Empty Nesters: Back to Dinner for Two
by Janet Peterson

One of my most appreciated wedding gifts 37 years ago was the Betty Crocker cookbook Dinner for Two. Most of my cooking experience had been in an apartment setting with five college roommates. There I learned a lot about preparing food in quantity on a limited budget. Those dorm kitchen meals certainly varied in quality as we experimented on each other and tried 101 variations of tuna fish and hamburger. Newly married and still on a limited budget I, nevertheless, wanted to prepare gourmet meals for my husband. Thanks to this helpful cookbook, I learned a great deal about fixing good food in smaller quantities. Larry was a good sport through more experimentation, unskilled attempts, and some downright flops.

As the years went by and our family grew to six children (five of them boys), cooking quality in quantity became an ongoing challenge and process. We developed our own family favorites, such as Chicken Dumplings and Chicken Enchiladas. Those boys could eat a hearty meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes and still fill up a cereal bowl an hour later. I learned that being too adventurous only meant most of the food didn't get eaten, and one child in particular hardly liked anything. ("Oh yuck! Why did you fix that?") It was a treat to order pizza, and usually once a week we ate dinner out, giving me a break and providing a setting for our children to learn restaurant etiquette. On Sundays, "Miss Manners" joined us at the dinner table to civilize this group.

As children do, our daughter and sons grew up. (All that cold cereal and mother's meals got the boys to heights of 6'2" to 6'5"!) We're now empty nesters, and I'm back to cooking dinner for just two most of the time.

While I still have that original cookbook, I don't consult its yellowing pages very often, but I do cook from numerous other cookbooks, Internet sites, and collected recipes, and I still enjoy cooking for my husband. I've found that he gets just as hungry at 6:00 each night as when the table was surrounded by our young and active children.

During the creation and publication of Remedies for the "I Don't Cook" Syndrome, I had conversations with numerous people about cooking dinner and was utterly amazed at the number of middle-aged women who rarely cook. When I was introduced to a couple in Southern California, my friend told them about my new cookbook. After chuckling about the book's title, the wife said, "I told my husband that when the children went out the door, I was through cooking. And now the kids are gone, I am done." Her husband, standing behind her, grimaced and said, "That's all too true."

A couple whose two children are away at college built a new home in Texas. The grandmother, in the presence of her daughter, said, "It's just amazing. My daughter doesn't cook, and they've put in the ultimate in designer kitchens." With a smile on her face, her daughter replied, "It's all for resale value. I don't cook."

In Utah, a man told me he was going to get my cookbook for his wife for her birthday because she doesn't cook anymore." Wistfully he added, "I don't think I'm a very high priority." He did buy the cookbook, and later I received a phone call from his wife. She said thank you for the message about the importance of eating dinner at home. She had too many things going in her life and was definitely going to change her ways and cook for her husband, who is diabetic and needs good and appropriate food.

Eating dinner out as a couple or with friends and family periodically is a delightful social experience. Eating dinner out the majority of the time is simply not a healthy lifestyle at any age, but especially in the empty nest era, when health concerns become more prominent. Restaurant and fast food meals, notorious for their high calorie, fat, and salt content, contribute to weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other maladies.

Cooking dinner at home as empty nesters has many attractions: The two of you can eat just what you want (you can cook all those vegetables and fancy dishes your kids spurned). You can try out new dishes and cuisine without a younger person wishing you were having macaroni and cheese. You can say goodbye to spilled milk and disputes over who got the biggest serving. Conversations can be enjoyed without interruption (the answering machine can take care of phone calls.)

Most importantly, you can look across the table at your sweetheart remembering those early days when it was just the two of you pondering what an eternity of togetherness might be like.

The following recipes from Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook” Syndrome by Janet Peterson offer delicious “adult” dinners.

ANGEL HAIR AND SHRIMP
Jennifer Pulsipher

Perfect for an easy, romantic dinner for two.

¼ pound angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 to 10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 cup chopped roma tomatoes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Drain cooked pasta, rinse in cold water, and set aside. Cook garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet until light brown. Add basil, tomato, and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In another skillet, sauté shrimp in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes, being careful not to overcook. Add pasta to tomato mixture and heat through. Put pasta on serving plates and top with shrimp.

Serves 2.

ORANGE ROUGHY WITH SALSA   
Betty Draper

Fresh salsa is unlike anything out of a jar.

2 to 3 pieces orange roughy
olive oil

Salsa

3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt

Rinse and pat orange roughy dry with paper towels. Brush on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with cilantro. Place orange roughy in a sprayed or greased fish basket or on grill screen. Grill over medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side, or until orange roughy is opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, remaining cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and salt. Cover and refrigerate. Stir before serving. Serve orange roughy with salsa.

Serves 2.

IMPERIAL BAKED CHICKEN
Beverly Blunck

Classy taste and easy to prepare.

1 cup dry fine bread crumbs
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
½ to 1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup butter, melted
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Heat oven to 350º.

Mix together bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Mix together butter, garlic, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a separate dish. Dip chicken halves in butter mixture and then roll in crumb mixture. Place chicken in a foil-lined 9x13-inch baking pan. Drizzle with remaining butter. Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, or until done.

Serves 2.

DILLY CORN AND SNOW PEAS
Janet Peterson

Attractive as it is tasty.

1 cup snow peas
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
½ small red pepper, thinly sliced
1/3cup water
½ tablespoon butter or margarine
½ teaspoon fresh dill weed or pinch of dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, put peas, corn, red pepper and water. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain. Add butter, dill weed, salt, and pepper, stirring to coat.

Serves 2.

PUFFY APPLE OVEN PANCAKE
Kristy Olsen

Good for a light weekend supper.

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup thinly sliced, peeled baking apple (1-2 apples)
2 large eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 400º.

Melt margarine or butter in a 9-inch pie pan. Brush margarine on side of pie pan. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over melted margarine. Arrange apple slices over sugar.

Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk. Beat in remaining ingredients until just mixed (do not overbeat). Pour into pie pan over apples. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately loosen edges of pancake and turn upside down onto heatproof serving plate. 

Serves 2.