Date night dinner that can be prepped in advance

[BoxOfCats]

I have someone coming for dinner on Sunday, we are pretty early on in dating. I’ll be out for the afternoon beforehand so looking for suggestions on dinner and dessert for two that either need minimal prep or can be prepped the day before or morning before.

Dessert is probably easier as I could do something like a chocolate mousse or cheesecake, it’s dinner that’s really stumping me! Ideally not seafood.

Thanks in advance!

And I know I could ask AI, but I’d love to hear some tried and tested recipes from actual humans if possible!

Fish pie
Venison cottage pie
A quick linguine or spaghetti dish like crab linguine. Jamie has a great one with broccoli and chilli.
Coq au vin left in a slow cooker.
Salmon fillet with pesto and pine nuts - prep ahead and leave in the fridge, pop in the oven when you get home.
Roasted veg topped with chicken stuffed with soft goats cheese - again prep ahead, even part roast the veg, stuff the chicken and pop it on the part roasted veg for 30-40 mins.

I made this lastnight. Yes, its technically 'marry me chicken' but if asked, I'd just say 'Chicken with sundried tomatoes'. Same as this recipe says. You could potentially par-fry the chicken beforehand, and prep everything else the day before, but the actual cooking is quick.
https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-with-creamy-sun-dried-tomato-sauce/

Otherwise, what are you comfortable cooking? There might be a next level version of recipes you already use. Shepherds pie, pasta bake, lasagne. Most of these I find better the next day and served with a salad/side dish.

For dessert, I love using a pre-baked sweet pastry case. These can both be made a day or 2 ahead:
-Salted caramel tart. Pour a tin of caramel into the pastry base and smooth the top. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Melt chocolate and smooth a thin layer of the top. Not too thick or its hard to cut.
-Chocolate tart. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate/simple-chocolate-tart/
I'd serve both with mixed berries or a berry coulis.

In a similar situation I asked my best friends - had to be easy to make, one dish, not too pungent in my small flat. One replied: roast chicken, men like roast chicken and she sent me this. We are now married, with children and this is now my stepdaughters fave comfort meal for when she’s had a bad week as well. Not saying all this will happen for you…but it is a pretty good recipe, and you never know! The orzo cooks in chicken so no side dish to make, just have to add it with some stock after 50 mins. Stuffing takes 5 mins to make. Can serve with a side salad but the orzo and stuffing itself v yummy and filling. Hope it goes well 😁https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/greek-chicken-with-orzo?srsltid=AfmBOookkKY2fsMqbRgJKsTjiO6-EI02jDRWHLD0sGxzFeDmDTtJf7bZ