Last week, I made dinner for a boy. I say that with tongue in cheek because they’re not really still boys at 28. (Or are they? Married ladies, you tell me). I made dinner for a date and this is the part where I’m going to come clean and confess something.

Despite the fact that my ideal day includes spending six hours in the kitchen with a thin film of flour coating my shirt and despite the fact that I publish a website where I write recipes I had not one freaking clue what I was going to cook until the night before dinner, when I stood in Trader Joe’s staring at the shopping list I’d haphazardly jotted down at 7:30 that morning as though it was penned in Greek.

And I don’t understand Greek.

When you’re cooking with someone new, particularly when it’s someone who knows that you write a website about cooking, you might find yourself feeling a little bit oh, pressured to make a good meal. When you’ve claimed over drinks that you’d like to one day attend culinary school, it goes without saying that you have above-average kitchen skills. You will want to do a good job.

(Pro tip: don’t tell future dates if you write a website about cooking).

But if you’re like me and you have a big mouth and you can’t stop yourself from blurting out “and I write this blog” on your first date, you can do anything you want for the main course and dress it up with a fancy salad to serve while you’re waiting for dinner to cook, cool, defrost or arrive at your door in the hands of a capable Asian delivery man.

Pear Salad with Bacon, Gorgonzola and Toasted Walnuts
(Adapted from Closet Cooking)
Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 cups mixed baby greens
1 pear (cored and sliced)
2 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1/4 cup Gorgonzola (crumbled)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Assemble salad: greens, bacon, pears, walnuts and Gorgonzola.

2. Mix the lemon juice, oil and dijon mustard in a small bowl.

3. Toss the salad with the dressing to coat. Serves 2.