Best home-cooked meal for sloooooow seduction?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well, those of you who have read my last couple of romance-related threads know that I met a really wonderful guy a couple of months ago, with whom I have a ridiculous amount of stuff in common, but who is apparently not over his ex and may not be for a while. However, he does seem amenable to the idea of being friends, and we’ve still been trading goofy and esoteric e-mails and hanging out here and there. He came out with me and a bunch of friends for my birthday last Saturday, and didn’t leave until I did, at 2:30 am.

Since I really, really like this guy, and since I’m the sort of person who believes that good things are worth waiting around for, and since we have/had an amazing amount of stuff in common as well as an obvious physical attraction, I have resigned myself to the idea that if anything further will happen between us in the romance department, that we will have to take our time and get to know each other, as friends, and much more slowly than we started off. (Plus, I’ve realized, my last couple of boyfriends were of the “let’s dive right in and see what happens” variety, in contrast to my usual M.O. for my life up until then, which generally led to rather healthier relationship dynamics, so maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. That, and for some odd reason I really don’t feel like dating in the traditional sense right now. And I really do enjoy his company.)

Anyway, I’ve finally managed to clean and reorganize my kitchen after some work my landlord did, and I’ve decided to reinaugurate it with the help of the Guy Formerly Known as Dude #2. I happen to be a kickass cook, and he says he is, too, so we’re planning a cooperative cooking adventure for sometime this weekend. I’m going apple-picking on Saturday, so part of the plan will probably involve an apple pie, and for the main course I was thinking of something of the slow-simmered type that one craves when the weather starts to turn cool, like maybe a nice chicken paprikash or something.

So maybe this is the kind of question with as many answers as there are human beings on Earth, but if I were to try to win my way to this man’s heart through his stomach, in what will probably be an extremely slow and non-goal-oriented way, how should I go about it? What dishes would make their creator seem completely irresistible? (No goofy love potions, please). What are your favorites and/or what has worked on you in the past? Recipes are appreciated, and all entries will be carefully considered.

2

Well, if you’re looking for romantic cooking, and he’s going to be involved I say bake him a turkey. Think about it. You have kneed the stuffing, rub on the flour and spices, etc. Pleanty of time for “interaction”. If you want to know what I mean, rent “The Big Hit” and go to the scene were Mark Walburg and China Chow (so hot) are making a cosher meal for his girl friend. Very sensual.

3

My girlfriend went nuts for the lobster I cooked her a few weeks ago. She even got over the fact that I threw a live animal in a pot of boiling water. There’s something really romantic about lobster for some reason…

And wine. Never forget the wine.

4

Okay, a couple of thoughts. Homemade lasagna is a great date meal. Add a green salad, bread and olive oil and a nice bottle of wine, and you’re set for the evening. Of course, afterwards you’ll probably be to full to do more than smile at each other sleepily, but since you’re taking the slow approach, that shouldn’t be a problem.

I know you’re looking for autumn-y dishes, but seviche can be a really terrific date dish. I’m at work, so I can’t post my recipe now, but if you’re interested I can send it to you later. Serve it with mangos, avacado, and other tropical fruit, and it’s a really exciting and sensual meal. It’s also lighter than most of the other suggestions.

Good luck! Few things are sexier than someone who really knows how to cook.

5

Well, you could make sausage stuffing for the chicken…

I’ve always liked the idea of a firepot soup dinner as a way to spend some time with somebody, talking and trading stories. You get a lot of time to spend waiting for the stuff to cook, and you get to see what kind of variety people like in their chinese food.

6

Chicken paprikash is a good idea, and I also think homemade pepper steak (with rice, of course) would work.

7

Well, guys, I like it, keep 'em coming! I don’t know about ceviche or lobster for this particular occasion, and turkey doesn’t strike me as enough of a challenge, as it’s rather straightforward and we are both rather adventurous when it comes to food. Please post recipes, though, especially for the ceviche (I don’t have one for that)!

All of the above might be great for another occasion, but I’m looking for something both more complex to cook, and slightly less obvious as a “date” meal. I’m going for an effect of a) yummy, b) slow-simmering, both as a relationship metaphor and as an excuse to schmooze while everything cooks, and c) leaving the diners with a pleasant, warm, fuzzy, cuddly feeling.

And did I mention that “Like Water for Chocolate” is one of my all-time favorite movies? Food as an expression of passion, and all that…

8

Oh, I just remembered! Isabelle Allende has a great essay/recipe collection called Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses, which explores food, cooking, and eroticism. It’s a fun read, and she has some really lovely recipes. Her mushroom soup recipe is quite tasty, and might fit the bill, provided your friend isn’t a fungi-phobe.

9

Cassoulet all the way, baby.

10

Okay, I’m giving this more thought. How about coq au vin? And either way, you can try baking the bread…verrrry sensuous.

11

Or you could brew a batch of beer or wine with him! The first night, you spend a couple hours mixing, cleaning, and boiling stuff, during most of which time you have nothing to do but stand around and wait for water to boil. A few days later, have him over to rack it to the secondary fermenter; then, a couple weeks later, have him over for a bottling night.

