How To Cook A Romantic Dinner For Two Video

We talked our video assistant, Margaret, into letting us film her hopeless-in-the-kitchen boyfriend while he learned to cook a two-pound bone-in rib eye, German potato salad and chocolate pots de crème—all in the name of a romantic dinner for two. Besides being a loving, considerate and caring human being, he was also a great sport.

When it comes to cooking, Dan's strengths are rice, scrambled eggs and under-salted baked chicken (according to Margaret). Though he recently began adding onions to his egg scrambles—a step in the right direction—he almost lost a finger doing it. You get the idea.

Thankfully, with our food editor Jake's culinary expertise, Dan learned to tackle the ultimate steak for two (see the recipe), the perfect side dish (see the recipe) and an incredibly easy chocolate dessert (see the recipe). If you think that sounds sweet, wait 'til you see the end of the video.

The moral of the story: If Dan can do it, you can, too. Here are a few things every beginner chef needs to know to pull off this feat and win hearts everywhere.

Massage That Meat: Thick-cut rib eyes deserve extra attention when it comes to salting and marinating. Massage the meat with an adequate amount of salt along with aromatics like lemon peel, thyme and fresh garlic. The coarse salt draws out the flavors from the aromatics, adding deep seasoning to the steak.

Give Potatoes the Cold Shoulder: The real key to great potatoes is starting them in cold water, so they cook evenly. Also, wait and salt your water once it's boiling, since salt raises the water's boiling point.

Hit All the Sides: With a large cut of meat like a rib eye, it's important to sear not only the top and bottom but also the sides. It helps it to cook through, gives all the edges a nice crust and renders out the fat cap.

Don't Save the Sweets for Last: The chocolate pots de crème can easily be made one to two days in advance. When assembling a three-course dinner, it's nice to have at least one of the dishes off your plate by preparing it ahead of time.

Watch the video to see how it all turned out and get even more tips along the way for your own romantic dinner.

Get more easy dinner-for-two recipes:
- Perfect Pork Chop Recipe for Two
- Simple Baked Chicken with Peppers and Potatoes
- Rosemary-Laced Rack of Lamb

This month, our hearts belong to the people, places, ingredients and nostalgic favorites doing it all For the Love of Food.