Showing posts with label cook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cook. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Her Personal French Chef


You know, I’ve always thought it was strange that men don’t cook more. I mean, if you go to a restaurant, the cook’s probably a man. Most of the chefs in the world are men. But, and again I say but, when it comes to the home, men act like there’s no way that they could possibly cook. Something just doesn’t seem kosher about that.

Okay, maybe you’re not the world’s greatest cook. Maybe you’re not ready for your own cooking show. But, don’t tell me you can’t cook at all. I find that a bit hard to believe. If that were the case, then when your wife wasn’t there to cook for you, you’d starve.

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Personally, I don’t believe that one; I think it’s another organ, a little lower down. I’m pretty sure that it was a mother who came up with that saying, so she wouldn’t have to tell her daughter the truth. Other mothers grabbed a hold of the idea and it became common folklore.

Since women tend to expect men to react as women would (men do the same thing towards women) we might be able to grab some useful wisdom out of that saying. The reason I say that is because there’s a possibility that it might apply to women, rather than men.

Think about it. If I’m right and that saying was invented by a mother, than she was trying to project onto men what she thought they should be. Okay, where did she get that idea? She would have had to have gotten it from her own idea of what was romantic. In other words, she was projecting onto men what she thought would be romantic; her man cooking for her.

Okay, there’s a lot of supposition there, and I can’t prove any of it, so don’t go around quoting me. However, I do know from personal experience that women find it romantic when their men cook for them; especially when they cook something different, even exotic, that the women don’t cook themselves.

I used to joke that my wife married me for my cooking. We were both gourmets back then, and I was able to impress her with my prowess in the kitchen. Okay, you may not be at that level, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t impress her anyway. Make something exotic for her like crepes. They’re really not that hard, but since they’re French, they’ve got to be romantic.

If you don’t know what crepes are, they’re something like large, thin pancakes. The batter is fairly easy to whip up (look up the recipe in a cookbook or online). The major differences between that and pancake batter is that its’ runnier and it’s got more eggs. The eggs are what help keep them from falling apart when you cook them. You cook them in a frying pan, with just a touch of oil. Use a pan with sloping sides, instead of one with straight vertical sides. One crepe should fill the bottom of the pan. If you wait long enough to flip it, you can do so without it breaking.

You can fill a crepe with just about anything. What works really well is to take cream cheese, add a little milk and some powdered sugar. Then beat it with the mixer until it’s smooth. You want it to be the consistency of pudding, before it sets in the fridge. Taste it. If it’s not sweet, add more sugar. Then, once it’s sweet enough, add about a teaspoon of orange extract.

Okay, to assemble your crepes, lay one crepe on a plate and spoon a 1-1/2 inch line of cream cheese filling down the center of it. Fold the sides of the crepe over it, like a burrito. Then sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and a squiggly line of chocolate syrup. If you have a strawberry or some blueberries to put on top in the middle add those for a finishing touch.

She’s sure to be impressed by your culinary masterpiece. Who knows, your famous crepes could become a personal aphrodisiac. If not, at least they can become a way of sowing your wife that you love her.

Oh, one last detail. Be sure to clean up your mess. You can kill the romance by leaving it for her to clean up. Then, instead of gaining points, you lose them. 

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Dinner by Candlelight


You know, it’s amazing how much socializing is one over food. I mean, if you think about it, getting together with family or friends or even going out on a date generally means that somewhere in all that, we’re going to eat together. Sharing food sets the stage for more conversation than just about anything else that I can think of.

One of the classic romantic acts is to go somewhere for a candlelight dinner together. I’m not really sure why candlelight makes it more romantic, but it does. Perhaps it has something to do with the low light, or the fact that candles flicker, bringing movement to whatever their light touches. Regardless of the reason, it is more romantic, even if that’s just because everyone thinks it’s romantic, so it is definitely something to take advantage of.

What could be more romantic than a candlelight dinner for two? How about a candlelight dinner that you prepare for her? That is, one that you cook yourself. Now, before you start freaking out, cooking really isn’t all that hard. All you have to do is follow the recipe in the book.

Actually, instead of following a recipe, just cook something that you know how to cook. It’s not as much about what you cook as it is that you cooked it for her. The idea that you took the time to prepare a special meal to share with her will definitely be something to catch her attention. The candlelight setting will just be the icing on the cake.

Everyone likes it when another person goes out of their way to do something special for them. So, why should we think that our wives are any different? Do you like it when your wife prepares a special meal for you? Well, why wouldn’t she like it if you prepared a special meal for her?

Of course, this will have the most impact if you manage to surprise her with it. If she’s expecting it, that’s one thing, but if she comes home to find that you’ve prepared her a special meal, to be served by candlelight, it’s going to be even that much more special. Oh, and don’t forget to send the kids off somewhere, so that they’re not in the middle of your romantic meal.