Romantic Dinner Ideas

Whether you're looking for romantic dinner ideas for two, recipes for dreamy desserts, or you're throwing a wonderful dinner party for eight, here you'll find the menu and recipes for a fantastic evening.

These are easy, yet incredibly luscious recipes to warm the heart and tantalize the taste buds.

Hosting a Valentine's Day dinner party? These romantic dinner ideas are a great way to combat the typical high prices and set menus that most restaurants adopt for the holiday.

Just wait until you see what we have for dessert. Your guests or your date will be significantly impressed with this show stopper!

Arugula Salad

• Arugula for salad, washed and dried
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons orange zest

Arrange arugula on 8 plates and distribute the cranberries, cheese, almonds, and orange zest evenly between the salads. Finish the salad with almond dressing.

Almond Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons almond butter (may substitute peanut butter)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons orange vinegar (apple cider vinegar may be substituted)
• 3 teaspoon honey
• Dash of salt to taste

Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Chicken with Dates (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 2 large chickens, quartered
• 4 table spoons for butter
• 3 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons of molasses
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup port wine
• 1 pound of pitted dates (pitted prunes can be substituted)
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 teaspoon saffron

Season the chicken with a good amount of salt and pepper and rub the skin of the chicken with the clove of garlic and with molasses. In a skillet, heat the butter and brown the chicken on all sides, doing half the chicken at a time. Remove chicken and set aside.

Next, cook the onion in a skillet until it is slightly translucent, about 10 minutes. Pour chicken stock over onion and add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sprig of rosemary. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, and return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and cook for approximately 30 minutes until the chicken is done.

Remove the fat from the surface and add the dates or prunes, the lemon juice, and the saffron. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Remove the chicken and place it in a casserole pan and keep it warm in the oven.

Add the port wine to the skillet and continue to reduce the sauce until it is slightly thick. Serve the chicken with the dates and sauce.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 6 carrots
• 2 beets
• 2 parsnips
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 rutabaga
• 1 large onion
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of herbs of Provence or mixed herbs
• 1/2 cup of wine or chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, wash, and cut vegetables into wedges and large cubes.

Prepare a large casserole dish with a thin layer of oil. Arrange vegetables in a single layer (but not separated). Season vegetables with herbs and salt and pepper. Distribute butter and spread over vegetables. Roast for 15 minutes, turn vegetables, and roast another 15 minutes.

Pour chicken stock or wine over the vegetables and cover. Cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Turn once or twice to make sure vegetables don't stick to the dish.

Remove the cover and cook an addition 10 to 15 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Romantic Dinner Ideas: Double Chocolate Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces of Irish Cream (such as Bailey's Irish Cream)
• 1 1/2 ounces of Chocolate Vodka (such as Godiva)
• 1 ounce Kahlua
• 1 ounce half and half
• Shavings from a chocolate bar

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice, and pour all ingredients into the shaker except the chocolate bar shavings. Shake well, and strain into a martini glass rimmed with chocolate shavings.

Sprinkle the top with chocolate shavings and garnish with a cherry if desired.

Bananas Foster (serves 8)

Helpful Hint: make this at least once before doing it for a crowd. It can take a bit of finesse to get the flame to ignite.

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 jiggers (1/4 cup) Spiced Rum
• Vanilla Ice cream

Combine cinnamon and sugar thoroughly. Peel and cut the bananas in half and again lengthwise. Sprinkle the bananas generously with the sugar mixture.

On a gas stove, put flame on medium. Melt the butter in a skillet (cast iron works well) and place the bananas in the skillet.

When the sugar on the bananas begins to caramelize (sugar melts and just begins to turn brown), flip the bananas and allow the other side to caramelize.

Pour the rum into the skillet. Tip the pan slightly sideways to allow the flame from the stove to catch the rum. A burst of flame will appear and quickly burn off as shown in the photo.

When the flame dies off serve the bananas immediately over bread pudding or ice cream.

Don't wait for a special occasion to enjoy these romantic dinner ideas - any night is a great night for a dinner party. Cheers!

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