Cooking for two

Does cooking drive anyone else mad? I've just cooked (rather hectically) a dinner for my Gentleman's birthday- it went over quite well, but in the last minutes of wrapping up his present while he hid in the kitchen, I left the first batch of rice to burn and undercooked the bok choy. (In my own estimation- the Gentleman approved of them.)

I don't get this way when I cook for myself, but on the other hand, when I was for one, I hardly ever experimented. I defaulted to humus and veggies or pasta more often than not. But when other people are involved I feel pressured to book more and better, and to try new things.