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Simple Dinner Ideas?

Started by Cramulus, February 14, 2008, 04:25:23 PM

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Cramulus

Alright spags, the day has finally come where I use this subforum for actual food related posts.



So today is Valentine's Day. I get back from work at 5:30 and my girl has class from 6 to 10, so I volunteered to cook some candlelit dinner type thing.

Problem being that I have very little practice in the kitchen other than really simple stuff (pasta and meatsauce, burgers, chicken, etc). I'm hitting the grocery store after work to pick up materials and then making ... something...

Any ideas for what I should make?

The most complicated thing I've ever made is this dijon tarragon chicken dish which was great. But I had my girlfriend's help (truth be told she did most of it). This time I'm flying solo.

Exclude the following ingredients: seafood, mushrooms



HALP


LMNO

#1
Get 2 tenderloins of beef.  If you can find anything grass-fed or dry-aged, get that instead.  Yes, you can taste the difference.  Warning: this will probably cost $20/lb

Also get a stick of butter, a bunch of asparagus, ground cumin, and some fresh sage.

If you enjoy starches, some couscous or rice pilaf is fine.  Instant/just add hot water will do.

Turn on the broiler, and let it get really hot.

Let beef come to room temperature, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on then, then liberally season with salt and cumin on all sides.

Trim an inch or so off the bottom of the asparagus, and place in a roasting pan.  again, drizzle with oil, and season with salt.

(prepare the starch, if you want).

Leave the butter out to get soft (not melted), and mince the sage.  In a bowl with a fork, mix the sage into the butter.  place herbed butter on some wax paper, roll it into a tube, put in freezer to harden back up.

place the pan with the asparagus under the broiler, and broil for about 6 minutes, or until it browns slightly.  Remove, and keep warm.

Broil tenderloin for about 3 minutes a side, depending on thickness (about 1.5 inch) for rare.

Season asparagus & steak with pepper to taste*.

Slice a disc of herb butter, and place on top of steak.

Serve.


Estimated total cooking time = 15 minutes.









* if you add the pepper before broiling, you will burn the pepper, and it won't taste very good.




[edit to add the herb butter]

B_M_W

hm......

Pan fried noodles with chicken, served with fresh sauteed spinach or broccoli?

Potato Soup? Too bad you said no mushrooms, thats one of my favorite things to cook with.

Maybe wait for ECH.

Edit: LMNO has the right idea; I suck.
One by one, we break the sheep from their Iron Bar Prisons and expand their imaginations, make them think for themselves. In turn, they break more from their prisons. Eventually, critical mass is reached. Our key word: Resolve. Evangelize with compassion and determination. And realize that there will be few in the beginning. We are hand picking our successors. They are the future of Discordianism. Let us guide our future with intelligence.

     --Reverse Brainwashing: A Guide http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=9801.0


6.5 billion Buddhas walking around.

99.xxxxxxx% forgot they are Buddha.

Darth Cupcake

LMNO, that sounds delicious. I will try that sometime.

Cram, here's my suggestion:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1 tsp-1 tbsp curry powder (depending on how spicy you like it)

Combine the above ingredients. This makes a mad tasty sauce.

Preheat oven to 350.

Take 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. Take a 9x12x2 or so oven-safe pan and put the chicken boobs in it. Coat the boobs with about half of the sauce.

Bake the boobs 'n' sauce for about 30 minutes. Flip 'em and pour the rest of the sauce on. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the sauce begins to brown a little.

Serve with some rice.

I also make a delicious variant of this using tofu instead of chicken, but I'm not sure how you and the lady stand on soy products. :wink:
Be the trouble you want to see in the world.

LMNO

D-Cup, that sounds really good.  I have some local honey that I've been looking to add to things.


Think it'll work with coarse-grain mustard?

Cramulus

lol @ chicken boobs
THAT's now entering my vocabulary. And my cookbook.

That also sounds delicious, LMNO. And well within my limited capabilities.



These are some great ideas!

Jasper

Salad, anyone?

Baby spinach leaves with a walnut oil-champagne vinaigrette garnished with whole walnuts and gorgonzola always pleases.  I'm in an odd mood, so I'll only post it if you want me to.

Cramulus

Quote from: Dr. Felix Mackay on February 14, 2008, 05:16:13 PM
Salad, anyone?

Baby spinach leaves with a walnut oil-champagne vinaigrette garnished with whole walnuts and gorgonzola always pleases.  I'm in an odd mood, so I'll only post it if you want me to.

??

didn't you just post it?

