"Impress your Wife with minimal effort"

There are many ways to impress your girlfriend or wife but I will suggest one way that is sure to be a success and lead to one of the most wonderful evenings you have had. It is amazing how women are impressed by a well cooked dinner.

What I am about to suggest is that you cook a great dinner and make it a romantic event. In order to impress women an ordinary meal will not do. The meal should be well invested in the sense of menus and good cooking.

Now, not everyone is a born cook, but there is nothing that is impossible to learn. Even if you have never cooked, all you have to do is get some great recipes and good and easy to follow instructions of how to cook them.

Salmon en croute.

Serves: 2

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients

For the salmon en croute
4 tbsp chopped fresh dill
4 tbsp chopped fresh chives
200g/7oz cream cheese
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 5oz salmon fillet, skinned
flour, for dusting
1/2 of 425g/15oz packet ready-rolled puff pastry
2 free-range egg, beaten
For the sauce
300ml/1/2 pint double cream
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
For the sautéed spinach
2 tbsp butter
400g/14oz spinach

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. For the salmon en croute, mix the dill, chives, cream cheese and mustard together in a small bowl.
3. Slice the salmon in half across the middle and spread the cream cheese mixture on top of one of the halves. Place the other half fillet on top of the filling.
4. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to make a rectangle twice the size of the salmon fillet. Divide into two rectangles.
5. Place the salmon on top of one rectangle, making sure there's a 2½cm/1in border around the salmon. Brush the edges with beaten egg and place the second pastry rectangle on top of the fillet. Press down around the edges to seal and brush all over with beaten egg.
6. Place onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown and the salmon cooked through.
7. For the sauce, pour the cream and mustard into a pan and bring slowly to the boil. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the dill.
8. For the sautéed spinach, heat the butter in a frying pan, add the spinach and stir until wilted.
9. To serve, place the salmon en croute onto a serving plate with the spinach and drizzle over the sauce.