Date Night Delight

You coasted through the first date dinner with the greatest of ease and an abundance of wine. Totally rocked the second date drinks at a somewhat cheesy happy hour, and even scored a drunken public makeout sesh at the end of the night. But now the 3rd date dilemma… Do you actually like this person or was it just the end of summer lonelies? If the answer is yes then sack up, make that middle of the week third date and dare to 'gasp' make him or her dinner. Because, let’s face it, nothing says “I’m pretty into you and I would definitely be into boning” like a home cooked meal. So clean your kitchen, send your roommates out and continue reading to make the following delicious and grown-up meal without breaking a sweat.



Dijon Glazed Salmon with Green Beans and Yam Fries
The directions below are timed so you can do all three components in about a ½ hour. Take that, Rachel Ray!

Salmon- 2 fillets
Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon of course)
Lemons- 1
Green beans- 3 cups
Yams - 2
Pam cooking spray


- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
-Cover two baking pans (or one large one) with tinfoil and spray with Pam

Yams
- Peel yams and chop into fry size pieces, sprinkle with one spoonful of olive oil and lots of salt. Toss so all pieces are coated and put in baking pan. Put in oven and set timer for 25 minutes.

Salmon
- Season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper
- Use a cheese grater to take the zest off of one lemon. Save the rest of the lemon.
-Combine the lemon zest with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 and ½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard in a little bowl.
-Stir this together and spread on top of salmon fillets in a thick layer
-Open oven and place salmon on same pan as fries or on a separate pan (if no room) and bake for about 18 minutes - you should be able to slide a fork through the middle of the fillet.


Green Beans
- While salmon is baking bring a pot of water to boil and add a 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
- Once boiling, drop in green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Take them out and run them under cold water to stop the cooking process. (This is called blanching- it cooks the greens while allowing them to maintain color and crunch)

- Serve salmon with a wedge of the lemon you used for the zest and a side of green beans and yam fries. Put out a little dish of the Dijon mustard for a dipping sauce for the fries.

If your date isn’t impressed then they are not worth your time and you should be happy you didn’t waste money on an expensive dinner out!