Cooking dinner for girlfriend V-Day HALP

Leave it to me to not book any sort of reservation for Valentines Day, completely forget about it. Things have been pretty rocky for me and my girlfriend recently so I'm looking to do something nice for her. She's under the impression we are going to be going out somewhere, so I need to be somewhat sneaky and will have the house to myself for a few hours to prepare. I was going to ask the Misc but I'd be negged into oblivion for not providing "pic of girlfriend"

I'm not a much of a cook, my diet consists of chicken, rice, beef, eggs, oatmeal etc.. so I need something that's fairly simple, fancy looking plate and tasty lol. Most of my ideas are pretty cliche, table cloth over the table, her favorite flowers as a center piece, favorite candle scents and music in the background.

Edit; I should add I'm most confident cooking chicken or steak.

Does she like steak? My favorite meal is a nice, perfectly-cooked medium rare steak with a big, delicious salad (mixed greens, bell peppers, sprouts, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocados, red onions) with a homemade vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic, pinch of sugar, a little water, and oregano/basil/thyme/parsley). Simple and easy, but delicious and shows you put some time in. You could bake some cupcakes as a cute dessert.

Just because you can't get reservations doesn't mean you can't pick up some food from a local restaurant. If you are not confident with cooking skills, you may not want to over extend yourself on Valentine's day. If she likes steak / chicken and you are confident cooking that, do that yourself...but maybe get the sides / dessert from a local restaurant.

My ex once picked up a bunch of my favorite meals from a few local restaurants (Chicken Tortellini Alfredo, Cheese Fries, and Nachos Nuevos) for Valentine's day. He was an awful cook so I absolutely appreciated that level of effort over him overcooking cheese dogs on the grill.

[QUOTE=EPolis13;1205588621]Does she like steak? My favorite meal is a nice, perfectly-cooked medium rare steak with a big, delicious salad (mixed greens, bell peppers, sprouts, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocados, red onions) with a homemade vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic, pinch of sugar, a little water, and oregano/basil/thyme/parsley). Simple and easy, but delicious and shows you put some time in. You could bake some cupcakes as a cute dessert.[/QUOTE]

This. Pair it with a nice red wine (Merlot is a safe bet, malbec if she likes stronger drinks) and youre golden brah. If I had to bet id say the decor(candles flowers)/thought/wine is more important than the meal itself.

[QUOTE=Artemis00;1205617921]Just because you can't get reservations doesn't mean you can't pick up some food from a local restaurant. If you are not confident with cooking skills, you may not want to over extend yourself on Valentine's day. If she likes steak / chicken and you are confident cooking that, do that yourself...but maybe get the sides / dessert from a local restaurant.

My ex once picked up a bunch of my favorite meals from a few local restaurants (Chicken Tortellini Alfredo, Cheese Fries, and Nachos Nuevos) for Valentine's day. He was an awful cook so I absolutely appreciated that level of effort over him overcooking cheese dogs on the grill.[/QUOTE]

This too.

Rule of thumb

fish, chicken, light meat = white wine
Steak, pasta = red wine

[img]http://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/1888539_10152325351638465_1529388381_n.jpg[/img]

I love a nice marinated steak, red potatoes mashed, any type of veggie on the side and an ice cold beer. :)

I'm sure she'll love it!

This is definitely one of those times where the gesture is way more important than the end result.

If you are confident cooking steak & she likes red meat go for that. I like Art's idea about picking up desert from a restaurant. They make some fancy ones that make a great presentation. There is restaurant here that has a dessert so good if you brought it to me I would iron your socks for a year.

Is she a healthy eater? If so, a hearty salad would be great with the steak. Personally I don't care for salad. A sweet potato is my favorite steak for a side.

If you have some ideas for a side but don't know how to make them list them here. Several of us here cook and we can tell you how to make them or tell you it's too much for someone who is not a seasoned cook.

A past boyfriend of mine once surprised me by cooking dinner. It was literally just a steak covered in a1 sauce and a potato. Outside perspective, not the most impressive dinner, but for me the gesture was so sweet that I didn't even care.

It's the thought that counts OP. I'm sure if you burned down the kitchen trying to make a hot pocket, she'd still adore you for it.

