Dairy

Stuffed chiles—a.k.a. chiles rellenos—are only as good as their stuffing. These are made with corn, cheese, and crema, combining sweet and salty with some mild heat. But dare to experiment by adding mushrooms, ground meat, or chorizo to the filling for a heartier version. This eye-catching appetizer also makes for a great side dish.

Talk about a crowd-pleaser. This version of a fundido—a Mexican fondue—is incredibly addicting. I challenge you to walk away from this melted gooey cheese mixed with meaty chorizo and spicy poblano chile strips. It is impossible!

Quesadilla literally translates to “little cheese thing.” In Mexico, these little cheese turnovers are eaten as snacks throughout the day and can be left plain or stuffed with a filling. The filling is a combination of regional and personal preference. In all cases, these portable turnovers are quick and easy to make with ingredients you are most likely to have on hand—making them the perfect snack!

When we were testing the recipes for this book, all of our neighbors and friends thought we needed to try this one again. Not because it needed work, they just wanted more. Blueberry Turnovers are super easy to make and absolutely delicious. They would make a perfect ending to an “Impressing Your Date” meal. Serve them warm and believe me, your date will be impressed.

When I was an exchange student in France, I was only an hour and a half from London, so of course, I had to make several trips there. On one trip while wandering around Covent Garden watching the street performers, I came across a vendor selling pasties. I had wanted to try this traditional English dish and when I saw one with apples I knew it was time. Oh man, was it good. In fact, it might be the best apple dessert I’ve ever had, and coming from me, an apple-dessert connoisseur, that’s saying a lot.

I love pumpkin in just about any form, but put it in a cake with cream cheese frosting, and there’s no holding me back. This cake is perfect to bring to a hang-out night with your friends or for you and your roomies to munch on for dessert. Or breakfast! Hey, pumpkin is a fruit and cake has grain and dairy products . . . sounds like breakfast to me.

I used to eat these all the time as an after-school snack. Who knew I was actually paying homage to another generation? Make them with or without the pickles; it doesn’t matter.

Shrimp is something that I don’t often serve at parties simply because it costs too much. But, this recipe uses the tiny little shrimp that are usually pretty cheap. Use frozen shrimp: the canned ones taste too fishy, or if you don’t like shrimp, you can leave them out.

My mom thinks these might be more ’60s than ’80s, but they sound ’80s to me, so here they are. These open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches are easy to make and sure to get a comment or two from your friends.

Yes, we know that real risotto uses arborio rice, but we also know that it has to be stirred constantly for 40 minutes and that’s not a good way to impress your date. Arborio rice releases more starch as it cooks than other types of rice, making risotto very creamy. This version is still really creamy, but can be prepped ahead of time and finished in less than 15 minutes.

I know you are probably thinking, “Me make fish . . . how about No.” I promise you this dish is perfect date food, not only tasty but easy and impressive. Come on, three ingredients including the side dish. It doesn’t get any easier than that. All the seasoning comes from the cheese, so it’s foolproof and only takes about 5 minutes to get ready. Better yet, it cooks in foil so there are no pans to wash.

Lasagna is one of those dishes that sounds difficult even though it’s not. This version is particularly easy to put together because we use no-boil noodles (which are a little thinner than the normal kind) and jarred sauce, and it’s still excellent. If you like your lasagna a little spicier, you can use hot Italian sausage. Just serve this with some warm bread and you’re there.

When I was little this was one of my favorite things to eat after a day of playing in the snow. After we moved to Arizona, my standards changed and now any day under 70 degrees works for me. Fresh tomato soup sounds like a pain, but, trust me, it’s easy and well worth the effort.

Chicken Parmesan is one of my favorite Italian dishes and my mom makes the best ever. It’s the perfect combination of crunchy chicken and cheesiness, and because it’s made in the oven, there’s no oil mess on the stove. You may want to make extra because it’s so good left over.

Even people who swear they don’t like goat cheese love these. This delicious tapa is best eaten piping hot, so the mushrooms should be baked right before serving, but they can be made several hours ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to bake them.

Tapenade is essentially puréed olives with other flavorings added. This is a pretty mild version, but if you like the sharp taste of Kalamata olives, feel free to add more.

Before I was an exchange student in France, I wasn’t sure how I felt about raw zucchini. I now know how delicious it can be. Using a vegetable peeler to make long pasta-like strips for this yummy salad will give it a sophisticated look, but you can also simply grate or thinly slice them, so do whatever makes you happy.

The saying “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” was written for this salad. It seems like a simple salad with very few ingredients, but something happens when they are all put together. I can’t explain it so you’ll have to trust me on this one. It is absolutely outstanding.

You can serve this salad as a side dish, but it’s so packed with stuff that it can easily be a meal. I love this kind of dish because I can have it as a meal one day and then snack on the leftovers for a few days (right out of the container, of course).

So you think you don’t like goat cheese, huh? Well, have you ever tried it? This salad is a super tasty combination that is perfect for hot summer days when you don’t want to make anything warm. And, if you’re absolutely opposed to goat cheese, feta or blue cheese also works well.