Food is a big part of our marriage. We both enjoy eating out, trying new things and entertaining. You could say our marriage started out at McDonalds, but has progressed to Outback, maybe even Kobe Steakhouse.
I still remember the first time my wife made us dinner. Our first apartment was a small, two bedroom affair. Small enough that sitting in the bathroom worshiping the porcelain afforded you a full view of all the rooms. The kitchen was well appointed for such a spartan area. We had a 1980ish refrigerator, which when you combined with the 1960s era gas stove, you could make some food.
While growing up, my mother made it a point to ensure her children knew how to cook. Rephrase that. Not just cook, but entertain. My sister and I were always taught how to do things, how to set things and how to prepare things. Where things like balancing color on the plate and infusing spices were a top priority for me, my wife was more of a “will it fit in the pan” sort of a person. Throughout our early years this led to many a argument about food related items. No food fights, but she did throw water on me once.
Since we were married during the winter, the temperatures outside were cold. The refrigerator didn’t hold much, our money being very limited. We had to make due with the bare essentials. My wife, though, wanted to make the first meal memorable.
Before I move on I have to explain my taste buds. Growing up I was in a strict silo. I wouldn’t try new things and my Mom ensured we always had something we enjoyed in the house. As I met and dined with my wife’s family, I began to enjoy a much varied pallet. Things such as Chinese food, broccoli, cauliflower and many more things become new foods to savor thanks to my wife’s family. They were the Christopher Columbus of introducing me to new foods.
As for our first dinner, was it moist chicken? Was it tender steak? Was it tasty pork? No, it was seafood. Tuna to be exact.
In my household I can’t really remember a time we ate tuna, so this became another food I came to enjoy from her side of the family. To this day I love tuna salad, tuna steak and oh man, bessy bar the door, tuna casserole.
My wife thought it’d be a great idea to make a treat her family enjoyed. Toasted tuna is the name, I think. You take a piece of bread, spread on the tuna you’ve mixed and top with a piece of cheese. Since it’s a classy entree, you broil it. Sounds good, right?
It was awful. The cheese was burnt, the bread was hard and the tuna was cold. My wife was mortified as I sat there trying to act like it was the best meal I’ve ever had. She knew, I knew, our stomachs knew it wasn’t very good. We ended up laughing about it, but that is the meal that kicked off our marriage.
In the past 20 years, my wife’s epicurean skill has surpassed mine. I strictly follow recipes, while she has the confidence and will to mix things up. She’s developed dishes that can pass anyone’s taste tests. Some of my favorite include:
Chicken broccoli casserole: This literally is so good you lick your bowl. The chicken is torn, which increases tenderness and allows it to absorb the broccoli flavor.
Fried ice cream: Not original, but she makes the best of any I’ve tried. She gently rolls the ice cream balls in a special concoct ion of flavor. When cooked it’s like warm syrup in your mouth.
Pan seared steak: This one is a new one and showed me why my wife continually surprises me. For this past Valentine’s day I decided to buy thick steaks. When I say thick, we’re talking mini-roasts. A dog would have to finish it in two sittings. My wife was all for it, but said she wouldn’t cook them. I decided to pan sear them then broil them. They turned out great. Impressed by how well they turned out, my wife decided to give it a shot the next night. I tasted her steaks the next night and my steaks were Alpo to hers.
And that’s the thing about being married 20 years. You live with a person that long you expect to know everything about them. Their wonderful skills and their crippling limitations. Leave it to my wife to demonstrate to me the wonder of love through her continually evolving epicurean skills. There may be better cooks in the world, people who can make a divine 7 course meal out of nothing, but no one has the special magic of making food enjoyable and stirring as my wife.
Today’s Gift: Catering. Our anniversary and my sister in law’s birthday fall on the same day. As she just delivered twins, we’re meeting at their house to celebrate on Friday night. The last thing they need to worry about is making food for the family, so I am going to cater the event as a gift to my wife. Let’s call it a demonstration of the love of food my wife continues to share with me.