Fresh flowers and candles does the trick for me...

Nancy

You're all ingrates! LOL!

If the right man made me a PB&J on a paper plate, I'd be thrilled.

Dateless in California...

the question is "When"? I will starve to death waiting. I guess thats what restuarants are for. LOL

I must be easy, I am thrilled when my husband brings home take out Chinese! But then, I love Four Happiness and BBQ Pork! I always tell my husband the most romantic gesture he could make would be to wash the dishes for me! That hasn't happened yet.

If you know what she likes that is fabulous. I don't think you need to go over the top. If her favorite meal is Spaghetti, make that. And have her favorite dessert too. Some pretty flowers (not necessarily roses, whatever her favorites are) won't hurt. You might have guessed the key here. It is all about her, making her favorites shows how much you care, and how well you know her. Caring enough to know what a woman really likes, That is Romantic!

Just bake her these cookies. They are very easy to make, and it is unbelievable how much women love these cookies, and how much they appreciate me for making them. One said they were "little bits of heaven".

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe

Having a man just cook or clean up is romantic? Sometimes I wish DW would read this forum. Next month we'll celebrate our 9 year "dating anniversary." I'm close to running out of fingers counting the times she's cooked for me.

I guess I'm spoiled. Wayne does the majority of the cooking when he gets home from work. I bake lots and do some cooking but he enjoys it...so I let him. lol
When we have a romantic meal it usually is veal normandy. I love that dish. I set the table with the good china and crystal. Candles and bubbly, soft music in the background (michael buble has a very romantic voice). Doesn't get any better then that. NancyLouise

Here's a really romantic dessert and very good!

Chocolate Whip

1 tsp butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp milk

Topping

2 tsp Kahlua liqueur
1/3 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip)

Measure first 5 ingredients into a blender. Set aside.

Stir cornstarch into milk in small saucepan. Heat and stir until boiling and thickened. Add to blender. Process until pureed.

Pour into 2 custard cups (or martini glasses). Chill.

Topping

Spoon 1 tsp Kahlua over each custard cup. Add whipped topping.

CHOCOLATE WHIP!!!!!

Criminies. I told you ladies not to get distracted.

Joe

Sorry, but the chocolate chip cookies wouldn't do it for me.

To really impress me, show me that some thought and planning went into your meal: a slow cooked sauce, a nice presentation, chilled salad plates, an appetizer before, etc. Does not have to be fancy but something to show that you didn't just throw it together in 15 minutes.

To really seal the deal - have me taste something from a fork or spoon in your hand.....or just a bite from your impeccably clean fingers. "Do you think this needs salt?"

Joe cooked dinner every night for years and although Joe is a good cook, he does not set a good table. So for me a beautifully set table complete with wine and candles now that is what I call romantic!!

I like rock and roll so the Stones playing in the background would be nice. And for dessert, something gooey with warm chocolate and a good cup of coffee.

Then for after dinner drinks Grand Marnier in a warm glass.

With all this...OH MY...it would be perfection for me!!

Michelle

We had friends over recently and one fellow (in his 50s) has a new ladyfriend. She told us how romantic it was when our friend took her out to lunch. Then, in the car outside her office, he pulled out a cooler with his homemade creme brulee, used the torch and voila! She said it was the most romantic thing a man had every done for her!

My DH is wonderful with the grill, but his idea of a romantic dinner is to take me to a truly glorious restaurant. However, he has taken me on a picnic in a beautiful setting on a trip to Italy. He picked up wine, bread, cheese, olives and panini and that was just perfect.

Cameron

If he also does all of the clean-up and dishes!

My late dh was a wonderful cook...I remember one meal he made when we were dating that was fabulous - lamb chops served with sauteed baby vegetables and chocolate mousse for dessert. It was really impressive that he used the baby vegetables..,This was the first time that he had cooked for me - and over time - he made many great meals for me...-maria

going out to a restaurant without having my MIL along (who lives with us, yes) is romantic enough for me!

he does all the shopping for the groceries

he plans the meal

he does all his own prep work

he does the chopping and slicing and dicing

he knows what he's doing in the kitchen

his knives are sharp

he is in an apron

he's picked just the right dinner music

he shushes you away from the kitchen because for tonight it's his domain

he sets the table -- you know it's going to be really something when the tablecover comes out and the candles get lit!!!!

he serves the food

he clears it all away

he either does the dishes or soaks them for later because there's other things to be done

he sets the tone of the evening

then there are those evenings that it's a recreation of the kitchen scene from 9 1/2 weeks!!!!

enjoy your dinner, joe...what are you serving?

maryanne

Doesn't happen...I won't even dream about what it could be like...

kitchen scene from 9 1/2 weeks

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle

Doesn't happen...I won't even dream about what it could be like...

LOL ... doesn't happen here either :)

Glad to know I'm not alone OM!

The fact that he cooked would make it a perfectly romantic meal. Has never happened and never will.....unless of course I have an affair ..... now there's a thought ; )

when the meal is all about dining and good conversation.

A man making dinner or any meal for me would be very romantic, no matter what was served. But definately put me in the "doing the dishes afterwards" camp. Frankly, when a man helps with cleanup, I am totally sold, whether he cooks the dinner or not. To me, helping with meal prep, cleanup, table setting, etc. is the most romantic thing in the world. My mom always used to say you should look for a man who can build a good fire in the fireplace, but I've been an outdoor woman for too long, I teach fire building at this point. Helping with the clean up is on my short list of admirable male qualities.

When he's thought of all the details. Men aren't big believers in the small things weighing more than the big things. But a woman thinks the details make the moment and count more than the meal itself. What details are important are specific to the woman herself.

My husband likes to cook meals I've taught him to make. He really feels proud when he can make it from beginning to end and when he knows what he's cooking. Seeing him so happy is a romantic meal to me. He's a big believer in a complete meal has a dessert, so when he's thinking ahead, he's bought a dessert. The ultimate is if he remembers the dessert and the champagne, because that's my favorite. He's really thought of every detail then, because he knows I think every day should be a celebrated, with the right person in the right way!

Hubby does the cooking occassionally-- and if it's a camp he actually does the cleanup-- now if I could get him to do that at home & ignore the Fire Dept monitor at the same time -- that would be romantic !

I think the only men who have ever cooked meals for me are my two sons-in-law LOL! One is a chef with his own restaurant and the other is a very willing and pretty good cook. He also washes the dishes and cleans up the kitchen....and tells me to go sit in the living room and enjoy a coffee and the TV! That's when I'm visiting them in Canada.

Here my dear hubby takes me out to dinner frequently so that's romantic enough for me!

SharonCb

I was single for a REALLY long time, I cooked for a lot of women, and I'm sorry but, you are all forgetting one thing. When a man makes a dinner for you, it really shouldn't be better than YOUR cooking. Sad, but true.

aug

To me, romance is wine, flowers, music and edible food. Soft lighting -- candles are wonderful.

Then dance with me after dinner. And wash the dishes in the morning.

Chocolate Whip -- too funny.

Bumblebeeze on Jan. 6th has the best in my opinion.

My husband is a fabulous cook and only in the last few years did he finally realize that he needs to clean up after himself. As a result, he now cleans as he cooks (which most of us do, I think) to make it much easier.

We both love to cook whether it is by ourselves or together.

I think rob333 nailed it -- it's when he thinks of all the details. Big brownie points for that.

I don't deduct that much if the execution is off, or if his ambition over reaches his skills. It's the fact that he spent a lot of time thinking about the event, and thinking about what would make me happy, that melts my heart.

A guy I was involved with for several years had a habit of always giving me a little something after we'd been apart for several days. Little things; maybe a candy bar I liked, a library book he thought I might be interested in, a toy for my cat, a stack of brown paper sacks that I seemed to go thru so fast. The point was, I knew he'd been thinking of me and what would make me smile. Still makes me smile!

I think I'd like to be allowed in the kitchen to help, but only under his direction for "his" meal. I wouldn't want to sit by myself while he either cooked or cleaned, and I really like working together.

DH isn't allowed to cook much for me - I'm too picky, and cooking is not his forte. Reservations are romantic for me, LOL.

I'd rather cook and have HIM Oh and Ah over it!!
I don't sit around and wait well.

I'm pretty lucky.....DH loves my cooking, is totally "non-demanding", and does dishes some of the time.

If I don't feel like cooking, he's fine with a sandwich.

Dinner isn't the romantic part..............(grin)

Deanna

Since my hubby has been retired, he has taken over the cooking of all the meals and cleans up immediately afterwards. A romantic dinner for us is when someone else prepares the food and we do not have any one else with us.

As An observer, I'd say there are only a few thinking of Romance.
I like the afterwards part, Wine and Dancing and afterwards.
Blow out the candles! Clean up tommorrow morning.
A show of appreciation , for a nice meal.
Sorry Ladies. What can I say ? I'm Italian !!!
Bouno Notte ! Lou

Teresa, obviously you've never had *my* chocolate chip cookies (laughs); although I am going to try these posted chocolate based ones for fun as well, they sound good. The chocolate whip sounds good too; either the food or the...nevermind.

There was a time I would have thought it heresy for a man to cook for me, I'd always been kind of territorial about my kitchen and that was supposed to be my job, and I'd always tended to be rather old school about those things. Now, however I think I would really quite enjoy it. In fact if there's ever a next one who likes to cook, he can cook and I'll bake, which I enjoy more, and it will be a match made in heaven!

