Romantic Meal - Can't Cook

Cotta

Hi All,


I can't cook but I was wondering if there are any options available for cooking a simple romantic meal short of course of ordering a takeaway?


Thanks in advance.

Oakdene

I think Risotto is simple & easy to cook, it just takes a little bit of time & care...& it looks really clean & nice on a plate (or in a bowl).

PasturesNew

What is a romantic meal?

That might be a starting point... everybody will have differing ideas - I've never had a romantic meal in my life, so wouldn't know what it would even have in it!

A guy cooked for me once .... pie, chips, peas. He lived at home and his alcoholic mother wobbled through a few times as we were eating.... she spoke to me - she wasn't impressed... I could tell. That's the closest I've been to a romantic meal.

jackyann

Really depends on what you mean by 'can't cook'. When my dad became frail he had friends round for lunch, and always did this:
Smoked salmon, lemon wedges, nice bread and butter
Beef or venison stew, very slow cooked, salad, bread
Cheese and fruit, or a bought pudding (actually a friend usually brought one)
Better supermarkets, or some butchers and delis do very good quality ready meals.
Look up a rub for chicken breasts, and follow a recipe to cook quickly in a hot oven, eat with salad and broad or jacket potatoes.

Once out of the way, do a cooking course!

spadoosh

Carbonara, you cant go wrong.

Use the tagliatelle style pasta pieces.

Cook pasta until its soft.

Mix 2 eggs, 100ml of double cream and half a wedge of hard cheese (Parmesan).

Fry some bacon lardons (we use smoked)

Drain the pasta and put back in pan, keep adding bits of the cream/chesse/egg mix whilst adding the lardons and stirring. If it starts to get a bit runny stop adding more and keeep stirring. Once you drain the pasta dont put back on the heat unless its really watery otherwise you end up with pasta scrambleggi!

Its a winner every time, guaranteed to get you... washing up. :cool:

PasturesNew

jackyann wrote: »

Look up a rub for ... breasts,

Bit optimistic ...

Islandmaid

If you hurry M&S have their meal for £10 until tomorrow - if you seriously can't cook, that's a good way not to get too stressed when your guest arrives.

If not, for me good bread, cheese, charcuterie, olives etc with some wine is a perfect meal for a romantic night and no cooking

Oakdene

Or you could look at Gousto which is offering 3 meals (for two people) at £9.99 delivered to your door & simple step by step ingredients...

Mojisola

If you do decide to cook, do a practice run - don't cook a recipe for the first time on the actual night.

Prinzessilein

If someone I really liked were to make me a nice bacon sarnie and a decent cuppa...AND do the washing up afterwards!...then who cares about cooking? It is the gesture that is important!

Having said that...if you WANT to do a home cooked meal that tastes good but with absolute minimal cooking then how about...

Starter: either asparagus ...easily steamed, serve with melted butter...or, if you feel adventurous, get a few king prawns - they look a bit scary when raw, but are a doddle to cook!,,,just pop them in a nice hot pan until they change colour from grey to pink, add a small knob of butter and let it melt, maybe add a little garlic, serve the buttery prawns on a slice of crusty bread.

Main Course:...if you have a slow cooker you are laughing! Get a nice bit of lamb from the butcher , tell him/her you are slow cooking it in win and take the cut they suggest...if no butcher nearby then go to the supermarket and grab a lamb shank.....now first thing in the morning, you put one chopped onion, one chopped carrot and maybe some chopped leek into the slow cooker, add the lamb...add a nice blob of redcurrant jam if you have some...glug on some liquid, stock (from a cube is fine!) just cover the meat (if you like wine then using redwine for some of the liquid is wonderful!)...lid on the slow cooker, turn it onto 'AUTO' and then forget until dinnertime!.....about half an hour before dinner boil some potatoes, and when soft mash them with butter, add some salt and black pepper....serve with the lamb which should fall off the bones....you could do some green veggies if you feel up to it. stir-frying cabbage is quite easy!....No slowcooker? then buy steak and cook in a hot pan. serve with the same mash and greens. When you take the steaks out of the pan, slosh a little red wine into the hot pan, put it back on the heat and stir for a bit, scraping up all the goodness from the pan, serve this 'jus' over the steaks.

Dessert.... I would cheat! Buy anything chocolatey and it is a winner!....or if you want to look like you made an effort...go to the supermarket...buy a ready made shortcrust flan case...and a jar of toffee sauce (dulce de leche) and a tub of whipping cream...and some bananas and some flake chocolate bars....open the jar of toffee sauce and pour it into the flan case...chill...whip the cream...chill...just before serving slice bananas onto the toffee flan case, top with whipped cream, and then get a small plastic bag (freezer bag is fine) put the flake bars in it and smash them to smithereens...then sprinkle the cream with the chocolate crumbs...presto, one banana toffee cream pie!......OR, if you feel really brave how about a Baked Alaska! Very impressive, but you can do it! you want some cake (swiss roll, madeira, nothing creamy!!!!), and some nice icecream ..and some eggs and sugar...crack an egg onto a saucer (if you break the yolk pour the egg into a bowl and use it for scrambled eggs tomorrow!) put an egg cup over the yolk and then drain the white into a bowl (easiest way for a novice to separate the egg!) then repeat...so you have two egg whites in a bowl (The egg yolks can be added to a whole egg and used for scrambled egg or an omelette) add a spoonful of sugar to the egg white and whisk with an electric whisk until it makes a thick white mass that drops thickly from a spoon. ...now heat up an oven, you want it nice and hot! Cut a thick slice of cake and place it in on an oven proof sheet (or into an oven proof bowl if you are nervous!) top with a slice of icecream and now be brave! cover the icecream and cake with your egg white mix, leave no spot uncovered (you ate creating a meringue barrier to stop the icream melting in the oven!) Pop it into the oven and watch carefully as the meringue cooks and gets a golden brown tinge, take it out of the oven and serve immediately!

Witless

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread, -- and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness --
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

{from The Rubayyat of Omar Khayyam}