12

Eva - first of all, you sound wonderful, your intentions fun and I wish you the best of luck.

Now, with all of that said, may I suggest you start with a thought towards your objectives, and use those to guide you to meal options? For example:

  • if he is a good cook, and you want to spend time together in the kitchen, potentially an intimate setting, where you can talk and get a little mussed up together, then you would want to pick something required a lot of prep, e.g., lasagna, a stew with lots of veggies to dice, a baked dish required prep and oven management.

  • If you want to be a little more subtly remantic, you could go for a meal requiring a sauce, so you can cook the entree, and him the sauce - not only are both of you in the kitchen, but there may be something romantic about combining your two elements, right? Plus, you give him a chance to show off his skills while you show off yours, hmmm? This could also work if prepare the entree and assign him the side dish or a veggie.

  • if he is a good cook, but you want to strut your stuff, then you want to pick something that shows off your skills to their fullest, so he can sit at the counter sipping wine while watching the Master do Her Thing, capice?

  • if you want to show him you are thinking of him, you could simply ask him “what are some of your favorite meals?” and make one of those, either by yourself or with him.

My $.02 for now - but, bottom line, consider what you are trying to do and go from there.

Keep us posted.

13

errr, that’s “rOmantic” - and I previewed, too…:smack:

14

Maybe a risotto, say with porcini mushrooms for a nice earthy flavor? It takes a lot of stirring when you make it from scratch, so that’d be an excuse to have both of you in the kitchen together.

15

WordMan, it’s probably some combination of your entire list. It may end up that we each make one or more dishes ourselves, plus a cooperative one; that way we can swap recipes, too (one of the things under consideration was my grandmother’s recipe for sweet-and-sour stuffed cabbage). I know most people don’t associate cabbage with romanticism, but we are both of East European extraction, as well as being big buffs of traditional/ethnic cultures and recipes.

Basically, I want a cooperative, interactive, relaxed, and intimate experience that will get both of us at least a little messy, create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, give us each a chance to show off our skills and hit on at least a few of our respective likes, and let him know that I think he’s special, all while bringing things up to a slow, steady simmer.

Hmmmm, I guess that’s beginning to sound more like sex than food…

16

I’ve made the recipe below before and enjoyed it.

Chicken Flambe with Black Cherry Sauce

17

Guarenteed Get-Laid Chicken (my own recipe and it works)

1 bottle of white cooking wine (12 oz-16 oz)
butter (at least 2 T)
1 T parsley
1 t sage
1 t thyme
1 t rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb to 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

Pour 2/3 bottle of cooking wine into a ziploc bag. Pour in spices. Put chicken in bag. Seal. Marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Put butter in skillet over medium heat. Melt butter. Add in chicken and brown on both sides. Then add in the marinade from the bag. Let wine simmer and reduce. Then add rest of wine in bottle. Let simmer and reduce. When everything is reduced and the chicken is all brown and tender and falling apart, take off stove. Serve with mashed potatoes or baked potatoes and favorite veggie. It’s absolutely easy, but tastes superrich and like it took a lot of effort. Take turns feeding each other and being cutsey.

18

I have a suggestion for dessert:

Get some digestive biscuits(cookies), put them in a plastic bag and smash them up with a rolling pin, then mix them with a little brown sugar and just enough melted butter to start sticking the crumbs together; carefully line a cake tin with foil and press a down a layer (maybe half an inch or a little less) of the biscuit mix into the bottom; press it down well and put it in the fridge to set.

Take a handful of prunes (yes, prunes) and soak them for a few hours in your choice of booze - sherry or brandy is good.
Then get half a pint of double cream (not sure what you call double cream in the US), keep about a quarter of it aside and heat the rest gently in a pan until almost boiling and add 100g of very good quality (70% cocoa solids) dark chocolate (broken up into chunks), plus the prunes, which you will have chopped or minced into little pieces, keep stirring it until the chocolate has fully melted, remove it from the heat, then, in a separate bowl, whisk up one egg and the remainder of the cream, add it into the chocolate/cream mixture, stirring rapidly as you do; stir it in until it is thoroughly mixed and pour the whole lot on top of the chilled biscuit base.

Leave to set in the fridge, then carefully pull it out (using the edges of the foil.

Serve with whipped cream. You won’t be sorry.

19

Didn’t read 'em all but if you want sensuous dining you can’t beat fondue.

20

How about: Pork tenderloin in creamy wine sauce. Serve over homemade noodles. Make a fresh spinach salad and raspberry vinaigrette. For vegetables maybe asparagus tips with hollandaise sauce. You’d have many chances for fun and mischievousness when making the noodles. Once start on cooking the pork, you’ll need to open a bottle wine, so enjoy a glass before the meal. If you like soup, you could add a creamy (cream less) squash soup. If interested, I can post the approximate amounts for ingredients, but I usually go by feel.

Your thread has got me thinking how long it’s been since my wife and I did this, it is time to lose the kids for a day.