Home cooked birthday meal- what would you choose?

[SpiceGhoul]

It's my birthday this week, for various reasons I don't feel upto eating out.

I'm tempted to just order in from our amazing local Turkish restaurant (which is still on the cards) but my lovely partner is keen to cook me a lovely meal. He's only recently taken an interest in cooking so I'm keen to encourage it!

I do have a few ideas but looking for a few more. I can't eat fish or seafood but feel free to share if that's what you'd choose!

Beef bourguignon is a dish that always feels special yet comforting. Perfect for the chillier evenings. Have a lovely birthday 😊

For nostalgic reasons we usually go with lasagna and garlic bread in this situation. However if you like Middle Eastern food then he could do humus, tzatziki, and babaganoush for starters and a tagline for main course lamb and pomegranate or aubergine or apricot or chicken preserved limes and olives for example

Lasagna
Fajitas
Thai Green Curry
Katsu chicken
4 x Tapas dishes and share

That sounds gorgeous!!!! @GoldPoster

Ooh it’d be steak with a nice sauce, asparagus and dauphinois potatoes for me

If he’s fairly inexperienced I’d go for something like rack of lamb maybe with butterbean mash and something green. Or steak and sauté potatoes. Basically something simple to cook but good quality ingredients.

Steak with blue cheese sauce, mushrooms, petit pois and thin fries.

Coq au vin with sauté potatoes and steamed green veg

Beef stroganoff with saute potatoes and steamed green veg

Or as suggested, baba ganoush etc, flatbreads, slow cooked lamb in herbs, tzatziki etc

A really good lasagne, ragu cooked for hours, dressed green salad and homemade garlic bread.

We often do steak with chimichurri (bavette or fillet, cooked rare) with chips and a green salad. Or steak with peppercorn sauce, potato dauphinois and green veg.

I love a starter of raw oysters. Not your thing, but my 40th was during lockdown and Dh ordered in like a crate of oysters in the post for us. We kept them alive in the fridge and feasted for days.

I also love sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

Edited to add: my birthday is in a couple weeks and now I think I have the menu sorted. 😂

As he's just started to cook, choose something that has easily purchased ingredients and doesn't have to be timed exactly to the minute. Perhaps coq au vin or Spanish chicken tray bake, the coq au vin could be served with mashed or dauphinois potatoes or rice or fresh pasta such as tagliatelle.
Keep the pudding simple, and something that can be prepared ahead such as Pineapple Romanoff or chocolate mousse served with strawberries.

Have a lovely birthday, and don't forget the fizz! 🥂🍾 🥂 🥂🍾 🥂

Sausage & mash, with onion gravy and green veg. Possibly served in a large plate-sized Yorkshire pudding.

If someone else is cooking, lasange, I love it but it’s SUCH a faff to make

Seafood starter, rare steak with all the trimmings and creme brulee. That is my perfect meal. Washed down with a glass of fizz and red wine with the steak.

Exactly the same here! Maybe Dijon mustard instead of sauce.

Butter chicken curry with naans, bhaji etc ALL the accompaniments
Quite a beginner friendly recipe too
Or if you have a good Chinese shop get a rendang packet sauce, super easy and delicious and he can cook rice
Jamaican curry and rice and peas... that's my fave birthday meal 😆 probably not beginner friendly mind. But lots of good tiktok follow alongs
Otherwise what about a come dine with me style menu, starter main and dessert! Chicken fajitas, cocktails, cake for dessert! x

Beef Wellington with dauphinaise potatoes and green beans!
pesto and Parma ham stuffed chicken breast with rice
seafood risotto
roast duck and the shop bought panacakes with cucumber spring onion and hot sin, and some veg stir fry noodles

Oh thank you all, some great ideas!

Mushroom risotto for me please, apple crumble and custard for pudding. Or pancakes, lemon and sugar, obvs.

I make a big batch of ragu & freeze in portions, so there's just a quick dip for the pasta, make the béchamel, grate the cheese, assemble & bake.
I had this yesterday, I reckon <30 mins prep.