[QUOTE=CaliSun;1205758531]

It's the thought that counts OP. I'm sure if you burned down the kitchen trying to make a hot pocket, she'd still adore you for it.[/QUOTE]

Hey now. You burn down my kitchen and we will have a problem :D

[QUOTE=EPolis13;1205588621]Does she like steak? My favorite meal is a nice, perfectly-cooked medium rare steak with a big, delicious salad (mixed greens, bell peppers, sprouts, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocados, red onions) with a homemade vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic, pinch of sugar, a little water, and oregano/basil/thyme/parsley). Simple and easy, but delicious and shows you put some time in. You could bake some cupcakes as a cute dessert.[/QUOTE]

oh. my. god. ^^^ if my boyfriend cooked me this meal, I'd have his pants off in a matter of seconds. baaahaha.

[QUOTE=penny0527;1205763881]Hey now. You burn down my kitchen and we will have a problem :D[/QUOTE]

LOL exactly! :D

[QUOTE=Sarahe215;1205804971]oh. my. god. ^^^ if my boyfriend cooked me this meal, I'd have his pants off in a matter of seconds. baaahaha.[/QUOTE]

Oh heavenly blessed beauty, how about you travel down to the first state and we arrange this

Give you two firsts in one day, nomsayin?

[QUOTE=Sarahe215;1205804971]oh. my. god. ^^^ if my boyfriend cooked me this meal, I'd have his pants off in a matter of seconds. baaahaha.[/QUOTE]

LOL, My fiance is actually the better griller out of the 2 of us. He will cook us a nice flank or some bacon-wrapped filets while I make the salad and the dressing. It's always very nice :)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think a big healthy salad might be my best bet. Steak and sweet potato as the main, glad to see everyone thinks the gesture is the most important thing here, generally I cook for myself only so who knows what another person thinks of my food lol.. I'll be sure we are both a couple glasses of wine deep before we eat :D

[QUOTE=cgysteve;1205826851]Thanks for the replies everyone. I think a big healthy salad might be my best bet. Steak and sweet potato as the main, glad to see everyone thinks the gesture is the most important thing here, generally I cook for myself only so who knows what another person thinks of my food lol.. I'll be sure we are both a couple glasses of wine deep before we eat :D[/QUOTE]

It's an incredibly sweet gesture, really. I think no matter what you do, you'll be successful. With the ladies, the attempt and the thought is so much more important than how it eventually turns out. Have fun! At let us know how it goes :)

[QUOTE=EPolis13;1205829991]It's an incredibly sweet gesture, really. I think no matter what you do, you'll be successful. With the ladies, the attempt and the thought is so much more important than how it eventually turns out. Have fun! At let us know how it goes :)[/QUOTE]

I second this

[QUOTE=EPolis13;1205829991]It's an incredibly sweet gesture, really. I think no matter what you do, you'll be successful. With the ladies, the attempt and the thought is so much more important than how it eventually turns out. Have fun! At let us know how it goes :)[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=penny0527;1205850441]I second this[/QUOTE]

Third.

And FWIW, steak, salad, and dessert sounds heavenly :)

Great idea! Glad the ladies could help you out! I love a good steak as well, she'll love the wine! She will be so surprised!

Cook her a sausage and then later on give her another sausage.

Yeah buddy!

But seriously the steak salad sounds fine. Good luck OP.

I may be too late on this but I have a great fool proof pasta recipe that anyone could make and tastes delicious. I cook penne pasta and then while that's cooking I put olive oil and garlic in a pan on low heat and then add cut up chicken breast and cook that, after the chicken is finished cooking I add one jar of a red pasta sauce of any flavour and then another jar of a cream pasta sauce like 3 cheese or something like that and mix together. Once the pasta is done then drain it and add it to the chicken and sauce mixture and mix it all up. Plate it and top with mozzarella cheese and make garlic bread for a size along with a Ceasar salad.

[QUOTE=CaliSun;1205758531]A past boyfriend of mine once surprised me by cooking dinner. It was literally just a steak covered in a1 sauce and a potato. Outside perspective, not the most impressive dinner, but for me the gesture was so sweet that I didn't even care.[/quote]

this^^^


If you're going to cook steaks (grilled, right?)--you could marinate them with this

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp of marjoram
1 tsp of rosemary
1 tsp thyme
Sprinkle with salt and pepper

---Sauteed mushrooms (in garlic) are always a nice addition to a steak dinner.

--I'm guessing you don't want mashed potatoes since you're watching your diet (but dang...I have a great recipe)

--Salad sounds good.

--Maybe a rose on her plate before dinner? Would be sweet. :)