Our International Womens Day dinner ideas include recipes for five elegant and incredibly delicious dishes to cook for that someone special in your life this weekend. Whether she’s your wife, partner in life, mother, sister, daughter, girlfriend, friend, or colleague, these special meals will make her feel appreciated on a day that can feel more political than personal. It’s both.
There are few better ways to express your love and appreciation of someone than by cooking them a heartfelt homemade meal, which is why I compiled these International Womens Day dinner ideas to cook for the woman or women in your life. International Women’s Day is 8 March, but we’re celebrating strong resilient women all weekend here at mum’s in Australia.
I’m cooking mum an extra delicious meal today that’s imbued with meaning and memories, that we’ll enjoy together tonight. It’s been a tough two years here in Australia, on the verge of homelessness for 18 months and battling cancer and eviction notices, so we have a lot to celebrate: that Mum has beat ‘the big C’ and has a lease on a lovely apartment I moved her to eight month ago.
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International Womens Day Dinner Ideas to Show Her Your Appreciation
When you sit down with the women you care about to celebrate International Women’s Day over a delicious meal tonight, spare a thought for the homeless women out there, and the older women at risk of becoming homeless like my mother was.
Here are a few organisations helping the homeless, including homeless women, in different ways, from advocacy to emergency accommodation: Sacred Heart Mission, Homelessness Australia, Justice Connect, and Mission Australia.
Now let me tell you more about these International Womens Day dinner ideas. I’ve got five recipes for International Womens Day dinner ideas to cook for the special women in your lives.
Braised Chicken with Olives and Capers Recipe for Juicy Mediterranean Style Chicken
This braised chicken with olives and capers recipe makes incredibly succulent chicken legs in a Mediterranean style with a couple of surprising Asian ingredients. It tops the list of my best International Womens Day dinner ideas.
Adapted from a recipe by Australian chef Martin Benn, it’s one of our best chicken recipes, a foolproof set-and-forget chicken dish that no matter how long you leave it or reheat it the chicken remains juicy.
We love to serve it with a chicken jus and crunchy Hassleback potatoes or creamy potato mash and this radish cucumber salad with feta, rucola and fresh herbs.
Braised Chicken with Olives and Capers Recipe for Juicy Mediterranean Style Chicken
Smoked Salmon Pasta Recipe with Dill Pickles, Capers and Fresh Dill
This smoked salmon pasta recipe makes spaghetti with smoked salmon, dill pickles, capers, and fresh dill, and it’s another of my best International Womens Day dinner ideas.
Sour cream and lemon juice make this a pasta that’s quintessentially Russian flavoured, and it’s versatile too – you could add more sour cream for a creamier texture or a dollop of caviar for a special occasion, such as Valentine’s Day.
Bonus: it comes together quickly, in less than half an hour.
Pork Stroganoff Recipe Made with the Chinese Velveting Technique
If you’ve cooked and enjoyed my traditional beef Stroganoff or richly spiced chicken Stroganoff recipes and you’re a lover of Chinese cuisines and dishes made with the Chinese velveting technique, then you’re going to love my pork Stroganoff recipe.
Served on beautiful ceramic plates with crispy shoestring fries on the side, this pork Stroganoff is probably the most elegant of all my Stroganoff recipes and one of my best International Womens Day dinner ideas.
You’ll still want a fresh garden salad but you can serve that at the centre of the table. And if you’re looking for a vegetarian main course, then I also have a mushroom Stroganoff recipe.
Pork Stroganoff Recipe for Tender Pork Made with the Chinese Velveting Technique
Crispy Skinned Salmon Fillet with Colcannon Recipe
This crispy skinned salmon fillet with colcannon recipe has been a favourite since we first tasted the dish at restaurant Banc in Sydney many years ago. The salmon fillet was cooked to perfection and the colcannon (an Irish mash potato) was creamy and rich.
This is another of my best International Womens Day dinner ideas. One of the things we love about this salmon fillet with colcannon is that you can prep everything beforehand and disappear into the kitchen for only 10 minutes to finish it if you’ve done your mis-en-place.
Reheat the mash and add some butter to the sauce while you cook the salmon. So simple. Another point in this recipe’s favour is that it can be adapted for non-pescatarians without deeply affecting the flavour profile of the dish. Perfect.
Salmon Fillet with Colcannon Recipe and How to Get a Perfect Crispy Salmon Skin
Italian Roast Chicken Recipe with Peppers, Leeks, Olives, Capers and Thyme
Our Italian roast chicken recipe with peppers, olives and capers makes succulent chicken quarters roasted on a bed of leeks and red and green peppers with plump black olives, briny capers and sprigs of fresh thyme.
The slow-cooked chicken is incredibly delicious and will fill your home with the sweet scent of roasted peppers, and it’s another of my best International Womens Day dinner ideas.
If you’re a lover of roast chicken that is so moist it falls from the bone and melts in your mouth, you’re going to adore this Italian roast chicken recipe. As with the recipes above, it’s perfect with potatoes and mash, or any one of these vegetable side dishes.
Italian Roast Chicken Recipe with Peppers, Leeks, Olives, Capers and Thyme
Please do let us know if you make any of our International Womens Day dinner ideas in the comments below as we love to hear how our recipes turn out for you.
