Last week I surprised my wife with a candle lit dinner because of a special occasion. What is that special occasion you may ask? Well, she quit smoking two years ago and has not had one cigarette since! I am so proud her. So I though a nice high class dinner was in order for such a big achievement.
The dinner started off with a simple yet delicious salad. Nothing too fancy, just regular lettuce with fresh tomatoes, basil, romano cheese and a home made herb infused olive oil and good balsamic sprinkled on top.
The pasta was fresh, hand made and cut. I rolled it out really thin using our pasta machine. The filling was a carbonara inspired filling of mostly egg with other ingredients. The egg was gently cooked in a double boiler so they cooked but didn't curdle. The mixture was then refrigerated for an hour to cool and set. That was then pipped onto the pasta squares as the filling. The sauce was really simple: very finely diced zucchini and guancianale saute'd and finished with a little chicken stock. It turned out pretty well, although I am going to have to perfect it (the filling was a little runny and didn't set quite right in the fridge, but the flavor was there). Everything really worked well together.
I also made a sirloin filet. I seasoned with salt and pepper and seared it in a hot cast iron pan. I then finished cooking it in the oven at 350 degrees until medium-medium rare. The topping was a pesto sauce I made in the mini prep of basil, romano cheese, 3-4 cloves garlic, salt and pepper, walnuts, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. The steak turned out great, with a flavorful crust and tender interior. The pesto went really well with the steak.
We had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir to go with the meal.
The highlight of the meal was not the food itself. It was the look on Mel's face when she saw it and the card I got for her. It was a special night, for a special woman, and a special achievement.
I am so lucky to have you, it was amazing!
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