FISHY PINK TACOS

January 8, 2009

This fish taco is your amigo con benefits!

This fish taco is your amigo con benefits!

Few things are more satisfying than diving tongue first into a fishy pink taco. At least that is what I learned while on an unforgettable first date. It started with a lousy Mexican meal we both refused to eat. We drank tequila instead. Some of the details are hazy, but somehow us joking about driving down to Mexico to find the perfect taco turned into reality. I remember rubbing her knee as she gunned her banged up Jetta straight through the border crossing and into chaos that involved me wearing a balloon hat sombrero at a otherwise gringo-free night club with a rodeo in the back. What I do recall with vivid clarity was the next day. I was hung-over and a tad confused about why I was standing on an Ensenada beach haggling with a tiny grandmother over the price of a luchadore wrestling mask. Luckily a boat crashed up on shore with a fisherman holding out his catch of the day put it in perspective. “Tacos?” “Si, senor!” My man lit a fire right there on the sand, gutted the fish, smothered the fillet with some mystery marinade and grilled that on a tiny pan. Our simple goal was achieved. To this day, the perfect taco. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try it at home for your hot date. Did I mention the APHRODISIAC triple threat of seafood, chili, and avocado?

Total time: approximately 15 minutes
Projected cost: $7
Drinking Buddy: Cerveza (beer) or tequila, or both, like they do in Baja California!

fishy-pink-tacos-prep1Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 2 dashes of black pepper
2. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
3. ½ teaspoon of paprika
4. ½ tablespoon of mayonnaise
5. Hot sauce or SALSA
6. 1 6 ounce tilapia fillet or red snapper
7. 2 lime wedges for recipe, extra for flavor
8. 1 handful of chopped cabbage
9. 4 corn tortillas or two larger flour tortillas (pictured)
10. 2 cloves of garlic
11. ½ a Serrano chili chopped finely, a whole chili if you want a kick in the head
12. ½ an avocado sliced thinly
13. ¼ of a red onion chopped finely

Step 1
To create the fish marinade, mix the garlic, Serrano chili, paprika, black pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Smother the fish fillet in the marinade and leave in the bowl to marinate. (Approx 15 minutes)

fishy-pink-tacos-marinate

Step 2
Why not mix up some coleslaw while the fish marinates? Mix up the red onion, cabbage, mayonnaise, black pepper, paprika and limejuice in a bowl.
fishy-pink-tacos-coleslaw
Step 3
It’s time to grill that sexed up fish fillet. Grill it for 2-3 minutes on each side. Squeeze lime once you flip it and cook through. Remove the fish and break up into taco size chunks.
fishy-pink-tacos-grill
Step 4
Spread each tortilla out and mix equal parts fish and coleslaw, crowning it all with avocado slices. Kick it up with some hot sauce, or better yet, MANGO SALSA. Ole mi amigos!

Fishy Pink Tacos Wrappedfishy-pink-tacos-served-2

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RUB YOUR AVOCADO BUTT-ER ON MY GRILLED SALMON

January 6, 2009

Rub-a-dub-dub all over my grub.

Rub-a-dub-dub all over my grub.

The time has come to essentially grill one aphrodisiac in the essence of another. No, I’m not talking about boiling vodka and Viagra together, although I hear they serve that ice cold in Tijuana. In a matter of 10 minutes you can have two salmon steaks grilled to perfectly in avocado butter. The creamy nutrients and silky texture of the avocado absorbs naturally into the tender, protein-packed salmon, essentially becoming one perfect package. It’s as if these two supernaturally sexy ingredients were destined to be together like Romeo and Juliet or Thelma and Louise. Let fate take over your date and you’ll be naked and out of breath on your bed before you can say, “Another glass of wine?”

