What would you cook?

[portslader]

With having young kids, not much babysitting, general cost of living etc DP and I hardly ever eat out any more.

Just for something a bit different to the usual evening in I'm going to cook him - well, us - a really nice 3 course restaurant type meal at the weekend. To eat at the table not on our laps for once!

I'm an OK cook but nothing amazing. I can follow a recipe anyway!

Fish isn't an option, but anything else is.

What would you go for?

Pâté with toast OR asparagus vinaigrette

Pork medallions in a creamy mustard sauce OR coq au vin

Compote of autumn fruits with ice cream or mascarpone OR lemon syllabub served with biscuits and limoncello

Try to choose dishes that look appealing, but don't require you to be stuck in the kitchen for hours. Things that can be prepared ahead of time will work well (most of my menu) or things that just need a brief cooking time.
Have a lovely night whatever you decide to make! 🍷 🍷

Thank you! Great ideas. Hoping for a few more, simply for variety!

White wine garlic mushrooms on toasted sourdough.

Sirloin steak, homemade chips, grilled vine tomatoes with shop bought pepper sauce.

Warm homemade brownie & ice cream or eton mess with shop bought meringues.

Sometimes the small shop bought things are worth it for ease.

Hope you have a lovely evening whatever you eat .

Soup (probably butternut squash)
Chicken casserole
Crumble, with ice cream (home made if you want to make extra effort)

All can be prepped in advance, so leaves time to enjoy the evening.

Choose a theme eg
Greek: tzatiki, aubergine or courgette fritters,with feta, pitta; slow cooked lamb with red wine and roast veg or spanakopita or moussaka, Greek yoghurt honey and toasted almonds or baked honeyed figs and creme fraiche
Or Indian, Chinese, Korean, Caribbean.

Smoked.salmon pate with some good bread and pickles.

Either rack of lamb or steak with dauphinoise potatoes and greens

Shop bought dessert - probably a chocolate mousse.

I would do coquilles st jacque for starter but you said no fish. Do you eat prawns? I'd use those of you don't eat scallops

https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/5590-coquilles-st-jacques-the-best

For main I'd do steak and chips (I usually have salmon instead) with a nice side salad and some homemade onion rings

For desert a proper tiramisu. This recipe is excellent (I make it dairy free and it's still delicious) and is really worth the effort. Shop bought mines pale in comparison

www.recipesfromitaly.com/tiramisu-original-italian-recipe/

Starters:
Caprese Salad
Chorizo baked in a little red wine with nice crusty bread to mop up.
Baked Brie

Mains:
Chicken Milanese with garlic baked mini potatoes and a green salad
Spaghetti Carbonara
Gammon with garlic hasselback potatoes and homemade coleslaw

Dessert
Tiramisu
Apple crumble
Eton mess

Definitely go for a theme, make it a restaurant meal

Greek is easy

Id start with a cold meze, followed by lamb kelftiko and then something like honey cake for dessert

Simple reasons - cheap, can all be made well in advance, wont spoil if things don't go to plan (kids playing up , late home etc) and the left overs are perfectly edible the day after

I would make his favourites. Mine and my OH would have such different choices so I'll list both!

His: starter crispy halloumi fries with sweet chilli dip & ranch
Main: Double cheeseburger with homemade burger sauce, gherkins, crispy onions, sliced tomato. Double drip fries & onion rings
Desert - Ice cream cookie sandwich
Mine- Creamy button mushroom Alfredo on garlic toast.
Main - Ribeye steak, cauliflower cheese, tenderstem broccoli and baby new potatoes.
Desert- key lime pie

@morenachos I'd be very happy with your menu

Creamy garlic mushrooms on sourdough with a bucket of Parmesan.
Steak and real chips
Lotus biscuit cheesecske

These sound great

Could also do asian:

Spring rolls and dipping sauce

Thai green chicken curry and rice

Lime sorbet or coconut cheesecake for pudding

Key for me would be to pick a cuisine and choose things you want make ahead.

You want to enjoy this too so don't do anything that means you'll be stressed and constantly jumping up and down to cook.

I'd invest in some good quality bought in items to make life a bit easier.

I probably go for a French Bistro vibe, so something like:

Starter:

• good quality store bought pate and a fresh baguette with a green salad (with french dressing)
• Coqiuilles St Jacques (bought from M&S) again with a baguette

Main:

• Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon (cooked a day or so ahead so you just need to reheat and it gets better anyway if made in advance)
• buttered boiled potatoes and green beans
• or Steak Frites with peppercorn sauce (the sauce is easy, just deglaze the steak pan with a bit of brandy, add beef stock, reduce then add lots of freshly ground pepper and some double cream) or béarnaise sauce (which you can buy pre- made and is nice - store peppercorn sauce isn't great imho).

Dessert:

• chocolate mousse (again prepared ahead)
• cherry clafoutis (you can make the batter a day ahead to just pour over the cherries in a buttered dish and pop in the oven) served with (full fat - it is a treat day) creme fraiche