Preparing a meal for your date or significant other can be a very intimate experience, with both potentially wonderful and disastrous outcomes.* I've learned over the years that it's not about the "perfect outcome," but about the effort you put into creating a meal and a nice ambiance for dining together at home.*Let me just note here that cooking together is often even more fun, but that's a separate entry.
A few weeks ago, I went about cooking a big overblown meal (I don't do 'simple') for my sweetie. Now it came out delicious- in his humble opinion. But I thought it wasn't my best work, because I'd previously made a better version of the finished product- a vegetable lasagna. However, instead of just rolling with it and being thrilled that he happily gobbled it up, and asked for thirds, and fourths... I kept second guessing myself (out loud no less!)- how it would have turned out better if only I'd prepared it differently, or cooked one ingredient a bit longer, and so on. My self-critique didn't jive with the vibe of the meal. Finally, when he told me that he was just amazed that I took it upon myself to cook for him, and that was all he cared about, I realized that a 'home-cooked meal' is not just about making restaurant-caliber food, but also about creating a memory together. A little sentimental perhaps, but then again if you've got a great guy or girl on your hands, they won't be dwelling on whether your eggplant was a bit tough (guilty as charged), but the effort you put into preparing that meal, and savoring the image of dining together afterward.
So the other night, as I prepared to attempt another dinner, I decided to go a little
easier on myself. This time, I whipped up chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, artichokes and scallions, acorn squash with brown butter, cinnamon and honey, and broccoli rabe in olive oil and red pepper, plus some stuffed mushrooms to start off the meal. I tried to have more fun making this dinner, even as I undertook foods I'd only seen before on restaurant menus. I was proud of myself for sure, when the acorn squash turned out sweet and delicious, and the rabe (first blanched, then sauteed, quite a project!) was flavorful, but I also knew that if I messed up a bit, my guy wouldn't mind. Of course it doesn't hurt that he has a hearty, adventurous, and (thankfully) forgiving appetite. In the end, he appreciated the effort I put into creating our dinner, and this time, I was as wowed with the results as he was. Only not just with my own cooking, but with my more relaxed approach which culminated in an even more enjoyable evening together.
So the other night, as I prepared to attempt another dinner, I decided to go a little
easier on myself. This time, I whipped up chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, artichokes and scallions, acorn squash with brown butter, cinnamon and honey, and broccoli rabe in olive oil and red pepper, plus some stuffed mushrooms to start off the meal. I tried to have more fun making this dinner, even as I undertook foods I'd only seen before on restaurant menus. I was proud of myself for sure, when the acorn squash turned out sweet and delicious, and the rabe (first blanched, then sauteed, quite a project!) was flavorful, but I also knew that if I messed up a bit, my guy wouldn't mind. Of course it doesn't hurt that he has a hearty, adventurous, and (thankfully) forgiving appetite. In the end, he appreciated the effort I put into creating our dinner, and this time, I was as wowed with the results as he was. Only not just with my own cooking, but with my more relaxed approach which culminated in an even more enjoyable evening together.
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