Heirloom Tomato Terrine and NY Strip Steak

YUM! This was my meal last Wednesday when J and I treated ourselves to an acclaimed Manhattan eatery to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Granted the celebration came 1 week early, but the timing allowed us to take advantage of my mom's "free" babysitting. It was monetarily free, but emotionally expensive - nothing is EVER free. All that aside, it was nice to come home and not have to fork over $80+ for a sitter plus pay for her to take a car home. The car is pretty cheap and I would be horrified if I didn't get her the car and something happened to her - definitely a worthwhile added expense.

Back to dinner...I met J at the bar of the restaurant. It has recently relocated so everything was super spiffy. We each had a drink, chatted and took in the crowd. Then we went to our table in the dining room. As we made our menu choices we each had a Hendrick's Cucumber Gimlet - I couldn't go through dinner without a cuke! We are so much more than foodies - I need to come up with another word, like drinkies? J also picked out a bottle of Pinot Noir with the help of the sommelier. It is funny that when we were younger we never wanted help from the sommelier, now we readily accept it. Is it because we were too uncomfortable in our early years, too lazy now, too embarrassed by our young palates years ago or so confident in our "mature" palates today?

Our first courses came and mine was delicious - light, flavorful and beautiful. My strip steak was amazing - super tender and rich. I followed it up with a dark chocolate torte and a glass of 20 year tawny - how I missed my ports when pregnant. I used to always get scotch after a meal, but my mid-thirties have really rung in the era of the port.

We came home, let my mom off duty and crashed. It was a great night. In addition to the meal, we chatted about our kids and our future - 2 of my favorite topics!

Tomorrow is our actual 9 year anniversary. We will celebrate at home with a meal/snack more reminiscent of our early dating years - shrimp cocktail, cheese, crackers, salami, and some antipasti items. I am sure the conversation will be grand and the wine from the wine fridge will do the trick.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My mom made this cake for us today to help commemorate our upcoming year anniversary. It was a very tasty cake, especially considering I eat cucumbers for dinner during the week. This week should be much different. J and I are going out to a great dinner on Wednesday so my diet will be shot this week. I am looking forward to the awesome meal bit I do like the hungry feeling - it makes me feel thinner.

Grass-Fed Beef Burgers

It seems we have have burgers on the grill every weekend. We typically order 4lbs of grass-fed beef in hamburg form from our CSA co-op each month along with some steaks and other meats. Tonight my mom joined us for burgers. I may be in the minority, but I prepare my burger with mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato and onion and then eat it. I rarely look at the beef. I think having a 3 month old that just went to sleep for the night and who could wake up at any moment makes me eat fast. I still enjoy the food, but can't take the time to pleasure in it. I realized when I cleaned the plates that my mom had left small pieces of slightly reddish beef on her plate. Maybe I don't care if my burger is on the rare side - actually I know I don't care if it is on the rare side. I just don't get how/why she needs to inspect every bite. And you may be thinking my mom is a size 2, but no she's a size 14 - at least.

I often wonder why while I love and salivate over good food, I am not all that picky about what I eat. I will try just about anything and any disappointment I have usually has more to do with lack of flavor or spice than with texture or degree of "doneness". I find that most of family is stuck in a food rut. I am very grateful that I am not in that same rut. I really hope my kids avoid the rut as well.

Tomorrow night...another helping of Chinese Cabbage Salad.