You can't go wrong with fillet steak with mini roast potatoes and a simple peppercorn sauce - it's how my boyfriend wooed me!! Blokes like hearty food!
Start with the mini roast potatoes - chop potatoes into mini cubes. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the over for 20-25 minutes occasionally turning until golden brown. Because they are small there is no need to par-boil them first.
The fillet steak - depending on how your guest likes his cooked, but simply pan fry on both sides (rough guide 2 minutes rare, 4-6 minutes medium, 8-10 minutes well done) and remember to leave to rest afterwards for a couple of minutes.
For the sauce: crush peppercorns in a tea towel and add to the pan that you cooked the steak in, plus a dash of red wine, a teaspoon of english mustard and double cream.
Pasta!!! use an bowtie pasta or one similiar, you don't want something like spagetti, not if you want impressive that is. Something with a tomato-based sauce, but with other flavors too, like cilantro and parsley and basil. If I still had the exact recipe I would give you that, but I haven't seen it anywhere... in a long time. NOTE: make sure the pasta is well cooked (in salt water), no one likes hard pasta! good luck.
You can't go wrong with a simple rack of lamb. One is just the right size for 2 people. Take off the frills - they look pretentious - and follow the timing instructions on the pack. Serve with redcurrant jelly, accompanied by spinach which you can cook in advance and just heat up at the last minute. Once it is cooked and well drained, add a bit of cream and butter and plenty of seasoning. If you want potatoes you can have small new ones, with mint and/or chives chopped up on top.
Another good one is to wrap some salmon fillets in foil parcels, season, and bake for about 25 minutes in a hot over on a baking tray. Serve with new potatoes and green beans - delicious and very easy. If you're feeling braver you could try making a lemon sauce to go with this by making a white sauce then squeezing a lemon into it once you've taken it off the heat. Pour over the salmon. Absolutey delicious!
Chicken/ginger pasta. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, fry in a bit of olive oil to colour/seal, drain off, add chicken stock to cover and very finely grated ginger and simmer while you're cooking the pasta. Don't let all the liquid simmer off, keep enough in pan for sauce. Drain pasta, take chicken off the heat and make sure its cooked, add some herbs to chicken to taste (coriander/parsley ...) then pour in some double cream (Elmlea is fine). Mix it in then pour chicken, ginger and cream sauce over the pasta, stir up and serve up. You can do sweetcorn or peas as a veg for some colour. Very quick and easy and you can put more or less ginger in according to your taste/s.
New boyrfriend? Then go for comfort food - risotto!
Soak a packet of dried mushrooms in two cups of hot water. When they are soft, scoop them out and mix the mushroom water with two cups of stock.
Saute some veggies in butter or oil. Add 7/8 cup of arborio rice. Stir for awhile and then add just enough water to cover the rice and let it simmer, stirring occasionally. When the water is low, add more and keep simmering. Near the end, throw some wine in as well.
At this point, start stirring regularly. When done, turn off the heat, throw in a handful of grated cheese and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
Cooking time is about twenty minutes and you'll have enough for two heaping bowls. Serve this with some crusty french bread and wine.
Go for a three course meal... simpler than you think!
Start with a risotto or soup that will fit well with your main course. (Pea, leek and potato, mushroom etc)
Steak is always a good choice for a man! Get a good quality fillet from a butchers, or if you're on a budget ask what he would reccommend.
Make a quick and easy sauce to top the steak and serve with mash, or seasonal veg.
Then try a pavlova for dessert, topped with fresh fruit and cream!
start out with melon and carpaccio(add.honey mustard dressing and pine nuts).Main:throw pre cooked potatoes in a ovenpot with oil and rosemary and salt & pepper.In another pot throw pre marinated chicken(both appr.20 minutes.)Make a salad with assorted salad, watercress or alfalfa ,goatcheese and grapefruit.You dont have to cook for this, just purchasing and chopping.
for dessert get biscotti cookies ( or chocolate chip)and layer this in a tall glass.First cookies,then mascarpone, red fruit with a tad of brown sugar mixed through.Keep layering untill you fill the glass.
tada, the boy is yours!
If you really can't cook - why don't you cheat and get something either pre-made or from a takeaway and dress it up as your own. All you need to do is buy some fresh herbs and chop and sprinkle over said dish - Surely the point of the evening is to create a nice romantic atmosphere and you don't want to spoil it stressing over the stove.
This is a tip I picked up from a celebrity who was describing on a TV show how she bagged her husband - eventually she came clean and it's something they laugh about to this day.