang’ for your buck, need I say more?

{Recipes Courtesy: ANUJA MISHRA BAJORIA}

[Kartik Bajoria, a regular contributor, runs his own creative agency called BOLD & is also involved in Films & Music as a force of habit!]

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