German Date Night!

February 9, 2010:
Tag Nacht! [Date Night]

He Said:

I’m not gunna lie. For me, the best thing to do after a hard days work is to sit in front of the TV with a nice cold beer (or 3) and a well cooked steak.

Sound like you? Let’s face the facts lads, it’s not the most romantic thing to do in the world and trying to pull off something like this for a dedicated date night will likely land you in the dog house with the missus for a week. Luckily for you though, I’ve got a sneaky little maneuver to get something similar past the goal keeper.

You may remember a couple of date nights back, Mandy and I had a French night. Before that we had an unpublished Indian night. Both sweet little home dates with great drinks, better food and a themed movie.

Thinking about this further and taking a quick look at a map of Europe, one country stuck out that could both take the edge off a tough day and still be fun enough for a date.

Germany!

What, bloody German I hear you say?

Germany with the boring, well made cars, boring soccer and hard working people. Yes, the very one. You see there are two things out of Germany those meshes perfectly with the aforementioned goals. Oktoberfest and Weiner Schnitzel (though technically out of Austria).

This week Mandy and I whipped up some schnitzels (veal and chicken), dumplings, picked up some premade sauerkraut and some ice cold German beers.

[Mandy’s home-made dumplings our beer-tasting selection Brett’s home-made chicken and veal schnitzel!]

With a date like this, half the fun is making the meals themselves with both of us taking on different tasks.

Washing the meal down we had our own mini-beer tasting. Most good markets will have a few German beers in stock that can make it that much better.

The only trouble with a date like this is, good luck finding a German film to pair with it that isn’t set in 1946 and filled with death and destruction.

To alleviate this, we heard that Vince Vaughan went to Germany once, so we figured that watching Couples Retreat from On Demand was an appropriate choice. Not a bad flick!

Cheers, Brett

She Said:

You, too, can have your own German Night! It's super easy and SUPER yummy! Who knew i could make my very own dumplings, but they actually turned out OK! (well, that's according to Brett. And he's always WAY too kind when it comes to my cooking!)

Here are some of the recipes we used to create our own Tasty Deutsch Fest!

German Dumplings 2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 c. milk 1. Mix all ingredients so no lumps remain. 2. Drop small bits from a teaspoon into boiling beef or chicken stock. 3. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. (could it BE any easier??)

Chicken (or Veal) Schnitzel

1 lb. chicken breasts or tenderloin (or veal!)3 eggs, beaten 1 c. all purpose flour 1 c. cracker meal oilSalt & pepper 1. Beat chicken [or veal] with a mallet until thin. 2. Roll chicken in flour. 3. Dip chicken in egg and then roll in cracker meal or breadcrumbs4. Fry in hot oil until brown, or bake at 350 for about 25 minutes(this is the low-fat version, and tastes JUST as amazing!)5. Salt and pepper chicken and serve with gravy, dumplings, and sauerkraut.

For gravy, we cheated and bought one of those packets from the supermarket. You HAVE to have gravy!

Then, to top it off, Brett went to the market and bought an assortment of yummy beers for our very own beer tasting! Was so good, and fun to try some suds that I'd never had before!

Oh, and ladies? Make it a TRUE Deutsch Tag Nacht by donning one of these! PROST!

Seattle Date Night: Viva La France!

November 5, 2009
French Night Date Night!

He Said:

Right, so this is a cracker of an idea. And before you scoff lads, I’m going to spell out clearly why it can be doubly good for you whether you plan it or whether your missus plans it.

French Night is a date that Mandy invented way back when we first started dating.

Mandy rehashed it last night with great successes.

Basically it’s dinner and a movie but as the name suggests, with a French theme.




With a date like this, you can make it as simple or as fancy as you like. You can go out to a French restaurant followed by the theatre or do what we did and prepare it all at home. I much prefer what we did and to make it simple for you guys I’m gunna give you a shopping list for all you need.

Shopping List:

- Camembert cheese
- Crackers
- Apple
- French wine
- Pre-prepared Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Salad to order
- French movie

Too easy.

All of the above can be found easily at any supermarket. As for the movie, I suggest ducking down to any Blockbuster. Most will have an international section that’ll source you all movies French. We watched Mandy’s all time favourite Amelie. A classic and quirky film that most will enjoy once you get over reading the subtitles.

Again lads I hear you scoff over the subtitles! To be honest I was the same way, way back when but here’s why it’s a winner.

Apparently all things French are romantic. If you pull off a date like this you’ll appear cultured, travelled, intelligent and romantic. Parts of this I don’t get as I haven’t met many intelligent Frenchmen but whatever.

It is unique. Organize a simple French date night on Thursday and you’ll get enough brownie points to last you the rest of the weekend of uninterrupted football and beer. Result.

Now for the next part, I’m gunna have to ask mum to run off and grab a coffee, put on home and away. Girls take special, SPECIAL note here.

This is for when you organize it and another thing to keep the men interested!

You see, Mandy is all about the details. That’s one thing I love about her. She does things properly.

And as we just had Halloween, what’s one outfit that comes to mind when you hear French?? Of course a French Maid.

Mandy was kind enough to don the full garb for our date last night. Tie back hat and all.

Enough said... and let me assure you, well worth the subtitles!

Cheers,

Brett

RATINGS:

Romance: 5

Cool Ambiance/Interior: 5

All Around Service: 5+++ when Mandy's in charge!

Cost:
My grocery list complete with wine was $50. I recommend spending an extra $30 on the costume! Your honey (unless he's a chump) will thank you for weeks! ;)