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Boys like food, so I'd suggest you roast a chicken, or just some chicken breasts, and maybe some corn on the cob, if you can find good stuff in your area. If he's a broccoli lover, that would be good, too. Or another green vegetable, as you mentioned, like asparagus.

Sliced tomatoes, just on the side, if you can get good tomatoes. Maybe mixed with cucumbers and onions, if you know he likes onions. It's not a salad, but those things look pretty when they're served.

Mostly, you want to have lots of food. My experience with boys, as I mentioned, is that they LOVE food, and feeding him good is a very good thing.

You'll want a jazzy dessert, too, but it can be simple, with a meal like that (and if mac and cheese is his favorite) - like pie a la mode. Lots of ice cream for that one.

I hope you catch this boy, because any girl willing to cook his favorite - from scratch - is already a champ in my book, and if you like him, you should have him.

So good luck!

Well just my first thought was meatloaf. Meatloaf with mac and cheese is a classic of true comfort food. Something green on the side. I am a sucker for collard or mustard greens with mac and cheese but that is just me. Maybe a bacon wilted spinach thing.

I think that chicken is the wrong choice. Not saying that a good roasted chicken isn't a wonderful thing. I just don't think it pairs well with mac and cheese.

Bring him a cold beer for dessert after a meal like that and he will lick the ground you walk on. ;-)

If things don't work out, hit me up.

A restaurant here in Madison, Wisconsin pairs ring bologna with their mac and cheese, and it's really delicious, but I always find myself wanting roasted vegetables or something to break up the fattiness.

Good luck to you! I had a big comfort food meal planned for a new guy I was seeing, and it ended up crashing and burning before I could woo him with my short ribs, so I'll live vicariously through you.

Although this is 'dude food' I think meatloaf might be a bit heavy. If you want protein, I would go with protein finger food, like meatballs, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, or homemade chicken and fish fingers.

Broccoli goes well as a veg with m&c, I'd think, or steamed string beans.

Brownies or cc cookies seem like the obvious dessert, but for something lighter, strawberry shortcake.

Roasted chicken and roasted broccoli are my picks. Until you know him better, be conservative and plan a full meal. You'd rather him be overwhelmed than underwhelmed.

As a mom to 4 sons, trust me - without question beef is tops when it comes to pleasing the male palate. Close 2nd choices for mac & cheese would be grilled bratwursts and caramelized sauteed onions, thick ham slices coated with honey mustard, or some kind of pork. Chicken would be acceptable, but low on the list.

This is what I'd do - purchase one single small beef tenderloin steak - like maybe the size of your palm. Rub it with some grilling spices, then sear. Leave it nice and rare inside. Cool very briefly, then slice over some greens (if he eats them). Make up a simple horseradish sauce- blend sour cream, horseradish and cracked black pepper til smooth, then drizzle over the salad. Add some fresh tomatoes dressed with olive oil & basil on the side and you're done.

The idea is to have the beef, but in an understated way so as not to detract from your mac & cheese. The tenderloin is pricey, but again you're only using a small amount to add some protein punch, so it won't set you back.

Whoops - didn't mean to skip dessert. I'd advise homey and comfortable - peanut butter cookies, (preferably homemade) or brownies with ice cream. Apple pie is always good, too - still kind of warm from the oven...mmm. (and also preferably homemade, if you have the time.)

I too forgot to include desert. How about chocolate pudding, not that instant stuff from a box, but a nice dark chocolate pot o' creme. Serve this in a martini glass or some wonderfully interesting goblet. There must be a big spoonful of whipped cream on the top. YUM!

Dietetically speaking, you'd want to serve it as a side with a vegetables and a lean protein as the main. I mention this because if you do win him over, you will likely be cooking many more meals for him and you can use this opportunity to demonstrate how well-nourished he would be with you. Roasted chicken sounds tasty and nutritious, and the asparagus sounds great for the veggie. Or a tomato salad (chopped fresh grape tomatoes, basil and a dash of olive oil) would compliment the mac and cheese.

Let us know how it turns out!

I'd go with a mustard glazed ham slice and salad or corn on the cob. For desert--how's about a chocolate brownie with a scoop of icecream. He can take some of the leftover brownies home and think of you when he has a brownie snack attack.

I love this thread! Let's hope after all these suggestions your guy isn't a teetotaling vegetarian.

i've always heard people rave about martha's version, but i've never had it myself.
i find that mac n' cheese generally tends to be pretty salty though, which is why i shy away from pairing it with ham. however, i love the above suggestion for using dijon mustard. you could also go for a honey ham and make a sweet glaze (packed brown sugar/ginger ale or brown sugar/pineapple juice/maraschino cherry juice) to offset the saltiness.
definitely make some greens: the bundles of beans tied with bacon sound too marvelous for words-as does roasted broccoli (that's what i grew up eating w/mn'c)
personally, i like taking boneless chicken, dipping it in some egg, then coating it in a combination of homemade italian style breadcrumbs & panko breadcrumbs (for extra crunch) and just frying it up in a little olive oil. then serve it with lots of fresh lemon squeezed on top.
as for dessert, i wouldn't do something super creamy necessarily, since the mac n' cheese is so heavy on dairy already...maybe you could do an iced coffee granita-it's pretty easy, if you have the time to allow it to freeze-there are tons of recipes online to pick from-just google it. but that might be a nice, light, refreshing way to finish off the meal?
go get him, girl!

Most important MaeMae--Tell us how it went!

I'm a little late to the party on this one but I'd vote for ham and some sort of dark green veg.

also, def do a salad or simple broccoli like you've mentioned. keep the salad simple (my boy loves his ceasar). or, with him not being very into vegetables - it says a lot that i've won him over on green beans. i get fresh beans, cut the ends off, blanch them in hot water (do no cook through mushy), and then saute them in olive oil or canola oil with salt pepper and garlic powder (i make fresh garlic oil myself - it's an extra step...just rough chop a lot of garlic and let sit in some warm oil for about 15 min or so. remove the garlic and then saute the green beans until just turning brown. fresh garlic would burn and turn bitter if you were to leave it in the pan with the green beans since you are cooking on a med to med-high heat).

i've won my boy over with my cooking - he's even bought a huge new set of cookware for me to use at his little apartment instead of his cheap stuff he's had before!

good luck!

We always had bacon and peas with mac and cheese when I was a kid. Honestly, that Martha recipe is so rich and wonderful and filling that I could make a meal of just it (and it costs $30 to make) but last time I had it with frozen fruit salad and a honeybaked ham.

Wow, thanks for all of the advice!!! This was so helpful. The dinner didn't end up happening yesterday, but hopefully next weekend. I will let you all know how it goes!

@maemae - oh good - then you might have time after all to make that apple pie! (Use yellow delicious apples...)

There is a restaurant that makes AWESOME mac and cheese _ the Clarkston Union in Clarkston, MI and they add ham chunks to the mac.
It makes it a whole meal... then pair with a salad and you are set.