Total time: approximately 8 minutes
Projected cost: $12
Drinking Buddy: White wine or beer

salmon-avocado-butter-prepIngredients (for two):
1. 2 salmon steaks
2. ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
3. ½ teaspoon of onion powder
4. A dash of salt
5. ½ a lemon of juice
6. 2 green onions diced
7. 1 avocado

Step 1
Mix up the green onions, avocado (scooped out of skin), lemon juice, onion powder and garlic powder in a bowl, smashing it all up with a fork, whisk or hand blender. The avocado butter will look much like guacamole.
salmon-avocado-butter-mixing1
Step 2
Spread the avocado butter evenly over each side of the salmon steaks, beginning with the topside. On medium heat, heat up a portable grill or frying pan and put the avocado butter side of the salmon down. Cover the other side of the salmon steaks with avocado butter and squeeze lemon juice over them. Once the outside of the salmon turns pinkish-white (approx 3 minutes), flip the steaks making sure not to lose the grilled avocado butter. Grill the other side so the salmon is cooked thoroughly (approx 2 minutes) and serve up with some righteous veggies like asparagus.
salmon-avocado-butter-grillsalmon-avocado-butter-served-3

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ASS-SENTIAL SESAME ASS-PARAGUS

January 5, 2009
Sesame equals sex-to-me
Sesame equals sex-to-me

So you’re game for a healthy aphrodisiac that is fast, easy and aesthetically pleasing?  Look no further than this fine sesame asparagus recipe.  Not only do you have the natural Viagra benefits of the asparagus, but the sweet, sticky honey will ramp up your date’s libido.  You might score extra points for the dish being vegetarian and amazingly nutritional, as all aphrodisiacs are.  Duh!  This side dish will legitimize even the most pathetic attempts at an entrée because it is so damn pretty.  Did I mention it was tasty too?  The Chinese know what they were doing.  My first dance with sesame asparagus happened during a trip to Hong Kong.  I was eating at an upscale eatery in Kowloon overlooking the Hong Kong cityscape exploding in choreographed colors.  The real lightshow was going on in my mouth, which eventually set my feet dancing like the white devil maniac that I am.  Luckily I found a kind local girl to correct my foolish ways and show me around the city, including the magnificent view from her bedroom.

Total time: approximately 15 minutes
Projected cost: $5
Drinking Buddy: Depends on what entrée you serve with it, CTB recommends a smooth red wine

sesame-asparagus-prepIngredients:
1. 2 tablespoons of dried sesame seeds
2. 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
4. 1 tablespoon of honey
5. 1 pound of fresh asparagus
6. ½ a lemon worth of juice

Step 1
Mix the soy sauce, olive oil, honey and lemon into a sticky sauce that would glisten in the noonday sun.
sesame-asparagus-sauce
Step 2
Steam the asparagus until you can easily pierce them with a fork (approx 5 minutes).  Toss the steamed asparagus with the sauce.  Place the drenched asparagus in a baking pan with room between each stalk.  Sprinkle the sesame seeds evenly over the asparagus.
sesame-asparagus-steam-seed
Step 3
Set the oven to a high broil.  Throw the baking sheet with asparagus on the highest rack.  Allow the sesame seeds to toast and stick firmly to the asparagus stalks.  (Approx 6 minutes) Serve each stalk carefully by grabbing them with tongs to avoid messing up the sesame seeds.  Presentation is important.
sesame-asparagus-bake

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FRENCH KISS MY ONION SOUP

December 31, 2008

Taste me soup, Vive la France!

Taste my soup and Vive la France!

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?  Yes indeed, mon ami.  But before we get down to the task at hand, let’s get some sustenance.  Oui?  You have to love those Frenchy frogs with their many culinary innovations.  The precision they employ to make their fabulous meals is unparalleled and has been turning us on for centuries.  Merci to that!  Who doesn’t love a bowl of French onion soup on a cold winter day?  The salty tang of the onions, the soggy French bread and stretchy cheese that always ends up on your chin.  My knees are knocking while I eat seconds as I write this.  Tres joleis!  This soup certainly stepped up to the plate of providing radical results.  My date was clearly impressed by the TLC put into it, but it was love at first bite.  Neither of us could finish the bowl due to the distractions of wine and spontaneous waltzing around the kitchen.  The first post-coital bite made me want to put on a beret and write post-modern poetry in French.  Sacre bleu!

