If you were going to plan a romantic dinner at home, what would you prepare?

The expensive meal:

PRIME RIB OF BEEF

6-8 pounds boneless beef rib roast

1 tablespoon onion salt

1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper, preferably white

1/2 tablespoon thyme

a few cloves of garlic peeled and sliced

olive oil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

Multiply the weight of the meat times 5. This will give you the amount of time to leave it in the oven at 500 degrees.

Example: 5 lbs. times 5 equals 25 minutes. Ovens may vary. 5 times the weight gives me medium to medium rare. For medium rare to rare I multiply the weight of the meat by 4.8.

Wash and dry the meat and rub olive oil on the meat. Put small slices into the meat and insert garlic slivers. Mix the spices together and rub them on the meat.

Stand the roast fat side up in a roasting pan. I also place a rimmed cookie sheet under the pan to stop some of the splatter. Put the roast into the well preheated oven and close the oven. BE EXACT ON YOUR TIME! DO NOT REOPEN THE OVEN DOOR!

My 5 lb. roast will stay at 500 degrees for 25 minutes. Your roast stays in for whatever the number of minutes you figured out.

When the timer goes off, shut the oven off and reset your timer for 2 hours BUT DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR UNTIL 2 HOURS ARE UP! Your roast will be ready to serve and perfect throughout.

The affordable meal:

CHICKEN KIEV

Soften:

1/2 pound good quality butter

Add to this:

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

salt and pepper

Refrigerate this until firm enough to cut in chunks.

Pound 8 pieces of boned chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet. Freezer storage plastic bags are great for this since they are durable.

Place chicken breasts inside the plastic bag and pound thinly to about 1/4 inch thick.

Fill with butter mixture and roll as you would for stuffed cabbage. Be careful to overlap and completely enclose the butter. Chicken will be sticky and you can seal the edges by pressing them with your fingers, pinching to close.

Beat together:

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons milk

Roll stuffed chicken pieces in bread crumbs, egg mixture, then crumbs again.

Coat well and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or until you are ready to deep fry.

Use corn or vegetable oil and do not get the oil at about 350-360°F 8-10 minutes. Fry until golden brown but not crisp. Drain on paper towels. Do not over cook.

Side dishes:

ROASTED GARLIC MOZZARELLA MASHED

POTATOES

3 lbs yukon gold potatos

half and half

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

5 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

1 egg

Peel potatoes, halve and boil for 25 min. Do not cut up into little pieces as you will make the mashed potatoes watery.

Coat garlic on skin with olive oil and bake at 350 for 15 min.

Set aside drain potatoes and add enough half and half while mashing to get the consistancy you want. Squeeze garlic out of skins into the mash, add egg and cheese, mix rapidly and add salt and pepper to taste. Good sea salt goes a long way for taste.

Serve promply, don't let it sit around as the cheese loses it's stringy effect

COLONIAL GREEN BEANS & BACON

7 slices bacon

2 (9 oz.) pkgs. frozen style Italian style green beans, thawed

6 med. thinly sliced carrots

2 tbsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. pepper

In large skillet cook bacon, uncovered over medium heat until crisp, turning occasionally. Remove bacon reserving drippings and drain on paper towels. Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat and add green beans, carrots, butter and garlic. Stir fry over medium high heat about 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender. Crumble bacon, leaving 1 strip whole for garnish. Stir bacon and pepper into vegetable mixture. Remove from heat. Transfer to serving bowl. Makes 8 servings.

Something elegant, simple, and that won't get food stuck between your teeth. Don't get too fancy, you don't want too be in the kitchen the entire time. Let us start with an appetizer. Try either cut up veggies, which you can do ahead of time, served with a couple of dips, like hummos (Store bought Basha brand or homemade) or a softened boursin cheese. Or if money is not an object, a simple shrimp cocktail, also good to prepare ahead of time. These finger foods are excellent to feed to each other.

Also prepare a salad ahead of time. Buy a bag of mixed greens and add some tomato and cucumber, perhaps red onion, radish, and carrot if your ambitious. Dress the salad prior to serving so you don't have a lot of salad dressing bottles laying around adding to your clean up time and keeping you from wherever the rest of the night leads.

For the entree, cater to your audience. If you are the man feeding the woman, sautee yourself some tuna steak, or swordfish with fresh garlic and basil, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a wasabi and soy dipping sauce on the side. In another pan, sautee some mixed squash, zuccinni, and mushroom with more fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Add a simple rice dish on the side. If you are the woman feeding the man, barbeque the tuna or swordfish, seasoned with a spicy rub, and cook the veggie in a pan right on the grill as well (be sure to use a potholder). Wrap 4-6 redskin potatoes (they cook quicker than Idaho potatoes) in foil and cook right along side the rest. Either cooking method will have dinner on the table in 20 minute or less.

