Your favourite meal for a weekend

[Carrotcakeforbreakfast]

We have got into the habit of going out for a meal nearly weekly on a Saturday, since I have changed jobs.
This would be fine but I'm finding myself massively underwhelmed with most meals I'm having out at the moment. Seems a waste of money if it isn't particularly great.
So it has made me think I'll just cook.
I'm a decent cook and we are adventurous (other than youngest dd who hates fish) and none of us are fond of offal.
Oh and actually eldest doesn't like rice but I can always do her something else to go with.
What is your go to?
I'm happy for it to be relatively extravagant (as it will still save money) and time consuming as for the first time in 20 years I have every Saturday off, so can actually enjoy cooking rather than calling for a takeaway.

Thank you

We do a fake away every Friday. The wagamama cookbooks are great and you can find videos of their recipes on YouTube (wagamama at home).
Doing a double batch of curry and freezing is good. I like to add bought samosas, bhajis, pickles etc to make it feel more take away. Jamie’s simple flatbread makes a great quick naan alternative. I could eat masses of it.
Fake Nandos is dead easy with piri piri spice mix. We’re veggie so like griddled halloumi, corn on the cob, sweet potato fries/wedges, garlic bread, guacamole etc.
Homemade sweet and sour sauce is really easy. I like that with (quorn) chicken nuggets instead of chicken balls, egg fried rice, a stir fry using a shop mix of veg and lee kum lee black bean and garlic sauce plus bought spring rolls.

I came to recommend a good Indian takeaway book- dishoom/ mowlglis . I've spent a few weekends with these and they've always delivered amazing food, a quarter of the price. Easily my favourite weekend projects.

Mexican, a baked pasta dish, a fish pie or shepherds pie, a roast dinner, some kind of tasty chicken with sides like wedges, sweet potato mash, onion rings, corn bread, corn on the cob, coleslaw, salad. Or burgers.

Ottolenghi's butternut squash with fennel and black rice. Only comes together right at the end - doesn't seem exciting to then - and then suddenly blows your socks off.
Ottolenghi rice recipes

Our favourite is Moules Frites on a Saturday night.

Agree with a PP that it's all of the other things that go with the meal that make it feel more special. I'll set the table properly (even bought a 'bistro-style' tablecloth and put candles out. Get some nicer wine than we usually buy.

We have a sharing platter of cheese and charcuterie as a starter and if I'm feeling ambitious I'll make a lemon tart for dessert.

We didn’t like Simply Cook at all, too salty and felt artificial to shoehorn exactly three pots of sauce into every dish. We’ve tried various recipe boxes and gousto is the one we turn to for a bit of variety.

I love the Grenfell women’s cookbook (the one Meghan Markle promoted) because it’s actual home cooking, just from a load of different countries I wouldn’t usually cook from - so the recipes aren’t daunting or cheffy. That’s where I learnt to cook (Persian) koresh e ghormeh sabzi, which had always seemed like sonething best left to the restaurants before!