Total time: approximately 1½ hours
Projected cost: $10 (gruyere cheese makes it costly)
Drinking Buddy: Wine of course, silly Yankee scum!

french-onion-soup-prepIngredients:
1. 1 teaspoon of salt
2. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. ½ cup of cooking sherry
4. 6 cups of chicken broth
5. ½ teaspoon of black pepper
6. 1 tablespoon of dried thyme (or 6 sprigs fresh)
7. 2 tablespoons of butter
8. 6 yellow onion chopped in long strips
9. French baguette cut into ½ inch slices
10. 8 ounces of Gruyere cheese (can substitute for Swiss)

Step 1
Heat a stockpot up on medium heat and melt the butter and olive oil with the salt.  Throw in the onions and mix them around.  Cook the onions until they reduce in volume and brown. (approx 20 minutes)
french-onion-soup-onion
Step 2
Pour in 2 cups of water into the onions and cook until the water evaporates, leaving the onions in a big brown clump.  (approx 10 minutes)  Pour in the sherry and repeat.  (approx 5 minutes)
french-onion-soup-water-sherry1
Step 3
Add the thyme and chicken broth.  On high heat, bring it all to a roaring boil, then reduce heat and simmer.  (approx 30 minutes)
french-onion-soup-thyme-broth
Step 4
Preheat the oven to broil.  Ladle soup into the small, deep bowls.  Place French bread slices on top of each soup.  Sprinkle the Gruyere cheese over each slice of French bread so they are covered evenly.  Broil the soups (approx 5 minutes), allow to cool (another 5 minutes), and then eat up.  Ooh la la!

french-onion-soup-cheese

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OMFG PB&J!

December 29, 2008

You can always cut the crusts off

You can always cut the crusts off

Your childhood calls out to you for simplicity.  You want to make something for your date that is both easy to assemble, mighty tasty, and nostalgic.  Paging Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.  This is comfort food so classic that your date instantly will feel safe enough to let their guard down.  One bite and they will be transported to a delicious wonderland of sweet flavors and more innocent times.  What a perfect opportunity to pounce.  We’ve taken the classic, given it a little more texture with the creamy banana and crunchy toasted bread to set fireworks off in each of your mouths.  KA-BOOM!  You should be stylin’ and ready to rock.  Perhaps you can sing some childhood songs as you munch.  “B-I-N-G-Ooooohhhh yeah!”

Total time: approximately 5 minutes
Projected cost: $2
Drinking Buddy: Milk or a juicebox spiked with vodka

Ingredients (for two sinwiches):
pbj-prep1. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2. 2 tablespoons of jelly (my choice was blueberry preserves)
3. 1 banana
4. 4 slices of bread

Step 1
Spread peanut butter on two of the slices of bread. Spread jelly on the other two slices of bread.  Peel the banana, then slice it lengthwise, yielding four thin slices of banana.  Cut each slice in half and place on bread with peanut butter.
pbj-press-spread-banana
Step 2
Push each sandwich altogether.  Place in toaster oven and set to medium-dark and toast until the bread becomes golden brown (if you don’t have a toaster oven GET ONE, but in the mean time you can broil the sandwiches in the oven, keeping close eye on them and flipping once).  Slice the sandwiches in half and serve with a childish grin.
pbj-press-toastpbj-served-2

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NAUGHTY EGGNOG

December 24, 2008

This Naughty Nog, ba-rumpa-pum-pum

This Naughty Nog, ba-rumpa-pum-pum

So it’s Christmas time.  You may need to bring something to your (or your significant other’s) family holiday party or perhaps you and a sexy someone have decided to do your own Christmas thang.  It’s about that time to bust something homemade out to leave an outstanding impression.  Make this homemade eggnog recipe you will just do that.  If all goes to plan everyone will be too tanked to think of you as anything but a champ.  Encourage the lot of them to drink up, be merry.  Not merry yet?  Have another glass of this naughty nog.  After enough glasses of this creamy cocktail and they’d forgive you for banging the dog (do us all a favor and abstain from this).  My first experiment with this drink happened during a frightening visit to the ex-Navy colonel father of a girl I was dating after college.  She told me about his medals of valor, not to mention his collection of antique guns.  This was a delicate situation that was easily defused by strong eggnog I threw together on a whim.  By the end of the night Colonel Kill You In Your Sleep was crooning along to Bing Crosby Christmas carols and calling me “son.”  The eggnog was like Kevlar and I was the drunken Baby Jesus.

