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.