Date Night

Last week, an Early Riser reader and good friend asked me to write a recipe for her. Something easy, something good, something that she could make for the guy that she was seeing. Cute. As a sober pregnant woman I jumped at the opportunity to live vicariously through the novelty, glamor, surprise, and seduction that cooking dinner for someone for the first time can bring.

This week, I set out to produce an ideal recipe for her. I thought I had nailed it on day 1 though. It was the most obvious solution. I thought back on the most romantic food scene in movie history -  when Lady and Tramp share a heaping plate of spaghetti and meatballs outside of Tramp's favorite Italian bistro. An accordionist is playing Bella Notte, Lady is cautiously, politely eating her side of the plate as Tramp chows on his side with a little more vigor. From opposite ends, they mistakenly slurp up the same thread of spaghetti, leading them closer together and ultimately into the cutest, little puppy smooch.   

Since I was little, spaghetti and meatballs has always had an aura of romance. As I was making my grocery list though, my friend texted, saying that her date didn't eat red meat. So that option was out and instead I shopped and prepared another Italian favorite - linguini with clam sauce. I imagined the pasta lip lock would still occur, even with seafood all over it.

As we sat down for dinner and I snapped a photo of what we were about to consume - my play on one of my childhood favorites, I started telling Peter about my assignment. He informed me that pasta should never be ordered, prepared or served on date night. It was a rule that he had learned long ago. The premise: no one looks good eating pasta. I denied the remark, but about two bites in, I realized that the inevitable noodle chase, slurping and dire need to sop up the remaining sauce with my bread wasn't very attractive. So I went back to the drawing board.

 

Wednesday night, I looked for the solution in tacos - the essence of dinnertime happiness for my husband. I swear he loves me a little more when I'm orchestrating our own little fiesta over the stove. Taco night has a major flaw though. To really unleash the power of it, you have to encourage the option of going back for fourths or even fifths. Which means you are only at the table together for two or three bites at a time. Soon enough, you and your date are back in the kitchen, grabbing a shell, strategically stacking up the meat, beans, onions and peppers, and then going around the condiment bar to finish off your masterpieces with cheese, lettuce, guacamole and salsa. Taco night also brings a high probability of hiccups, heart burn, or worse.  

Last night, I think I finally nailed it though. I came up with a delicious, non-carnivorous, easy to eat, lingering dinner for date night: bouillabaisse or fish stew from the south of France. 
 
The melding of stock, fennel, saffron, and vegetables produced a sexy aroma that filled the house. It was easy to chat with Peter while prepping it and there was a nice off hour while the soup was stewing, letting us both relax and read together.

All you need to set the table with is a spoon and a little mussel fork, so as long as you don't slurp, demure consumption is inevitable. It pairs beautifully with a white blend, like Conundrum or if you want to be authentic, I would put a Provencal Rose with it. And the best part, it's not too filling. Your jeans will still sit nicely around your waist when you're done, even if you go back for seconds, which both Peter and I did.

So happy date night to my single ladies from the 312 to the 412.

Lo.

Bouillabaisse
Adapted from the New York Times
Serves 2 as a main course, serves 4 as an appetizer

Olive oil, a generous amount
1 small bulb fennel, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 new potato, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups prepared lobster or fish stock (you can buy it at Whole Foods or make your own.)
3 smaller tomatoes, chopped (try to reserve as much of their juice as possible) 
Salt, pepper
1/2 pound white fish (I used Alaskan Cod) 
2 calamari tubes, sliced to make rings
10 mussels
2 U-10 sea scallops, quartered
Parsley and fennel fronds for garnish

Line the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot with olive oil. The NY Times said not to skimp, so I didn't. Over medium heat, saute fennel, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and potato until translucent (about 7-8 minutes.) Add stock, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Let simmer over medium low to low heat for 45 minutes until the soup becomes more of a stew. 

In the order of how fast it cooks, add the fish to the stew. In my case, I added the white fish first, let is cook one minute, then I added the calamari rings and let everything cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then I added the mussels and sea scallops together. It is done when the mussels open. If any mussels didn't open in the pot, discard them.

Serve with croutons (spread olive oil on bread, sprinkle with parsley and a pinch of salt, toast in the oven for 10 minutes or so.)