I am an old-fashioned gal. I think that anniversaries should be celebrated accordingly, with all the love and effort you can express. But some people might think that having a casual date at the restaurant or doing nothing at all is a no biggie. Why do we want to impress our significant other, indeed? You’re together and that’s all that matters, right? Well, it depends on the type of relationship you have. You either try too hard or forget the date at all. What is the golden middle?
I think that throwing an anniversary dinner is a very TASTEful way to show respect for your significant other.
An anniversary is a good time to overcome the fear of physical intimacy how to do it?
It’s not very pompous, but still rather sweet and lovely. There are no people who don’t like food or who would be against a good dinner after a hard workday. But what should be on an anniversary dinner menu?
Contents
Why is it so important to prepare a homemade meal for your anniversary?
Anniversary food ideas
Should we cook our anniversary meal together?
Good cooking tips
Why is it so important to prepare a homemade meal for your anniversary?
Even if you are not a great cook, think about it that way. You can have store-bought dinner on the table, or order in something from a pizza place. But will it be any different from any other day? Do you think it’s special enough?
Even if you overcook or burn something, add too much or too little salt, the dinner won’t be ruined. Your significant other will see you’ve tried so hard to impress them; it will be the greatest dish possible! And store-bought food sometimes is just…lazy. So roll up the sleeves and let’s get down to our anniversary menu!
Anniversary food ideas
Anniversary meals should be special, so if you want to prepare a unique meal and satisfy your significant other with exquisite meals, check out these anniversary recipes! Here you may find appetizers, main course, and dessert.
- Sous Vide Steak
It’s simply one of the best anniversary dinner recipes. Even if you are not a very experienced cook, a steak is hard to mess up. Especially in sous vide, where the temperature does everything for you, can’t burn anything. For this one, you don’t even need the best beef cut, a good sirloin will do. Take a cut of chilled (at least two hours in the fridge) meat, add salt and pepper. Then measure the thickness of a piece, it needs to be at least 2 inches in its thickest place. Put meat in a zip lock bag. Pump the air out. According to the thickness of your meat, calculate the temperature. A cut of 2 inches in height will be ready in more than 3 hours at 60 °C. Dip the bag into already hot water and leave it for three hours. In three hours, take the meat out of the bag. Heat the skillet and let it get that beautiful crust for 15 seconds. You can have it with mashed potatoes, veggies, and any sauce you like. It seems really time-consuming, but all you do it casually forget your meat for three hours and then you just lightly grill it.
- Stir-fry with kimchi
If you like oriental cuisine, you definitely know these meals. And surprisingly, it’s easy to cook them at home as well. Cut chicken fillet into small bite-size pieces. Season them with salt and pepper. Dip them in a beaten egg, then roll your chicken in flour. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Fry the chicken in a pan until golden and crispy. Blot all the oil with tissue paper. Put one tablespoon of sesame oil into a pan and heat it again. Lightly fry the spring onion, garlic, and ginger. And mirin and soy sauce. Add chicken to the pan, fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put kimchi in a pan, stir, fry for 1 minute. Serve with rice.
- Caramel cheesecake
Cheesecake beats any dessert. Perfectly suitable even for wedding anniversary dinner recipes. Line the mold with parchment paper or grease with oil. Grind cookies or crackers into crumbs. Add 125 g of melted butter and mix with cookie crumbs. Lay the base of a cake, cover it up and put it into the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, put the gelatin into water. Mix cream cheese with 155 g of sugar. In a saucepan over low heat, mix condensed milk, 45 g of sugar and 40 g of butter. Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring it, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cooled gelatin to the cream cheese and mix well. Pour the mixture onto a cookie crumb base, then add the caramel and evenly distribute it over the cream cheese. Cool for 4 hours in a fridge. Decorate with almonds or popcorn bits.
- Cheesy garlic bread
Hands down one of the best appetizers and entrees. To make cheesy garlic bread, mix the softened butter, chopped garlic, and grated cheese. For extra crunchiness, cut the baguette into slices and spread with a cheese-garlic mixture. If you like your bread soft, wrap each slice in foil or a double layer of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Top it off with a wash of butter and greens if needed.
- Classic pancakes
If you wanted some romantic breakfast ideas or anniversary lunch ideas, pancakes would be the best choice at any time. To make them, mix all the dry ingredients first – a cup of flour, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of soda, then crack two eggs into the mixture. Add one cup of milk and 1 tbsp. of oil. Mix very well. I don’t recommend greasing the pan, but you can do it lightly. Top ready pancakes off with jam, butter, honey, berries, chocolate syrup – whatever you like.
Should we cook our anniversary meal together?
Cooking with your partner can be lots of fun, especially if you like to giggle and experiment in the kitchen. You can make the cooking process a part of the celebration where everyone has an important role. Especially if you’re making appetizers for an anniversary party with lots of guests.
Another way you can impress your partner is waking up earlier than them to make a surprise breakfast, or coming home earlier from work to make dinner. Either way, it should be fun, so you do you!
Good cooking tips
Now that we came up with anniversary dinner menu ideas, let’s revise the technique.
- Don’t cook something for the first time for the anniversary dinner.
If you haven’t tried cooking meat in sous vide, I suggest you secretly doing it one time before the anniversary date just as a rehearsal. Don’t risk your nerves and your food because you can seriously mess up the dinner. Even if the dish sounds very exquisite and complicated, opt for a well-known meal if you are good at making it. Your anniversary date is not the best time to experiment if you don’t know what you’re doing.
- Season as you go
Another constant problem is adding to much or too little salt or seasoning. And while you can add some salt, it’s very hard to reduce the saltiness or the spiciness. Instead of going in with seasoning, add little by little, tasting your dish at every stage of its preparation. If you still haven’t learned how seasoned your bae likes their food, leave it slightly bland. That way they can season up to their taste. It’s hard to do it other way.
- Calculate your time
If you want to prepare a full-course dinner, you’ll need to do some things simultaneously. And that means you’ll have to estimate your time, ambitions, and potential. If you have a full day before a surprise dinner date, start with the most time-consuming meals and finish off with things that need to be served immediately, like salads and appetizers. Some dishes like cakes need a good half a day to chill in the fridge. Don’t make your side dish (such as mashed potatoes) right with the meat, because it cooks faster and may become nasty after reheating.
- Go low and slow
The main problem of beginner cooks is that they get so frustrated with the process, they use the highest heat as a catalyst. That’s why you always end up with burnt meat, soggy broccoli, and crisp garlic that makes the smoke alarm go off. If you are impatient, that is a problem. Not every meal needs to be prepared with maximum heat. If you are not sure about the temperature, make the heat lower and cook slower. That way you can be sure that none of your dishes get burned.
- Desserts need measurements!
If you are too lazy to follow the instructions and just want to work with some magic of intuition, avoiding the right measurements, be sure to be disappointed when your cream doesn’t reach stiff peaks, your pastry looks flat and your meringue is not crispy. Desserts are not meant for guessing the right measurements. You have to know the exact quantity of each product, all the weights, and the needed temperature.
So if you want to make a scrumptious dinner for your better half, go on and don’t be afraid of anything! I am sure you got that inner cook who’ll provide your couple with the best food ever! Thanks videochat russian for providing this article.