Cooking for her? Cooking for him? I'm a flamed out chef with a couple simple tips..before everyone gets bent out of shape for this being particular, I just want to help people from many years of cooking for friends, family and my Valentine...
Invest In Wine Glasses
That $14 Malbec might as well be from Francis Mallmann’s personal cellar when served in a sleek, crystal glass. Your friends can drink out of mason jars when they come over, but for special occasions, it’s nice to have two nice glasses.
2. Cold Open
If you can assemble Ikea Furniture, you can assemble a salad. It’s not so much cooking as it is placing ingredients on a plate. Take the pressure off yourself and start cold.
Say what you will about Jamie Oliver, but this is about as good of a round up of creative, easy and fun salads as we have ever seen. Make one of those or go with our simple bruschetta.
3. Candles + Music = Good Vibes
Candlelight and a chill music will make food taste better. You know what songs they likes, but we like going foreign or live. Don’t overlook throwing on a full live album, jazz or whatever Van Morrison does is nice. Or try someone like Federico Aubele, a talented singer-songwriter from Argentina. Sometimes not understanding the words is relaxing and creates flow. Or ignore the above and just play tunes from their Spotify, even better…
4. Make The Main Course Together
The less they are standing there watching you cook, probably the better. So build your own personal flatbreads or pizza. Just buy a bunch of cured meats, some good mozzarella and fresh greens. It’s more fun and interactive. If you feel like that’s too lazy, just make the homemade pesto or sauce beforehand.
5. Let’s Not Do Dinner
They might still want a nice dinner out, but a brunch or breakfast is a nice gesture from scratch.
6. Cook Something With A Story
If you don’t know what to serve for the main event, serve something personal. Your Mom’s Goulash, the Larb recipe you learned backpacking in Northern Thailand, the bolognese you stole from Uncle Tony, nobody will refute your logic and it makes dinner more interesting.
7. The Most Crowd-Pleasing Dessert I Know
Maybe it’s because it stirs up notions of adolescent nights around the campfire or because it’s cozy as hell or because it’s a big mug of liquid chocolate but fresh hot chocolate made with real chocolate is a winner. Make sure you go to a specialty shop in your area and get artisan (yes fancy fancy) marshmallows. It’s fun, it’s delicious and nobody has ever said “Ahhhh really hot chocolate? I hate hot chocolate.”
8. Don't Be Afraid To Fail
*THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP* - Cooking for someone is endearing and always should be appreciated. Even if you screw up, the effort gets noticed. You can always order takeout.
PS: Please include your tips below, I love to learn!
Thank You!