5 Romantic Date Night Dinners by Angela Guzman l Easy Date Night Recipes l Quick Dinner Recipes l Quick Recipes for Dinner l Delicious Recipes l Dinner Recipes l Recipes for Couples

Tomato and Basil Chicken

You'll Need: 2 chicken breasts, kosher salt and black pepper, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, 2 tsp minced fresh garlic, 4 Tbsp cold butter, 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped and freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Directions: 1) Season the chicken with salt and fresh cracked pepper. 2) Add a couple of spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil to your pan. 3) While waiting for oil to heat up, get your water boiling for the pasta. When the oil is hot, add chicken. After about 5 minutes, the chicken will be ready to turn. 4) Add in the fresh chopped tomatoes. Add the fresh chopped basil, butter, minced garlic, salt and black pepper to season the sauce. Now stir it all up. 5) Turn the sauce down. Move the cooked chicken to a cutting board, and leave it to sit for a few minutes. Cut the chicken and portion the pasta into bowls, top each with chicken, sliced, and equal portions of the tomato basil sauce. Top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

You'll Need: Marinade - 2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar, 5 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp peeled, grated fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon chile pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon ground cumin / Beef and stir-fry - 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb top sirloin steak, 1 Tbsp corn starch, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (preferably peanut), 1 Tbsp sesame oil (optional), 3-4 green onions, cut on a diagonal, 1/2-inch apart, including the greens, 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 2-3 hot chiles preferably red serranos, sliced 1-inch nob of ginger (peeled cut lengthwise into matchstick shapes) and 1/2 cup loosely packed, chopped cilantro

Cooking Directions: 1) Chill the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes before you slice it, this will make it easier to cut in thin slices. Slice the steak first crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices. The cut each slice lengthwise into strips. 2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients; the soy sauce, vinegar, grated ginger, honey, red chile flakes, and cumin. Mix the beef in with the marinade to coat and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours, in the fridge. 3)In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry. 4) Heat the oil in a wok, or a large sauté pan, over high heat until it is nearly smoking. As the oil is heating up, pat the beef dry and separate it into small batches no larger than what can fit into the palm of your hand. Working in batches, sauté beef until just brown outside but rare inside, no more than 1 minute. Transfer beef to a bowl. 5) When all of the beef is cooked, put the chiles and garlic into the pan and stir-fry 30-45 seconds. Add the julienned ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds more. Add the beef back to the pan. Add the cornstarch slurry. Add the scallions and mix everything together. Cook for 1 minute. 6) Turn the heat off and mix in the cilantro. Serve at once with steamed white rice.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Kale and Apple Salad

You'll Need: Four 5-ounce center-cut salmon fillets (about 1-inch thick), 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, Kosher salt, 1 bunch kale, ribs removed, leaves very thinly sliced (about 6 cups), 1/4 cup dates, 1 Honeycrisp apple, 1/4 cup finely grated pecorino, 3 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds, freshly ground black pepper and 4 whole wheat dinner rolls

Cooking Directions: 1) Bring the salmon to room temperature 10 minutes before cooking. 2) Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the kale, toss to coat and let stand 10 minutes. 3) While the kale stands, cut the dates into thin slivers and the apple into matchsticks. Add the dates, apples, cheese and almonds to the kale. Season with pepper, toss well and set aside. 4) Sprinkle the salmon all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Raise the heat to medium-high. Place the salmon, skin-side up in the pan. Cook until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn the fish over with a spatula, and cook until it feels firm to the touch, about 3 minutes more.

Coq au Vin

You'll Need: 3 lb chicken parts,1 Tbsp vegetable oil, 3 Tbsp unsalted butter divided, 4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped (2 cups), 2 Tbsp finely chopped shallot, 4 medium carrots halved diagonally, 1 cup dry white wine (preferably Alsatian Riesling), 1 1/2 lb small red potatoes, 2 Tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and fresh lemon juice to taste

Cooking Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the middle. 2) Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1 t salt and a rounded 3/4 t pepper. Heat oil with 1 Tbsp butter in a wide 3 1/2 – 5 quart heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Meanwhile, wash leeks and pat dry. 3) Pour off fat from pot, then cook leeks, shallot, and 1/4 t salt in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until leeks are pale and golden, 5-7 minutes. Add chicken, skin sides up (with juices from plate), carrots and wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. 4) Cover pot and braise chicken in oven until cooked through, 20-25 minutes. 5) While chicken braises, peel potatoes, then generously cover with well-salted cold water in a 2-3 qt saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander, then return to saucepan. Add parsley; shake to coat. 6) Stir creme fraiche into chicken mixture. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, then add potatoes.

Champagne Risotto with Shrimp

You'll Need: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 garlic cloves (minced and separated), 1 shallot, diced, 1 cup Arborio rice, 2 ¼ cup champagne or sparkling wine, 3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup grated Romano cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, ½ pound medium peeled shrimp and a squeeze of lemon juice

Cooking Directions: Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and shallots until fragrant; about 3 minutes. Do not burn the garlic. Add the Arborio rice and coat with the oil. Cook another 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of champagne. Allow the rice to absorb the champagne and begin adding the chicken broth ½ cup at a time. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid each time before adding more. Stir often. After adding about 2 cups of the broth add 1 more cup of champagne. Wait for the rice to absorb the liquid before continuing with the broth. Continue stirring often. Once you have added 3 cups of broth taste the rice for doneness. You want the rice to have a little bite. You do not want it to be mush. Continue to add the chicken broth until the rice has just a little bite. When you have added the last of the broth don’t let it fully absorb. You want it to be a little saucy. Remove from heat. Add the heavy cream and cheese. Stir well. Cut the shrimp into small, bite sized pieces. I cut each shrimp into 3 pieces. I kept a few shrimp for each serving of risotto whole. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter with the garlic. Add the last ¼ cup of champagne. Add the shrimp. If you have already cooked shrimp then you just want to heat them and infuse the champagne/garlic/butter flavor. Do not look for long though because they will get rubbery. If your shrimp are raw, heat until fully cooked.This should only take about 3 minutes. Add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice. I used about 1/4 of a lemon. Remove the whole pieces of shrimp. Add the contents of the pan to the risotto and mix well.