There are several occasions throughout the year when I want to step my dinner game up a notch and make something really nice. Birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and special visitors, to name a few. Crafting a beautiful and delicious meal is a great way to show love and appreciation for someone!
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If you’re looking for recipes that are special, but not totally off-the-wall, you’re in the right place.
Choose an appetizer, main course, and dessert from this list for an amazing three-course meal, or keep it simple and focus on making a show-stopping dessert.
Whether you’re cooking for two or ten, these dishes won’t disappoint.
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(Oh, and if you are looking for something special to make for Valentine’s Day, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve listed many pink-colored dishes! And if it’s not pink, be like Tara and make it pink.)
Appetizers
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Cheesy Parmesan Chicken Garlic Bread – The Food Cafe
Oven Roasted Melting Potatoes – Simply Sated
Winter Fruit Salad – Natasha’s Kitchen
Philly Cheesecake Dip – Rachael Ray
Rosemary Dinner Rolls – Cooking Classy or Texas Roadhouse Rolls – Jo Cooks
Bite-sized Bloomin’ Onions – Macheesemo
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Spinach and Artichoke Hand Pies – Will Cook For Smiles
Homemade Chiabatta Bread – The Cozy Cook (Try pairing it with Garlic Dipping Oil – Life Currents)
Zesty Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp – McCormick.com
Fried Sweet Plantain Slices – Smart Little Cookie
Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs – Spend With Pennies
Best Ever Broccoli Salad – Mom on Timeout
Main Course
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Easy, Fall-off-the-Bones Oven-Baked Ribs – Inspired Taste.net or Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Baby Back Ribs – A Family Feast (Pair with Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil – Rachel Cooks!)
Garlic Parmesan Salmon and Asparagus Foil Pack – Calorie Warrior
Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana – The Chunky Chef (Goes amazingly with Copycat Red Lobster Biscuits – The Slow Roasted Italian)
Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Garlic & Herb Butter Recipe – Kitchen Swagger
Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad – Cafe Delights
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Ultimate Garlic Pork Loin Roast – Dinner Then Dessert
One Pot Creamy White Bean and Ham Tortellini Soup – Carl’s Bad Cravings
Blackened Chicken Alfredo – Aunt Bee’s Recipes
Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Pecan and Chestnut Wellington – Washington Post
Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Breast – I Wash You Dry
Ricotta Stuffed Shells With Creamy Pesto – One Green Planet
Pineapple Ham Fried Rice – Rachael Ray
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Flank Steak Pinwheels – Art From My Table
Pork Carnitas Tacos with Mango Black Bean Salsa – The Flavor Bender
Vietnamese Chicken Red Cabbage Cups – Rachael Ray
Spinach Artichoke Pasta – The Pioneer Woman
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan – Six Sister’s Stuff
Desserts
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Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake – Sugar Hero
Pink Lemonade No Bake Cheesecake Parfaits – Cravings of a Lunatic
Blueberry Pavlova – Rachael Ray
Brownie-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies -Chelsea’s Messy Apron
Apple Pie Enchiladas – Sugar Apron
S’mores Macarons – Bakers Royale
Summer Berry Cheesecake Salad – The Slow-Roasted Italian
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Raspberry Nutella Puff Pastry Heart – It’s Always Autumn
Dole Pineapple Whip (and instructions on how to make other fruit whip variations) – The Blendtec Blog
Honeyed Pears in Puff Pastry – Just a Pinch Recipes
Cannoli Recipe – Italian Dessert Recipes
Homemade Cream Puffs – Chef In Training
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Which recipe did you try for your special night? How did it turn out? (We can swap fail stories, too. We all have ’em.)
-Mariah
Pair that dinner with a movie! Check out our list of man-approved chick flicks or amazing, classic old movies!
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All of these sound so good! I want to try them all.
ME TOO! I’d love even more if someone else made them for me! 😉
What an awesome round up of recipe ideas for a fancy night in!
Thank you! I’m really excited to try out the Easy Ribs and the Apple Pie Enchiladas 🙂
All of these dishes look amazing. So many options I didn’t know where to start.
A good problem, I hope! 🙂 I tried to be helpful and organize it by category, but it’s still hard to choose what to make! Let me know if you try out a recipe.
Oh thanks so much for sharing this list. Always looking for fancy dinner ideas.
My pleasure! I love looking up recipes, so it was no trouble for me 😉 I hope you find something you love!