I don’t know about you but I would always love to plan way
in advance when it comes to the perfect date. Well gentlemen, Valentine’s day
is one month away, and I’m sure some of you aren’t really thinking what exactly
to do until the time comes. Well here’s a start. Let’s begin with the evening.
Some of you will come home from work and school and won’t have much time in
cooking, so let’s start with thinking ahead of the ball game. You may have an
idea of what to do, but time and planning is always most important. Men, if you
really want to make time during the Valentine’s day, take the entire day
off. This is YOUR event that you want to
make sure it’s special and done right. Beginning now, make that call to your
boss.
The Menu
This is the most important part of this blog. Many people
would like to go out to dinner. Let’s start by thinking “the budget”… It maybe
more expensive to go out to a fancy French bistro where the average cost of a
meal consisting of appetizer, dinner, dessert, and a bottle of wine totals out
to be a minimum of $96 plus tax or higher. What about doing something new for a
change. Utilize this time to create something fancy and unforgettable. You can do this one or two ways…Surprise her
with your own meal, or ask what her preferences are. What’s the one cuisine everyone loves to eat
when it comes to a romantic dinner? Italian. When we think of Italian, we think
of pasta, chicken parmigiana, pizza, and a garlic bread of some sort. But let’s
try to modernize the cuisine a bit. Rather than usual Italian, think of adding
an extra flair to it. Think beyond the ordinary and think more as if you’re a
chef at Enoteca Pinchiorri. Now we have to look at suggestions on what to best
prepare. You can always go online and someone will have a great recipe for a
delicious dish. Since I’m not allowed to share or give any family recipes, I
will make suggestions. Let’s start with the appetizer. If you want a seafood
themed meal, have a seafood appetizer. A popular appetizer would be a salad
with Italian dressing, but think more of a lite margherita pizza, Bruschetta, homemade
Italian garlic bread, or perhaps a dip. Seafood suggestions will come later on.
Main Dishes: Red
meat, White meat, or seafood.
Dinner suggestions can vary depending on your partner’s
choice. If she doesn’t eat red meat, try fish. If she can’t eat fish, try
poultry. If no meat is the thing, and you’re looking at vegetarian, do so.
Italian cuisine holds all of that. But let’s be simple and not spend over a
huge amount of money buying a rack of lamb unless you please to. Let’s begin
with red meat. My preference of red meat would be veal. Veal is great for any
European dish, and for Italian, try to create a veal parmigiana. Veal
Parmigiana is exactly like chicken or eggplant parmigiana. Lightly fried veal
with seasoned Italian breading topped with a tomato paste sauce and mozzarella
cheese. If you want, you may stuff it with your choice of a filling such as
vegetables, cheese, or any type of filling. Serve that with a side of pan-fried
seasoned asparagus, and a side of pasta. Veal Piccatta is also a lightly fried (or
pan fried) seasoned cutlet garnished in a white wine lemon-butter sauce. Serve
it over a bed of angel hair pasta and mushrooms.
For a delicious chicken dish, try a stuffed Chicken
Marsala which is another simple easy dish using a Marsala wine to cook with. Seafood
dishes can also be a great way to spice things up. Most seafood items that are
typically used Italian dishes are muscles and clams, calamari, scallops,
swordfish, and salmon to name a few. Try using a muscles and clams as your
appetizer. Try them cold with a lemon sauce, or perhaps if you want to try
something very simple, take a salad using the freshest spinach leaves and
lettuce, and then top it with fruit, avocados, and jumbo scallops. Swordfish
soup would be another ideal dish as an appetizer. For a main course, try a clam
carbonara linguine pasta. What I would also suggest is a do is a homemade
Alfredo sauce on fettuccine topped with a grilled smoked salmon. DO NOT
USE CANNED ALFREDO SAUCE. BE CREATIVE!! If you’re using tomato sauce from a
can, season it well so that it’s semi-homeade.
My Ideal of “The
Taste of Italy” Platter
-Veal Parmigiana
-Pasta and chicken carbonara
-Seasoned asparagus
-Garlic Buttered Mashed Potatoes
Side Dishes: Side
dishes are to go with your meal. Each country cuisine is different and side
dishes usually depends on the main course. You want to have a decent balance of
sides and I don’t mean pasta, but everyone should have a select portion size of
vegetables. I think asparagus goes great with any meal. Asparagus, spinach,
artichokes, zucchini are some great green sides.
Dessert: My
favorite Italian Dessert is perhaps any other’s favorite Italian dessert,
Tiramisu. Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored dessert. Think of it as a dessert
lasagna layered with lady finger cookies, and whipped, mascarpone, cocoa cream.
What’s great about it this is, you can make it ahead of time, and save it in
the fridge. If however you want another option, you can make a sorbet of any
flavor of your choice.
French Cuisine
French Dishes can be complicated when it comes to creating
the perfect meal. As a matter of fact, many French dishes usually vary by
region. I want to go ahead and give some suggestions that Julia Child
popularized in her show “ The French Chef”,
and in her cookbook “Mastering the Art of
French Cooking”. So let’s be small and simple and begin with an appetizer.
One thing that is popular that many of us are fond of is French onion
soup. Let’s also look at a simple French
salad called Salad Nicoise. This is a simple salad consisting of lettuce,
tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, black olives, and fillet anchovies all topped
with a vinaigrette. It’s important(according to Julia Child) that you dress the
ingredients separately. Now for the main
dish, try to find a descent recipe to the dishes in which I’m about to share.
Like many Americans, you can always go to the store and pick up a roasted
chicken from the market. However, a roasted chicken is popular in French
cooking. Usually depending on how it’s prepared, and what spices you are using.
Another chicken dish would be great is “Coq au vin”, which is basically chicken
braised with wine, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and lard. Serve this with a side
of pan fried seasoned potatoes. A beef dish which is popular is beef
bourguignon. This is a a signature dish also originating in the Burgundy region
where you’re braising beef in wine just like Coq au vin. Regardless of what you
cook, always find a descent green side dish. But in the French cuisine, you can
find any vegetable that would work well. A potato goes great with any dish.
Like I said, keep it simple. These are dishes where it requires you to cook
everything in advance, and then throw it in a pot, and let it finish
cooking. Now let’s go with bread….I love
croissants. Croissants are a huge hit, and just because it’s a breakfast type
pastry doesn’t mean you can’t always have it for dinner. Another delicious
bread dish is Gougere. Gougere is a pastry mixed in with variants of cheeses. For
a good dessert, try a delicious apple tart.
Setting the mood
-Plan the event
-Plan the menu
(surprise your woman)
-Set the mood so it
fits perfect.
-Set your music
play list.
Italian music with Italian food.
French music with French food. Anything
that is Mediterranean style themed music.
-White table cloth,
candles, and a proper table set-up.
Pre-set your dishes, clean as soon as you’re done cooking,
and make sure everything is in order and it looks perfect with nothing out of
place. Remember, you have the entire day
to set things in order so the last thing you have to do is clean, dress up, and
pick up your date.
Below are some good links to look at that can help guide you
on your cooking.
Academia Barilla
Mario Batali
Best wishes
@RonaldAtkinson9
"I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."-Julia Child
Academia Barilla
Mario Batali
Best wishes
@RonaldAtkinson9
"I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."-Julia Child