Jasper

There's a recipe, what with the garnishes and stuff.  But you get the basic idea, yeah?

(Sorry, a bit too much coffee.  My mind isn't grammarizing thoughts very well.)

Oh, d00d.  Roasted golden beets, chilled and sliced thin is a very nice garnish.  So are edible flowers if you can find them.  Pplz gardens if neccesary.

Darth Cupcake

Quote from: LMNO on February 14, 2008, 04:51:29 PM
D-Cup, that sounds really good.  I have some local honey that I've been looking to add to things.


Think it'll work with coarse-grain mustard?

I imagine it would.

I used the Annie's organic brand the other night, which on a scale of dijons is fairly coarse, and it came out delicious. Chicken and/or tofu is fairly smooth to begin with, so I think adding something with texture couldn't hurt at all.

It is one of my favorite recipes because it is ungodly easy, but supremely tasty.

I advise using lots of curry powder because the huge quantity of honey does make it fairly sweet, and although the sweet is delicious cause it's honey, I still think it's better when it also packs a punch in terms of spice.
Be the trouble you want to see in the world.

LMNO

If you want punch, I suggest adding a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Triple Zero

strawberry, fresh pineapple, pitless grapes, molten chocolate*

nothing beats nipples fresh pineapple dipped in chocolate.

also, fruit's good for you, chocolate makes it filling, and you're not supposed to spend too much time on the dinner anyway.

serve with white wine and candle light and such. make sure the fruit is cut up into bite-size ready-to-dip and eat chunks, the colours must be vibrant (hence strawberry + pineapple)

do not use a dinner table, but lounge up and around some pillows and a comfy couch.

*  = chocolate, milk cream, nuke, stir, nuke, stir, nuke, stir
Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

INFORMATION SO POWERFUL, YOU ACTUALLY NEED LESS.

Darth Cupcake

Add delicious cherries to Trip0's idea.

-DC
Would do just about anything for a chocolate dipped cherry...  8)
Be the trouble you want to see in the world.

Cain

   *** Cramulus joined #discord
22:33   Cramulus   ah christ he's back already
22:33      *** Telarus joined #discord
22:33   Idem   what
22:33   Cramulus   me that is
22:34   Cramulus   I've decided on D-Cup's honey boobs idea
22:34   Cramulus   wow what a great sentence
22:34   Cain   we should make more jokes about D-cups honey boobs
22:38   Cain   *tumbleweed*
22:39   Idem   lol
22:39   Cramulus   THEY'RE DELICIOUS!
22:39   Cramulus   HOWEVER, THEY'RE FAR FROM D-SIZE
22:39   fred_   BOOBS
22:39   fred_   WHAT
22:40   Cain   lets hope to gawd no-one posts this in the quotes thread
22:40   Cain   oshi, temptation
22:40   fred_   BWAHAHAH

Cramulus

Quote from: LMNO on February 14, 2008, 04:37:04 PM
Get 2 tenderloins of beef.  If you can find anything grass-fed or dry-aged, get that instead.  Yes, you can taste the difference.  Warning: this will probably cost $20/lb

Also get a stick of butter, a bunch of asparagus, ground cumin, and some fresh sage.

If you enjoy starches, some couscous or rice pilaf is fine.  Instant/just add hot water will do.

Turn on the broiler, and let it get really hot.

Let beef come to room temperature, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on then, then liberally season with salt and cumin on all sides.

Trim an inch or so off the bottom of the asparagus, and place in a roasting pan.  again, drizzle with oil, and season with salt.

(prepare the starch, if you want).

Leave the butter out to get soft (not melted), and mince the sage.  In a bowl with a fork, mix the sage into the butter.  place herbed butter on some wax paper, roll it into a tube, put in freezer to harden back up.

place the pan with the asparagus under the broiler, and broil for about 6 minutes, or until it browns slightly.  Remove, and keep warm.

Broil tenderloin for about 3 minutes a side, depending on thickness (about 1.5 inch) for rare.

Season asparagus & steak with pepper to taste*.

Slice a disc of herb butter, and place on top of steak.

Serve.


Estimated total cooking time = 15 minutes.









* if you add the pepper before broiling, you will burn the pepper, and it won't taste very good.




[edit to add the herb butter]

lmno,

from the bottom of my anus,

thanks for this awesome recipie.

We just finished, and are about to do dishes, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due for this really really great meal.
and say Hi and Happy Valentines Day to Mrs. LMNO on behalf of Chloe and I.  :mrgreen: