Last week, I made dinner for a boy. I made pasta deliciousness and a pear salad with bacon and gorgonzola because boys like bacon.
I say that with tongue in cheek because they’re not really still boys at 28. (Or are they? Married ladies, you tell me).
I made dinner for a date and this is the part where I’m going to come clean and confess something.
Despite the fact that my ideal day includes spending six hours in the kitchen with a thin film of flour coating my shirt, and despite the fact that I publish a website where I write recipes, I had not one freaking clue what I was going to cook until the night before dinner, when I stood in Trader Joe’s staring at the shopping list I’d haphazardly jotted down at 7:30 a.m. as though it was penned in Greek.
And I don’t understand Greek.
When you’re cooking with someone new, particularly when it’s someone who knows that you write a website about cooking, you might find yourself feeling a little bit oh, pressured to make a good meal.
When you’ve claimed over drinks that you’d like to one day attend culinary school, it goes without saying that you have above-average kitchen skills. You will want to do a good job.
(Pro tip: don’t tell future dates if you write a website about cooking).
But if you’re like me and you have a big mouth and you can’t stop yourself from blurting out “and I write this blog” on your first date, you can do anything you want for the main course and dress it up with a fancy salad to serve while you’re waiting for dinner to cook, cool, defrost or arrive at your door in the hands of a capable Asian delivery man.
- 4 cups mixed baby greens
- 1 pear (cored and sliced)
- 2 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)
- ¼ cup Gorgonzola (crumbled)
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Assemble salad: greens, bacon, pears, walnuts and Gorgonzola. Mix the lemon juice, oil and dijon mustard in a small bowl. Toss the salad with the dressing to coat.
14 Comments
jen ramos
January 30, 2010 at 11:38 pmI had the same question…How did he like it?
It looks DELICIOUS from here! Infact this is one of my favorite types of salads….! Cute post. 🙂
Sonja @ ActiveFoodie
January 23, 2010 at 2:40 amI have a feeling that he was pleased by this salad 🙂 Looks delicious!
Cynthia
January 22, 2010 at 10:39 pmOh Maris, you made me laught with this post 🙂
Melissa Murphy
January 22, 2010 at 8:30 pmthe salad had bacon- for most men that gets you an A+.
will we get to hear what you served for dinner?
Chez Us
January 22, 2010 at 1:08 pmToo funny! Now … Boy? New city? Do tell …..
Kerstin
January 20, 2010 at 11:55 pmHaha, mind is definitely still a boy at 32 🙂 There is definitely more pressure at potlucks when people know I have a blog! Your salad looks so amazing though and I’m sure it was a big hit!
Megan
January 20, 2010 at 10:39 pmI made a salad similar to this for my parents for our Christmas dinner this past December and it was a complete hit! I love the flavor combination of this salad, so glad to see you blogging about it 🙂
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
January 20, 2010 at 9:27 pmWell, did he like it?
Sarah Caron
January 20, 2010 at 4:16 pmOoooh, that salad looks impressive AND delicious. And personally, I think they are always boys … until they are old men. There is no in between.
Juliana
January 20, 2010 at 2:07 pmGreat salad…like the idea of pear, bacon and walnut…very nice!
mandy
January 20, 2010 at 1:33 pmLooks delicious Maris, as always!
kat
January 20, 2010 at 10:26 amA beautiful salad. I find once I tell people that I write a food blog they are sudden;y afraid to cook for me
Daryl
January 20, 2010 at 8:09 amThat looks absolutely magnificent. A work of art!
Joanne
January 20, 2010 at 7:29 amI have definitely made that mistake before! However, what I have found is that most guys have limited cooking skills and so basically anything that you make seems like a big deal to them.
This is a delicious first course salad! I feel like the bacon and gorgonzola would win any guy’s heart.