Preparing a Birthday Dinner

An-D

I'm making dinner for a friend tomorrow, she's turning 25 and is all: 'OMG! I'm so old now! D:D:D:' and so I want to cook up something nice to smooth the transition for her.

Her favorite foods are:

Goat Cheese
Artichoke hearts
Olives
Pasta
Avacado
Basil
Pesto
Crab Cakes
Fresh asparagus
Anything with a balsamic reduction
Mountain Dew. She loves the stuff, and I want to know if there is anything fun and kind of out of the ordinary that I can pull off with it.


I'm looking for some awesome and interesting recipes to try out. I'm pretty proficient in most things cooking, so it doesn't have to be incredibly simple. I am working on kind of a time-line here, though. She has a class from 6-9pm, and will be heading to my place at 9pm for food. I work until 4 (but I probably won't be home and able to do stuff until 5), so I only have a few hours in there to make the meal. Things that require a slow cooker or hours to cook really won't work this time around.

So, H/A, suggestions?

Dioltas

Not super fancy, but here's a tasty-looking dessert that uses mountain dew. Pretty sure I would feel younger eating it if I knew what was in it

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

An-D

Dioltas wrote: »

Not super fancy, but here's a tasty-looking dessert that uses mountain dew. Pretty sure I would feel younger eating it if I knew what was in it

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

Holy cow, that looks delicious. Going on my list. Screw cake (probably the first time in my life that I've said that).

ceres

Dioltas wrote: »

Not super fancy, but here's a tasty-looking dessert that uses mountain dew. Pretty sure I would feel younger eating it if I knew what was in it

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/

This looks like it could kill a man, and he would die happy.

bsjezz

those ingredients look like an excellent list for make-your-own-pizzas. whip up some dough ahead of time, then make an easy pizza sauce (tomato paste, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic and some dry italian herbs all mixed up is my method.) then just get some little serving bowls for various cheeses (bocconcini, fetta, goats cheese are good) antipasto (olives, grilled asparagus and capsicum, marinated artichokes), maybe some nice ham or prosciutto and herbs (basil and oregano). you can really chuck anything on.

then have a fine time making your delicious pizzas together and stash them in the oven while you relax at the table and sip down some vintage italian red wi.... err, mountain dew

edit: the good thing about this, if time's an issue, is that a lot of the work can be done well ahead of time

An-D

The problem with a pizza is that we both work at Pizza Hut. So...we rarely want pizza. Though, I think if we start home-making it with classy ingredients, we can get over our pizza-tiredness. Your description of a possible pizza-creation night piqued my interested.

I found a nifty pasta dish I'm gonna go with and a side of asparagus cooked in this fashion. Gonna mix in some artichoke hearts into the pasta, and probably have some goat-cheese and crackers (with olives and other little things that she likes) on the side.

Have to find a fancy wine ($15-$25-ish) to go with the dinner, something I'm not too good with. Any suggestions? I know she prefers red over white.

bsjezz

An-D wrote: »

The problem with a pizza is that we both work at Pizza Hut.

oh, man... of all the suggestions

for wine, if she likes red i say go with a shiraz. it's a good grape that always has a lot of flavour and it complements italian food well

SideAffects

My girlfriend knows exactly what to make me for my birthday: macaroni and cheese w/ cut up hotdogs (Kraft), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a can of pepsi. For snackies, either popcorn chicken or nachos w/ Skyline dip. MMMMMmmmm

and it makes me feel <10 again