Looking at yet another uninspired date night at home dinner? Then do we have some fun date night at home ideas! Resort-inspired recipes from chefs and cocktail recipe from mixologists. Get ready for an inspiring date night at home dinner ideas. Are you ready? Keep reading!
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Resort-Inspired Menu: Date Night at Home Dinner Ideas
Table of Contents
When an evening out is just not in the cards. Or you’re tired of the ol’ stand by uninspired at-home recipes. Perhaps creativity is overloaded. Need some inspiration for yummy recipes and tasty cocktails at home? With help from some of America’s finest hotel and resort chefs and mixologists, not bring their tasty menu to your own home. Serve your husband, significant other, and/or family this resort-inspired menu for the best date night at-home dinner.
Set the Mood for Date Night at Home Dinner
Make it the best date night at home dinner by setting the mood with background music or other romantic ambiance. Queue up your favorite music on Amazon Prime with Alexa.
Light the fireplace. Don’t have a fireplace? Queue a fireplace video with piano music on YouTube (such as above).
Pour a pre-dinner cocktail or glass of wine and relax in front of the fireplace together for a wind-down moment or two.
Romantic Table Settings
Set the table for romance for your date night at home dinner. So many ways you can make the night even more special with candlelight, fancy table runners & placemats, and bring out your finest dishes.
What better time than now to set the table with your family’s fine china? What are you saving it for? Or maybe you don’t have your own set of China? Consider buying Vintage China 5-piece place settings on Etsy.
Date Night at Home Dinner Ideas Menu & Recipes
This is going to be so much fun! Are you ready to get all fancy with your date night at home dinner ideas? With help from some of the finest hotel and resort chefs, couples can recreate a restaurant-quality romantic dinner at home—from cocktail to dessert.
These chefs have also used easy-to-source ingredients to minimize shopping trips (download shopping list here).
Your date night at home dinner menu includes:
- Cocktail: Heavy-Handed Gin & Tonic
- Starter: Cucumber-Zucchini Salad with Hearts of Palm
- Mains: Prime Delmonico and Potato Broccoli Gratin with Garlic
- Dessert: Key Lime Tart
Cocktail: Heavy-Handed Gin and Tonic Recipe
Set the evening’s tone by shaking up this bold and sophisticated cocktail—perfect for sipping while you fire up the grill.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 oz. barreled aged gin
- ½ oz. honey liquor
- ½ oz. lime juice
- Splash hand-crafted tonic
PREPARATION
Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain. Top off with hand-crafted tonic. Garnish with lime wheel (and consider adding an edible flower from your home garden, like a lavender bud).
Download –> Heavy-Handed Gin and Tonic Recipe.
Book your own gin experience at Whiteface Lodge.
Starter: Cucumber Zucchini Salad with Hearts of Palm
Making this refreshing salad the night before keeps date night preparations simple.
Perfect wine pairing: Select your favorite Pinot Grigio, a light wine with a crisp citrus flavor to highlight the vegetable combination of the Cucumber Zucchini Salad.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 ripe heirloom tomato, diced
- 1 medium green zucchini, peeled and diced
- 4 stems parsley
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 oz. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 oz. yuzu juice (substitute any citrus juice – lemon, lime, orange)
- 4 oz. small end of fresh hearts of palm, sliced into rings (substitute canned or jarred if necessary)
- ½ oz. paprika
PREPARATION
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit overnight before eating.
Download–> Cucumber Zucchini Salad with Hearts of Palm recipe.
Book your own foodie experience at Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort.
Main Course: Prime Delmonico
Grilling offers a welcome excuse to step out for some fresh air after a day cooped up indoors. The Tap Room’s culinary team shares pro tips for preparing the perfect steak—with nothing more than a prime cut, salt, and pepper.
INGREDIENTS
22-oz. bone-in, center-cut rib-eye steak
Salt and pepper to taste
PRO TIPS FOR A PEBBLE BEACH-WORTHY STEAK
The best-tasting steak starts with the best beef. The Tap Room culinary team uses prime grade beef,
which represents less than 1% of the beef produced in the U.S. It is hand-selected for Pebble Beach
Company and typically sourced from Omaha, Nebraska.
The team recommends that guests enjoy this dish medium rare to rare, as that temperature really showcases the product and retains some of the integrity of the marbling, keeping the beef moist and flavorful. Season with salt and pepper before searing or grilling. This will impart a more intense natural flavor and, in the end, will require less seasoning.
Let the chop rest after grilling. This loosens up the muscle of the beef and makes it more tender. The difference of 5-10 minutes of rest can transform the muscle into a very tender, delectable Delmonico.
Most guests can, in fact, finish the 22 oz. piece of meat. But sharing is a great choice—particularly for
those who want to leave room for dessert!
Perfect Wine Pairing: The beef is the star of the date night at home dinner, so the wine should be equally as impressive. Best Options are bold: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, or Bordeaux.
Download–> Prime Delmonico recipe.
Create your own Pebble Beach experience.
Main Side Dish: Potato Broccoli Gratin with Garlic
Recipe courtesy of Gaby Brasserie Française at Sofitel New York (New York)
The perfect side to a steak dinner, this gratin is also hearty enough to serve as the main course for non-meat-eaters.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces
- 1 qt. heavy cream
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper – to taste
- Nutmeg – to taste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 oz. Parmesan, shredded
- Melted butter
PREPARATION
Mix the salt, pepper, nutmeg and crushed garlic with the heavy cream. Add sliced potatoes into the mix, then add shredded Parmesan and Gruyere cheese. Stir well. Using either individual or one large baking dish, place some melted butter and spread all around to avoid anything sticking too much. In the bottom of the dish, place a layer of potatoes, about one inch, then add some pieces of broccoli, and cover with more potatoes. Pour the liquid mix on the top of the potatoes. Cover the dish(es) and bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 35 – 45 minutes, depending on the size of the dish. To check doneness, insert the blade of a knife. It will slide in easily once the dish is sufficiently cooked.
TIP: For optimal quality, let it rest, then reheat, adding more cheese on top and browning in the oven.
Download–> Potato Broccoli Gratin with Garlic recipe
When you’re ready to visit the Big Apple, book Sofitel New York for your next vacation.
Dessert: Key Lime Tart
This tart’s bright citrus flavor embodies all the breezy splendor of a Florida beach at sunset.
BROWN SUGAR GRAHAM CRUST INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted, hot
PREPARATION
Combine graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar with a whisk. Add in melted butter. Portion into the desired mold. Bake for 10 mins at 350 degrees.
KEY LIME CUSTART INGREDIENTS
- 14 oz. condensed milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 oz. lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
PREPARATION
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into baked graham shell. Bake at 350 degrees until the pie jiggles just slightly and doesn’t stick to your finger when touched. About 10-12 minutes.
SWISS MERINGUE INGREDIENTS
- 4 egg whites
- 1 ½ cups sugar
PREPARATION
Combine sugar and egg whites in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. Whisk constantly till the egg whites reach 160 degrees F. Take off heat and immediately transfer to a mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until cool and the meringue is stiff and glossy.
Dessert Wine Pairing: With a dessert both sweet and tart, consider pairing with an Ice Wine or a Sauvignon Blanc. My husband actually pairs his with a Tawny Port.
Download–> Key Lime Tart recipe
Ready for the beach? Book your next vacation at Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa.
More Date Night at Home Dinner Ideas
Finally, we’d love to see the photos to inspire us to prepare our own date night at home dinner ideas. Share with us in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.