Total time: approximately 1¼ hours = 3 minutes to prep, the rest to chill
Projected cost: $5 (not including liquor)
Eating Buddy: Christmas cookies

egg-nog-prep-copyIngredients (for 6 sexy servings):
1. 2 ½ cups of whole milk
2. ½ cup of dark rum
3. ½ cup of brandy
4. 2 cups of heavy cream
5. 1 cup brown sugar
6. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
7. Nutmeg to taste
8. 6 eggs

Step 1
In a large mixing bowl, add each ingredient separately and beat them in this order: eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.  After beating it all together, toss in some ground nutmeg.
egg-nog-eggs-sugar-vanilla-copy
Step 2
Like in Step 1, add each ingredient and mix thoroughly in this order: heavy cream, milk, rum and brandy.  Beat it together again and chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.  After chilling, mix it up again and then ladle up some glasses and sprinkle more nutmeg.  Ho ho ho!  egg-nog-cream-milk-liquor-pour-copy
egg-nog-served-21

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BREAK YOU OFF SOMETHING BURRITO

December 15, 2008
Hola, amigos.  Breakfast burritos makes your game grow.
Hola, amigos. Breakfast burritos makes your game grow.

The breakfast burrito is amazingly versatile in its ease to make and ability to please.  The only ingredients you absolutely need are eggs, tortilla and hot sauce.  But the more sexy ingredients you can add, the greater the meal.  Be bold, be imaginative, be victorious!  Below is a recipe based on what was in my fridge at the moment.  My date had no complaints since she downed the burrito in three large bites then dragged me by the hand back to bed.  Much praise for the people of Mexico and their culinary masterpiece. Mornings have never been so easy.  Ole!

Total time: approximately 10 minutes
Projected cost: $5
Drinking Buddy: Orange juice or beer if it’s one of those mornings

breakfast-burrito-prepIngredients (for two burrito):
1. 2 tortillas
2. 1 teaspoon of salt
3. 1 tablespoon olive oil
4. Hot sauce (chef’s choice)
5. 1 sausage link cut into thin strips
6. ½ a jalapeño diced
7. 3 eggs
8. 1 handful chopped cilantro
9. 1 tomato chopped coarsely
10. 1 handful jack or mozzarella cheese
11. 2 green onions chopped coarsely
12. 2 handfuls of fresh, washed spinach

Step 1
Cook the sausage strips in a pan on medium heat without oil until they brown, set aside.  Beat the eggs with cilantro and salt.  Turn your oven to the lowest setting (about 150 degrees F) and warm up your tortillas.
breakfast-burrito-sausage-beat
Step 2
On medium heat, heat the olive oil into a pan and cook the green onions for 1 minute. Throw in the spinach and cook until it wilts.  Pour in the egg mixture and scramble it until it is still moist but not runny.  Turn off the heat, throw the cheese over the eggs and cover with a lid so the cheese melts.
breakfast-burrito-veggies-eggs
Step 3
Remove the tortillas from the oven and place on separate plates.  Drop half the sausage into each, and then place eggs into each pocket.  Crown each burrito with tomatoes and hot sauce before rolling it up tight.  Serve with orange juice or beer if you’re nursing a hangover.
breakfast-burrito-assemblebreakfast-burrito-served-2

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BREAK THE BEDFRAME SINWICH

December 10, 2008
Slam that bed frame like you'll Grand Slam your post-coital breakfast
Slam that bed frame like you’ll Grand Slam your post-coital breakfast

Good god was last night off the chain.  And this morning hasn’t exactly been a solemn day of Sunday school or the Sabbath either.  Atonement is not an option, but chowing down is.  Naturally after a long and fruitful roll in the hay you have both developed quite the appetite.  You require the sustenance of protein and carbohydrates to keep you popping and locking into the afternoon.  All hail eggs and their natural brain and libido boost!  Scramble some of these bad boys up with some choice aphrodisi-tastic ingredients and you have yourself a full recharge.  You may having a hard time choosing between this sandwich and your date’s naked body, but know in your heart of hearts that a patient chef can have both.  Now hurry up and finish this dish!  Your bed frame has an appointment with the wall and you have neighbors to disturb.