Never happened here either. My advice would be seafood risotto, a nice salad, good wine and tiramisu (purchased from your favorite Italian bakery). You can start with bruscetta if you would like and a bowl of stuffed olives (from a olive bar if your supermarket has one). Invite her to keep you company with the wine and apps while you make the risotto.
It is a homey, simple but lovely meal. It would be the perfect meal for me.

Enjoy.
Jo

scott, you won't be sorry if you make them, unless you can't stop eating them, then you'll be sorry.

Lou, it could be a reflection of the ways the different sexes view "romance." If a gal's not careful, a night of reckless romance could lead to a lifetime of regret! :)
OK, worst case scenario, but possibly a big mess in the kitchen and dining area that she has to clean up "the morning after." Dishes take maybe 15 min., with plenty of time to kiss her on the back of the neck before you load those plates into the dishwasher! And dance her around the kitchen when it's all done.
The bottom line is that women appreciate consideration and responsibility. The devil is in the details. If this is a new gal, make sure the bathroom is somewhat clean and you have a clean sink with a clean handtowel (ask me how I know!). A nice table setting that you did yourself, including nice wine and candles, yes. Romantic music, not your latest Twistd Sister CD. I'm a vegetarian, so I'd appreciate it if someone made something sans meat, of course. Stuffed shells comes to mind as something sexy and easy. Fondu would be fun.
One of my most romantic days was spent with a former lover making moussaka. We shopped together, chopped together, did the dishes together, and lingered long over a bottle of wine. His attention was devoted to making me happy, and it was very romantic.

Pinky: Sounds good!!! ( A worse case senerio )
what's wrong with both cleaning up the big mess the next morning.
Smiling at each other for the 15 minutes.
Then someone comes to visit and wonder's,
what the hell are these two nuts smiling about.

I like the " One of my most Romantic days "
LOU

>>When a man makes a dinner for you, it really shouldn't be better than YOUR cooking. Sad, but true. Well, I'm glad my nephew doesn't feel that way. He's a GREAT cook, in a family of rabid foodies! His fiancee is a successful career women and has little or no interest in cooking. Green bean casserole with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup is as ambitious as she gets. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but when you're marrying a man who has both a paella pan and a tajine (and USES them!), you can see why he does 90% of the cooking on a day-to-day basis anyway.

For romance, they go out to eat. We all live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so there's a smorgasbord of great cuisines out here to choose from.

I'm hyped because I've finally convinced him to dump their crappy Jenn-air range for a Bluestar. He'll be cooking up a storm before year-end!

I'm with barnmom, anything made just for me is romantic. I'd never had a man that cooked for me until I met Elery, now he'll surprise me with soup for lunch or pita chips and hummus when I get home from work, if he's here. I love it, just knowing that he's thinking about me and cares enough to make anything for me is good.

Our usual evening is sitting on the couch with the Food Network on, looking at cookbooks. Last week it was the seed catalogs, LOL.

Of course, he does clean up the mess himself. He's a "clean as you go" kind of cook, while I tend to clean up everything afterward.

As for food, I vote for something light, not a huge heavy meal, and definitely dessert. Anything you can eat with your fingers (or HIS fingers) is even more fun.....

Annie

Annie; You devil you !!! Food Network, Cookbooks, Seed Catalogs.
I didn't know you were that Romantic ?????
LOU

PS: Romantic is derived from Roman.

It's never happened here and never will.

The most romantic part would be him cooking for me, doesn't have to be better than I cook, Kenny G and him not expecting an "afterwards", yet wonderful if it happens to be an "afterwards" because that's what I want.

Yes, Lou, I'm a romantic kind of girl. LOL Actually, I'm much more a realist than a romantic, if you can believe it. (grin)

I agree, Beverly, about the "afterwards because that's what I want". A romantic dinner has to have no strings or expectations, just be a gift.

Annie

Ditto here, Diana. Where did I go wrong?

Oh and BTW, I don't so much as ever want to smell a Chocolate Chip cookie again!

ROTFL - I luv you guys...

{{gwi:1481735}}

The company and attention.

But I like Bumblebeez list, too.

Scott, that's the deal I had with DH for years - he cooked the meals (because he enjoys it) and I did the baking, soups and salads (because he does not know how to make a "little" soup or an interesting salad. I highly recommend the arrangment. (It avoids all that trying to wrangle what on earth he wants for dinner out of him, for one thing!) And I miss it. I can't get used to cooking for one. It was wonderful to have over the kitchen to him again last week!

I kiss his feet and gladly (well sort of) do the dishes. That's how romantic I am.