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dinner
for two,
chez
vous
surviving
the first dinner date at your place by
Patricia Virella | 1
2 3 4
5
continued
from page 2
.
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Think about the mood you’re aiming for when deciding upon menu: you’ll
want to cook up flavors that will spark the body’s senses. I use
ginger and cilantro to create an aromatically sexy, exotic ambience to
go along with my music and the free-flowing wine. Your dish should be
welcoming, not cold and calculated. I once had a girlfriend who cooked a
4-course meal in which all four courses where like those in a French
restaurant: fancy and petite. A few dinners into the relationship, her
date disclosed his dislike for the coldness of that first dinner, and
confessed that he’d much preferred date two, where she’d served up
heaping beds of pasta with hearty red sauce.
There’s
another reason I love my ginger-citrus salmon – it can be served
family-style. I think this is the best way for you to cozy up to
your honey. Help ease tensions and beginning-of-the-date jitters
by passing around the pasta, rice, or whatever goodies you’ve
cooked up for the evening. On our first date, my boyfriend and I
bonded while sharing Singapore Rice Noodles family style; because
I wasn’t busy in the kitchen trying to decorate his plate
perfectly to serve him, it was so much easier to connect. So skip
the painstakingly-artful, perfectly arranged individual plates.
Sit down and enjoy the meal with your date instead.
keep
on wandering this- a-way please |
Ginger,
Citrus & Cilantro Salmon or Chicken
1 lb. salmon fillets or chicken
breasts
1 cup cilantro, plus about ½ cup for garnish
4 tbs. Ginger (freshly cut or ground)
4 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
2 teaspoons ground oregano
4 tbsp. Olive oil (virgin is best)
juice of one lemon
2/3 cup white wine
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350° F. Place
salmon fillets or chicken breasts into a baking dish. Give
them enough space to where they’re about ½" apart from
each other. In a separate bowl, mix chopped shallots, chopped
garlic, oregano, ginger, wine, lemon and olive oil. Add
salt and pepper to taste. Once mixed completely, pour mixture
onto salmon/chicken. Let marinate for at least 30 min, but
not more than 2 hours.
After meat is marinated, top with 1 cup
cilantro. Place in oven for about 20 min. Check every 5 min
thereafter, should you wish it to be more on the done side. Do
not leave in for more than 30 min. Salmon and chicken cook
relatively quickly. Once done, garnish salmon/chicken with a
little more cilantro and serve family style. |
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