Total time: approximately 5 minutes

Projected cost for ingredients: $6

Drinking Buddy: Orange juice or mimosas if you’re feeling saucy

egg-sandwich-prepIngredients (per sandwich):
1. 1 teaspoon of salt (if desired)
2. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
3. ½ tablespoon of mayonnaise
4. 1 small baguette
5. ½ an avocado
6. 1 slice of cheddar cheese
7. 3 pieces of bacon (turkey or veggie bacon cool)
8. 2 eggs
9. 2 green onions chopped coarsely
10. ½ handful of mushrooms
11. 1 handful of lettuce
12. ½ a tomato sliced

Step 1
Fry the bacon and set aside.  Throw in the olive oil and grill up the mushrooms.
egg-sandwich-bacon-shrooms
Step 2
Mix the eggs and green onions in a bowl, adding salt if desired.  Pour the mixture over the mushroom and scramble as if your lover’s husband or wife just walked into the house.  Crown the eggs with cheddar cheese and allow it to melt like the hearts of the opposite sex.
egg-sandwich-eggs
Step 3
Spread the mayonnaise on the top side of the split baguette.  Place the bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado into the bread’s open mouth.  Finally stuff the eggs in, cut the sandwich in half and serve it to your date in bed before round 3.  Hot sauce can throw a tasty curveball your way.
egg-sandwich-assemble

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GO NUTS COCONUT CURRY

December 10, 2008

Curry some favor with these spicy flavors

Curry some favor with these spicy flavors

This Thai curry dish is like a hot night of indiscretion in the steamy city of Bangkok. That’s where I first had a dish at a small restaurant right off of PatPong 2 before witnessing the seedier side of Southeast Asia.  So delicious and decadent. Curry can be a little dangerous and on the edge, like watching a tiger cage fight while telling the lady boys that you are not interested in boom boom tonight. Welcome to the spicy side of COOK TO BANG.  You will instantly become the bad boy or girl that your date’s parents warned them about.  They will sweat before you even touch them.  If you have that kind of effect with your food, your date can only assume that the night will only get steamier.  Yes, indeedy.  So relax and enjoy the happy ending.

Total time: approximately 35-45 minutes

Projected cost for ingredients: $10

Drinking buddy: Beer, Thai or Indian

coconut-curry-prepIngredients:
1. 1 tablespoon of flour
2. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. 1 cup of coconut milk
4. 2 teaspoons of curry paste (1 teaspoon of curry powder)
5. 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
6. 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
7. 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
8. 1 large eggplant cut into bite-sized pieces
9. 1 handful of mushrooms cut
10. 1 pound of chicken cut in bite-sized pieces
11. ½ a lemon
12. Meat of 1 mango sliced and diced
13. 1 yellow bell pepper cut into bite-sized pieces
14. 1 handful of cilantro
15. 4 green onion chopped coarsely
16. 3 garlic cloves minced

Step 1
Mix the cilantro, oyster sauce, curry paste, coconut milk and flour in a bowl.  Stir vigorously like you’re still in Jr. High until the curry sauce becomes a pinkish-orange.  Set aside.coconut-curry-curry-prep

Step 2 (Skip this step if you want to make it vegetarian)
Marinate the chicken in the rice vinegar, soy sauce and lemon.  After 15 minutes, use 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken until the meat turns white. Set aside.
coconut-curry-curry-chicken
Step 3
On high heat, use the remaining and sauté the garlic and green onions.  After a minute add the mango and cook it down.  Throw in all the remaining vegetables except the eggplant and cook for another two minutes until the veggies soften.  Now add the eggplant and cook until they soften and absorb the mango/garlic.coconut-curry-veggies

Step 4
Pour the curry sauce over the veggies and stir thoroughly, making sure the eggplant has softened considerably.  Toss in the chicken and mix it all together with the veggies and curry sauce.  Cook another minute to ensure the flavors all absorb before serving over rice with some beer.
coconut-curry-curry-chicken1

