Italian Night

This is one of my mom's most show-stopping dinners. An ex called me three weeks after I broke up with him to say, "I'm doing okay. But I miss your chicken, broccoli, and ziti." It's an over-the-top, calorie-laden meal that's perfect for cold winter nights, and it's delicious. But beware: do not serve to one of those body-conscious guys who weighs himself every morning unless you want to have him crying on your shoulder twelve hours after dinner is served.

Chicken Broccoli and Ziti

1 head broccoli
3 tablespoons of olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for the boiling water
Dash of salt
2 or 3 boneless chicken breasts
½ cup (one stick) butter
5 ounces shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
5 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pint light cream
1 pound ziti
Chop broccoli. Set aside.

Place a large saucepan of water on high heat to boil (add the teaspoon of olive oil and a few dashes of salt).

Sautée the chicken breasts in the olive oil in a frying pan. Once it's cooked, remove chicken from the pan. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on very low heat, and gradually add the Romano cheese, the Parmesan cheese, and the light cream. Stir frequently and keep the heat as low as possible to avoid burning the sauce.

Once the water is boiling, drop the broccoli in and remove it as soon as it slides off a fork when speared (usually just a couple of minutes or so later). Add ziti to the same pot of boiling water, and cook as directed.

While the pasta cooks, cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Drain pasta, and place in a large serving bowl. Add chicken and broccoli, and pour the cream sauce over the top. Use serving spoons to toss.

Serve with: Garlic bread and a garden salad. For dessert, a fruit-based tart (you don't have to make it from scratch, but hide the bakery box if you buy it) or vanilla gelato with mixed berries on top.

The wine: A light and fruity white will offset the heaviness of this dish. Try a Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.

The music: An album that's romantic, traditional, and mellow, like Dean Martin's Italian Love Songs, or Frank Sinatra's A Fine Romance.

Mexican Night

When my mom makes enchiladas or burritos, the food tastes so good and so authentic that we almost forget we are the whitest family on earth. This spicy, yummy meal works best on a Friday night in summertime. Serve on your front porch, if you have one (or, in the case of New Yorkers, on your fire escape).

Burritos with Chicken or Beef

Olive oil
2 onions
2 red peppers
2 green peppers
Boneless chicken breast or ground hamburger meat
Old El Paso seasoning mix
12-inch tortillas
1 can refried beans
2 tomatoes
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Pour some olive oil into a frying pan, and heat it for a minute or two on medium heat. Add the onions and peppers (chopped), and once they're browned, throw in the meat and cook on medium-high heat until no longer pink.

If you're kitchen-savvy, there are many homemade spice combinations you can whip up, but if not, Old El Paso pre-made seasoning mixes do the trick, too. Add them as directed.

Place the buttered tortillas in a stack on top of the meat. Cover pan, and remove from heat. The steam from the cooked food will warm up the tortillas.

Once ready to serve, add refried beans, tomatoes, and cheese.

Serve with: Homemade or store-bought guacamole and tortilla chips. Guacamole is pretty easy to make, if you so desire: Combine 4 ripe avocados (cut into quarters, peeled, and pitted), 1 small red onion (diced), 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, and 1 jalapeño chile (optional) if you want to make it hot. Once ingredients are combined, cut up the avocado into small chunks, and add 1 medium tomato (chopped and seeded), before tossing and sprinkling on a dash of salt and pepper. For dessert, scoop up some raspberry sorbet, and make (or buy) a flourless chocolate cake. For a lighter option, you can whip up some Mexican hot chocolate-get Ibarra authentic Mexican chocolate (available in most specialty grocery stores). Heat whole milk in a saucepan over very low heat. Add two wedges of the chocolate for each cup of milk, and blend. Serve hot.

The wine: Forget straight-up red or white. For this meal, you need to make a pitcher of sangria. It's easy to make in advance and store in your fridge, and it's almost impossible to mess up. Combine 1 bottle of chilled red wine (Rioja, Cabernet, or Shiraz work best), 1/4 cup of brandy, 1/4 cup of triple sec, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, a lemon and an orange, sliced thin. Refrigerate. Just before serving, add 1 cup of chilled seltzer and ice cubes.

The music: The Buena Vista Social Club soundtrack is perfect. Or anything by Silvio Rodriguez.

Roast Night

After some deliberation, my mom decided to allow me to print her gravy recipe. No matter what else you might learn from this book, her gravy recipe alone is worth the price of admission. Cooking a roast for a man might conjure up memories of Sunday-night dinners from his childhood-and plant the seed of a future with you.

Roast Beef with Vegetables

1 pound fresh green beans
1 (4-pound) sirloin steak roast
3 to 5 tablespoons self-rising flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 onion, peeled
1 jar onion juice
¼ cup beef stock (optional)
1 can Dawn Fresh mushroom steak sauce

A sirloin steak roast is best-it's very fatty, so it's the most flavorful, and shrinks down a lot while cooking. Also, it's harder to mess up than tenderloin or other lean cuts of beef.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Set water to boil in a medium saucepan, and once boiling, add green beans. Cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove all cellophane and paper from the roast (make sure you get that piece of cardboard or Styrofoam that's affixed to the bottom). Place the meat in a metal roasting pan.

Put 1 tablespoon of the flour in the pan, and sprinkle another on top of the roast. Season with salt and pepper. Place the onion in the pan. Pop it in the oven and cook, 20 minutes to the pound. When the roast is cooked through, set it on a plate.

For the gravy: Remove excess grease from the roasting pan, loosen the thickened juices with a fork, throw in the remaining flour (just a tablespoon or 2), and a little bit of the green-bean water to make a paste. As desired, add more liquid-use juice from vegetables, juice from a jar of onions, beef stock, Dawn Fresh mushroom steak sauce (my mom's secret ingredient). The key to flavorful gravy is to never use plain water, which dilutes the flavor rather than strengthens it.

Serve with: Mashed or roasted red potatoes and dinner rolls. For dessert, an apple, blueberry, or strawberry rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream.

The wine: A rich Cabernet or Pinot Noir will complement the warm tones of this meal.

The music: Whatever most echoes your version of classic-be it Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, or the Beatles.

Copyright © 2007 by J. Courtney Sullivan

Tags: Dating For Women

About the Author

J. Courtney Sullivan grew up outside of Boston, attended Smith College, and now lives and dates in Manhattan. She has written for The New York Times, Allure, Tango, and the New York Observer. More