Ah, Italy, the perfect place to be if you are looking to spark off a little romance between you and your date. Well, unfortunately, you can’t really afford to go to Italy right now. But, you can still bring the Italian menu to your home. If you fancy yourself as a bit of “foodie” then this is your time to shine. Invite a lovely lady to your house and get ready to impress her with an Italian meal that will make her go “bravo!” Here are some tips on how you can craft the perfect Italian meal for your date.
Observe the traditional Italian meal structure
So, like any other culture, an Italian dining experience tends to come in courses. Whether you choose to dine with your girlfriend, boyfriend or one of the hotWestminster escorts is entirely up to you, but you should start by preparing them at least three courses.
Italian meals tend to focus on food being the link between a good company and good cooking. So make sure that you have a:
Apertivo
This is basically the pre-starter of the meal. It tends to consist of bubbly alcoholic beverages, like prosecco, champagne, spumante or even red wine and is combined with small dishes, like nuts, olives or cheeses. Think about it as a communication course. It’s there to encourage conversation and give people something to do as they wait for the first course.
Antipasti
Now, this is the starter of your meal. The food will normally be cold, but this depends on what is created. If you choose to have things like calamari or potato skins, this will naturally be hot, but a traditional dish may consist of cold meats with bread or cheese, you may also find salmon or the menu or tuna that is turned into a pate.
Primi
This is the first course that contains hot food and normally is a lot heavier than the antipasti. This is where you might find things like risotto, gnocchi, soup or different kinds of pasta, but it tends to avoid meats.
Secondi
This is the course that focuses on different meat and seafood, so you may end up with chicken, beef, pork, lamb or turkey that is roasted or prepared with sauce. You may also end up with seafood, like shrimp or lobster.
Dolce
Now we are onto the desert and palette cleanser. You may end up get sobertto (sorbet), gelato (ice cream) or perhaps a cake, tiramisu or pie! What you receive may depend on the area. Just remember to sip on your limoncello to cleanse your palette once you finish your meal.
Setting the mood
Now that you have taken a little look at the traditional Italian dinner structure, you may start to feel a little intimidated. After all, you were probably only here to get some tips on how to set the scene so you can have your perfect “Lady & the Tramp” moment. Well, you still can. If you are looking for romance, draw the curtains and get out your favourite table cloth. Add some fancy cutlery, wine glasses and some soft mood lighting (candlelight if you have them), before adding soft piano music and, voila, you have the perfect romantic setting.
No, this setting is not strictly Italian, but it is extremely romantic and will certainly sweep your lucky lady off her feet.
Picking the perfect main
Once you have decided on what sort of wine you want to compliment your palette, you need to figure out what sort of meal you are going to make. Now, this entirely depends on whether or not your date eats meat or not. If she does, then obviously you need to incorporate it into your meal. But a delicious risotto or pasta is something that you can’t go wrong with. There are so many good Italian dishes online, it can be really hard to choose which one is for you. So, make sure to consider what sort of sauce you are going to make (is it going to be creamy, tomato, cheesy, spicy?) and what sort of vegetables you are going to incorporate. Keep in mind that it does take longer to make a good risotto, considering you need to let the rice absorb the stock.
Make sure to give yourself enough time to prepare and cook the meal. There are lots of recipes that are online that you can choose from. Just remember to look at the ingredients and consider what you and your date both enjoy. If all else fails, just stick with a safe spaghetti bolognese. Though, if you want to be extra fancy, you may even consider changing the type of pasta you pick to cook!
Are you ready for your big date?
If you want to resist taking your date out to an Italian restaurant for the evening, and you want to take the plunge into constructing your own lovely menu, make sure to think about what you and your date both want. You want a sensual atmosphere filled with fun conversation and good food. So, remember to give yourself enough time to construct your romantic dining spot and perfect meals. The more time you give yourself, the better your dinner will turn out.
Good luck!
