You’ve had your eye on your dream love for about a month now. You’d like to move their eye (at least the good one) in your direction. You’ve tried everything. You’ve accidentally taken a drink (yes, with your very own lips) from the water fountain at exactly the same time they did. No reaction.
You’ve spilled super-glue on the back of your dress or pants (hmm) and accidentally tripped and fallen into their lap. No reaction (other than scissors). And you’ve accidentally slashed your own tires and begged for a ride home. No reaction (except to count out your bus fare).
What in the world are you going to do?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Your Smiling Chef can solve most love problems.
You prepare the following recipe and take it into the office and say to your love interest (after you’ve gotten their attention in one of those sly ways you’ve become so adept at), “Would you do me a really, really big favor?” Being that they’ve always been polite they’ll say, “Of course I will if I can.”
And then you’ll say, “My best friend is head over heels in love with someone and wants to invite them to a quiet, romantic dinner but she (or he) doesn’t know how to cook and asked if I could put something together for them. This is what I’m thinking of making for them and I’d like you and (someone else in the office since there are two halves) to sample this at lunchtime and tell me what you think about it.”
And hand them your creation and say, “I’ll join you two for lunch so we can decide if this would be a great dinner alternative rather than the usual filet mignon and baked potato. Okay…I’ll see you two later.”
You’ve spilled super-glue on the back of your dress or pants (hmm) and accidentally tripped and fallen into their lap. No reaction (other than scissors). And you’ve accidentally slashed your own tires and begged for a ride home. No reaction (except to count out your bus fare).
What in the world are you going to do?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Your Smiling Chef can solve most love problems.
You prepare the following recipe and take it into the office and say to your love interest (after you’ve gotten their attention in one of those sly ways you’ve become so adept at), “Would you do me a really, really big favor?” Being that they’ve always been polite they’ll say, “Of course I will if I can.”
And then you’ll say, “My best friend is head over heels in love with someone and wants to invite them to a quiet, romantic dinner but she (or he) doesn’t know how to cook and asked if I could put something together for them. This is what I’m thinking of making for them and I’d like you and (someone else in the office since there are two halves) to sample this at lunchtime and tell me what you think about it.”
And hand them your creation and say, “I’ll join you two for lunch so we can decide if this would be a great dinner alternative rather than the usual filet mignon and baked potato. Okay…I’ll see you two later.”
And off you go back to work.
Now of course, when lunchtime rolls around, the third person that will be joining you doesn’t show up at this prearranged…well…tryst. That’s because they’re very aware of your deceptive intentions.
Well, actually everyone in the office is. That is, everyone except your love interest.
So you’ve finally gotten your love interest alone. Just the two of you. Two people. Together finally. Alone. Now what do you do?
Now of course, when lunchtime rolls around, the third person that will be joining you doesn’t show up at this prearranged…well…tryst. That’s because they’re very aware of your deceptive intentions.
Well, actually everyone in the office is. That is, everyone except your love interest.
So you’ve finally gotten your love interest alone. Just the two of you. Two people. Together finally. Alone. Now what do you do?
Heck, I don’t know…I’m just Your Smiling Chef!
PINEAPPLE LOVE TUB (hopefully serves 2)
Your Ingredients:
1 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 medium-sized fresh pineapple (smell the stem end of it and make sure it smells pineapplely, even if its not a real word)
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup maraschino cherries, halved and drained
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tbsp light rum
PREHEAT oven to 350˚F.
PLACE the coconut and slivered almonds on a dry baking sheet and spread out in one layer. If the coconut is unsweetened, add 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and toss everything together, then spread mixture evenly on baking sheet.
BAKE mixture in preheated oven and stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes until almost golden brown but still with flecks of white showing. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
WASH the outside of the pineapple, including the leaves thoroughly with a pineapple brush (sorry, I meant a vegetable brush). Pat dry.
CUT off the leafy crown and save it for garnish.
CUT the pineapple in half lengthwise.
SCOOP out the fruit from each half with a large spoon leaving a 1/4-inch shell (use a serving spoon or a tablespoon because you want large enough chunks to be able to cut into bite-sized chunks).
USE a paring knife to remove the woody core from the fruit and discard.
CUT remaining scooped out pineapple into bite-sized chunks.
COMBINE pineapple chunks, toasted coconut, toasted almonds, mandarin oranges, cherries, marmalade and rum in a bowl and toss gently.
PLACE prepared pineapple halves and mixture in fridge until ready to serve.
WHEN ready to serve, place each half on a pretty plate that will enhance the colors in your mixture. For the holidays, a red salad plate would pick up the color of your maraschino cherries. For autumn, a burnt orange plate would pick up the color of the mandarin slices.
DIVIDE mixture between both halves and garnish with the pineapple top. You could cut the top vertically in half (so now you have an identical pair) and attach it vertically to the end of the bowl with a toothpick with interspersed whole cherries stuck within the leaves. Or you could use kitchen shears to cut some leaves and lay them around the outer plate with whole cherries on top. It’ll be an attractive presentation either way.
Now, enjoy your romantic evening and let me know how your story ends!
Always Enjoy!
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