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MUST DOS WHILE YOU COOK TO BANG

December 9, 2008

Cook to Bang is a proven science fact first discovered by Albert Einstein and the scientists from the Manhattan Project and finely tuned here.  But it begs the question of what to do while you COOK in order to BANG.  Tis a valid question.  Cooking for a date should be like foreplay; the mental connection should evolve naturally into a physical one.  It takes some delicate orchestrating to allow the chips to fall “naturally” into seduction.  Your overall goal is clear, but play it off as if banging is the last thing on your mind.  It’s best to appear as nonchalant and keep things fun and playful. Avoid contrived hookups because they usually end with an awkward kiss and an excuse about waking up early in the morning for a lobotomy.  The best laid plans ring hollow and will be construed as purely manipulative.  Rightly so.  Let the night unfold naturally, but keep a few things in mind during your kinky conquests:

eye contact1. EYE CONTACT
Never underestimate the importance of looking someone in the eye while you talk.  This keeps them engaged with you, plus makes you seem confident and secure in your cooking and prowess.  Note to straight guys: avoid the temptation to ogle their cleavage.  There will be plenty of time for that later.

smile12. SMILE
A smile on your face will let your date know that you are genuinely enjoying their company.  It reveals what a fun loving person you are and disarms any sense of discomfort.  A smile is also infectious so even the crabbiest date will soon be grinning ear to ear, which is a good indicator of things to come.

body-contact3. PHYSICAL CONTACT
Be sure to engage in physical contact throughout the cooking and eating process, the subtler the better.  A high five, stroke of their hair, or lower back caress early on breaks down the physical boundaries you can obliterate later on in the evening.  You will have a good sense of where the night is going based purely on how you are greeted.  A hug/kiss on the cheek is a good sign; a handshake or no contact at all likely means you’re probably spooning your pillow…if you’re lucky.

listen4. LISTEN
Clearly you’ll be quite busy creating an outstanding meal for your date.  Now’s your chance to reveal just how interested you are in their life by asking pointed questions and listening intently.  Much like a court of law, the less you say to incriminate yourself, the better your chance of success.  This works in reverse too because you will have ammo about silly quirks or embarrassing stories from their past you can use to playfully tease them about.

flirt5. FLIRT
Most of these suggestions fall under the category of flirting.  But it is important to know where to draw the distinction between flirtation and sleazy cum ons.  The ultimate goal is to create back and forth banter that will draw you two ever closer towards the inevitable kiss and beyond.  Keep the conversation light and full of sexual innuendo, but avoid being pervy.  There will be plenty of time to reveal what a scoundrel you are when the time is right.

be-funny6. BE FUNNY
You would be a fool to underestimate how much chemistry lies in humor.  There’s a reason why pint-sized menches like Woody Allen and David Spade can attract the hottest women on the planet.  Make them laugh and you can make the gasp.  Be sure to tell jokes, stories, and anecdotes.  Bonus points if they relate to cooking and food.

drinks-flowing7. KEEP DRINKS FLOWING
Be a good host always.  Don’t misconstrue this to mean get your date wasted so you can take advantage.  But a little libation lubrication never hurt nobody.  Be ever mindful of their comfort level, which means keeping their glass full, their mind entertained, and their interest piqued.  Another glass of Merlot?

dance-and-cook8. DANCE WHILE COOKING
There is a direct parallel between dancing and banging.  Your bodies moving in sync to the music, your eyes locked, a passionate embrace all lead to a happy ending.  So let inspiration take you over while the pasta boils and spontaneously spin your date around the kitchen.  If the mechanics are right you can sneak in a kiss before dinner that will bubble up over the meal and explode come dessert.

9. FEED YOUR DATE
Keep your date engaged in the culinary process.  A key way to make this happen is to feed them as the food gets near completion.  Let them lick the spoon of the cooking dough, try a bite of the pasta sauce, or sample a raspberry you will serve with dessert.  Get their suggestions and suddenly they are emotionally invested in the meal.  Remember to feed them from your spoon or better yet, out of your hand.
feed-them

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