An Easy Meal to Impress Your Date

Stressed about the dinner you have to cook for your date tonight?

Ideal for impressing, this simple menu will help you through your worries in half an hour.

The meal starts off with mesclun salad tossed with a sweet and tangy boysenberry vinaigrette. For the main event, roasted portabello mushrooms are set on strips of red bell peppers; four paprika-spiced and seared tiger shrimp are then anchored around creamy mashed potatoes set on top of the mushrooms.

Your meal ends with a classic and simple dessert--a scoop of French vanilla ice cream.

The candlelight and small talk are up to you.

Menu

Mesclun Salad with Boysenberry Vinaigrette

Seared Tiger Shrimp With Portabello Mushrooms and Mashed Potatoes

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Seared Tiger Shrimp With Portabello Mushrooms and Mashed Potatoes

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 25 minutes

1 (1-pound) baking potato, peeled and medium diced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large portabello mushrooms, stems cut off

1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise and seeded

8 large tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup milk or cream

1/2 cup white wine

* Place potato in small saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

* While potato cooks, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in large bowl. Toss in portabello mushrooms and red bell pepper to coat with marinade. Spread mushrooms and bell pepper on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until mushrooms are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Cut pepper into 1/2-inch strips and set aside.

* While vegetables cook, season shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with paprika on both sides. Sear shrimp in very hot saute pan coated with olive oil, 30 to 40 seconds on each side. Set aside.

* Mash potato with 1 tablespoon butter and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside to keep warm.

* In same pan used to sear shrimp, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter and add white wine to make sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat.

* To assemble plates, place several strips of red bell pepper in center of each plate, then set whole mushroom cap on top of strips. Mound about 3/4 cup per serving of mashed potato on top of mushrooms. Set 4 seared shrimp around mashed potato, garnish with any remaining red bell pepper and drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of sauce on each plate.

2 servings. Each serving: 576 calories; 332 mg sodium; 76 mg cholesterol; 47 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams protein; 1.05 grams fiber.

Mesclun Salad with Boysenberry Vinaigrette

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 5 minutes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon boysenberry preserves

Salt

Pepper

1 (4 1/2-ounce) package mesclun salad mix

* Whisk together oil, vinegar, preserves and salt and pepper to taste in large salad bowl. Refrigerate.

* Add mesclun mix just before serving and toss with dressing.

2 servings. Each serving: 282 calories; 154 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.55 gram fiber.

INGREDIENTS

Staples

Boysenberry or any berry preserves

Butter

Milk

Olive oil

Paprika

Pepper

Salt

Balsamic vinegar

White wine

Shopping List

1 red bell pepper

2 large portabello mushrooms

1 large baking potato, about 1 pound

1 (4 1/2-ounce) package mesclun salad mix

8 large tiger shrimp

Vanilla Ice Cream

Game Plan

30 minutes before: Preheat oven, peel and dice potato. Cook potato.

25 minutes before: Whisk the marinade for the portabello mushrooms and red bell pepper. Toss vegetables in marinade and begin baking.

20 minutes before: Clean and season the shrimp. Make boysenberry vinaigrette and refrigerate.

15 minutes before: Drain potato and mash with butter and milk. Check the mushrooms and red bell pepper. When tender, cut the pepper into strips.

7 minutes before: Sear the shrimp and make the simple white wine sauce.

3 minutes before: Toss the salad and start the plate assembly.