Cooking for Your Beloved

Someone asked Dr. Sue a question today, "How do I cook a meal for my beloved?" This is a wonderful question and the answer is, "With love." That said, what are the steps to getting a meal worthy of one's beloved on the table?

A meal for a beloved or any guest is like a dance or sonata that moves gracefully from one section to the next. The experience is more than the food. After this question was posed we heard stories told with knowing smiles about special meals prepared by a beloved: scrambled eggs and toast, a bowl of soup, or a plate of spaghetti.

Let's assume you are going to prepare an elegant meal for a beloved and you have little or no cooking experience. This is what I suggest:

Choose the Menu:
This is where you need to assess your cooking skills. Putting a meal together takes practice to get the timing right and minimize clean-up and chaos. If you don't already have a few standard dishes that you have cooked successfully, then you can purchase the dinner ingredients at the prepared foods section in a local market. Warning - these foods are pricey - but if you are a truly a novice cook, this is the easiest way to get started. Once you understand the choreography you will replace the store-bought ingredients with your own cooking. If you are ready to do the cooking now, skip the "store-bought" step and check out Dr. Sue's Gourmet Feast for Two or Epicurious for recipes.

Set the table:
On the morning of your meal set a table that is not in the kitchen. If you don't have a dining room table improvise with a coffee table or a card table. Make the table setting simple with a few elegant touches of beauty such as a tablecloth, cloth napkins, a small flower arrangement and votive candles. Traditional table setting - plate in the middle, fork on the left, knife and spoon on the right, water glass above the knife, napkin next to the fork or on the plate in a fancy fold, napkin ring, or tied with a ribbon.

Serve the meal. Here is a sample menu:

Course 1 - Appetizers such as spiced almonds or crackers and cheese served with a glass of wine or sparkling water. Put out a small amount of appetizers in a nice bowl, wine glasses, have napkins nearby.

Course 2 - Green Salad served at the table. You can buy a leafy lettuce, wash and dry it well or buy ready mixed, washed salad greens. Make your own vinaigrette dressing - 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 TBLS wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp prepared mustard. Shake vigorously in a jar. Put the greens in a large bowl. Pour some dressing over the greens and toss just before eating. Start with a little dressing. You can always add more.

Course 3 - Poached salmon or chicken breast, green vegetable, pilaf and more wine or sparkling water. Arrange the food on the plate in a way that is pleasing to your eye. You can garnish the plate with a bit of parsley or something that inspires you.

Course 4 - Dessert - Serve elegant chocolate candies and fresh strawberries arranged on a plate with after dinner beverages such as coffee, tea, decaf, or brandy if you like. Clear the dishes quickly into the kitchen sink so they are hidden - but for goodness sakes, wash them later! Move to the sofa, the fireplace, or the front porch to linger over dessert and coffee.

Come come, Beloveds - dinner is served.