Preparing a gourmet meal for a loved one starts with awareness. You are aware of your loved one’s food preferences. Do their tastes run to beef, chicken, fish or something else? Once you have chosen the centerpiece of the meal, it is time to do some research. If you have access to a variety of cookbooks, look through them. Otherwise, a visit to either your library or the Internet is in order. Suppose the person you’re cooking for prefers chicken. A little research can turn up several tempting recipes, including chicken marsala, chicken kiev, chicken soup, chicken cordon bleu, chicken chow mein or roast chicken. Reading the recipes, it’s necessary to visualize the flavors of various ingredients until you narrow down the choices to the one your loved one is most likely to enjoy.

It is equally important to choose complimentary side dishes. A creamy dish such as fettuccini alfredo can put you both in a warm mood. Not just any salad will do, but something special, like a Florentine (with spinach) salad, can excite the palate and make the meal memorable. If your tastes run to wine, it is worthwhile to visit a specialty wind shop and seek the advice of an expert salesperson. “Red with meat/white with chicken or fish” is just a starting point. There dozens of reds and even more whites in a hundred different flavors and degrees of dryness. Unless you are an oenophile yourself, it is wise to get some advice.

Finally, you must choose a dessert. Does your loved one’s taste run to chocolate or are strawberries more to his/her liking? You can ease the pressure on yourself by choosing a pre-made dessert such as a cake. As well, you might prefer something assembled at the last minute, like strawberries Romanoff. These suggestions should spark your creativity, and remember, you are limited only by your imagination.