Finally, dessert needs to cut some of those strong flavors dinner provided. The simplest is to serve a lemon sorbet topped with fresh raspberry, blueberry, blackberry. More involved is to soften 2 cups vanilla ice cream and mash together with the passion fruit of your choice. Pack 2 more cups ice cream along the sides of a soup bowl, leaving a depression in the middle to pack in the fruit modified ice cream. Refreeze, pull back out, run warm water over the outside of the bowl and flip entire concoction onto a serving plate, dusting the top with cocoa powder or chocolate syrup. This can all be done well ahead of time, excepting the cocoa or chocolate. Garnish with cubed passion fruit.

Romantic Setting

Place a small table for two (you may want to use a table other than your dining room table) next to the fireplace, by a window with a beautiful nighttime view or in some other cozy spot. Cover the table with a white tablecloth.

Place candles on the table and around the dining room. Decorate the table with tiny foil-wrapped chocolate hearts or heart-shaped confetti (available at party-supply stores or card shops).Buy two cloth napkins and two napkin rings to use for your special dinner for two. After arranging the napkins in the rings, tuck a mini carnation or rosebud and a little baby's breath into each ring.

Romantic Frills

Cut two heart shapes from red construction paper and two slightly larger hearts from white paper doilies. Glue the red hearts onto the white ones. Place a heart by each place setting. During dinner, take turns writing three things you love about the other person on the heart. Then exchange and read them!

Tie ribbons around the stems of two champagne glasses. Place a raspberry or two in each glass, and fill with chilled champagne. Make a very special toast to your birthday sweetie!

I would suggest his favorite meal, whether it be hotdogs and beer like at his home teams game or steak and potatoes. Most guys don't like anything to to fancy. I suggest trying something fun and new like chocolate fondu as a dessert. Or you could make his favorite dessert and try something new for the main dish like mongolian or thai.

You could also set down a thick blanket on the floor and use that as the table. If you really wanted you could just do fruit and pretzels in your chocolate fondu on a nice blanket in fron of the fireplace or outside under the stars to really heat things up.

Hope you two have a great time!

Like a good steak and some stewed vegetables in a honey sweet and sour sauce.

And home potatoes

And as desserts chocolate ice cream and fresh strawberries and mousse. Make sure you put candles and flowers.

Make the food so Delicious and with Love.

A romantic dinner at home is really about atmosphere and seduction. Light some candles, dress up a little, put on your favorite music. Food shouldn't be too heavy or rich. Consider your favorite foods that you share and make them. If you want to try something different, here are some ideas:

1. Ribeye steaks, grilled with gorgonzola butter, spinach salad with fresh strawberries, candied walnuts, feta, and peppered bacon with a french dressing, hot bread and butter, and fresh fruit with cream for dessert.

2. Colossal Shimp and Crab with lemon wedges, and cocktail sauce, french bread with butter and romaine with shaved parmesan and balsamic vinegar. For dessert, fresh strawberries with chambord over ice cream

3. Chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese, fresh parsley, and bread crumbs, topped with an artichoke dijon wine sauce, with rice pilaf, baby lettuce salad with oranges and raspberry vinagrette. For dessert, Italian Ices.

The list goes on. Bottom line, plan for love, romance, and seduction!

I would prepare a chicken breast stuffed with Feta and spinich. cook and then serve cut in half on a bed of green salad. Easy too make, Looks good and tastes great.

Serve with a white Wine-Chardonay or Sav whatever your preference.

table set minimalistic-not high candles maybe just one low candle set to the side, you don't want anything to be in the middle of you guys! Make sure the house is nice and warm so you can be comfortable!

Well my husband is from the projects so he loves that soul food, so I would probably make fried chicken with hot sauce, and some collard greens, macaroni and cheese and maybe some neck bones. There is really no romantic food it is just whatever he likes the most and doesn't get to eat often. You know him better then any of us.

Good Luck!

This is my fav:

Cannelloni with fresh Spinach, Cheddar and Basil

Ingredients:

* 6 sheets of fresh Lasagne

* 200 g fresh Spinach leaves

* 500 g mild Cheddar, coarsely grated

* 500 g Basic tomato sauce/ Ready made Napolitan sauce

* 1 tbsp chopped Basil

* 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped

* 1/2 tsp Paprika powder

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 200 C/ gas mark 6.

* In a large bowl, mix cheddar, garlic, spinach and basil together. Season and sprinkle with paprika.

* Put 2 tbsp of cheese mixture in each of the lasagne sheets, then roll them into a tube.

* Pour a layer of tomato sauce at the base of an oven proof baking dish and lay lasagne rolls side by side in one layer.

* Pour another layer of tomato sauce over cannelloni tubes and sprinkle with grated cheese.

* Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

This menu provides some great ideas:

http://www.gourmet-food-revolution.com/romantic-di...

Kabobs! What could be more romantic than eating with one's hands and getting all that meat and veg juice all over!

Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and California champange to sip for dessert.