F*A*T Tuesday returns.......

As it always does........
If you've been hanging around Stories from the Road for any length of time, you know that I just hate the word FAT.   It's an ugly word.  I guess there are some good things about the word but for the most part, I try to avoid it completely. 
However, when you write a blog that was conceived due to weight loss surgery and there's a day that's called FAT TUESDAY, you just can't avoid writing about it?
Right? 
Yes, right.
I guess.  

Considering I have been writing about it for 7 years, perhaps I've done my penance and I can get on with other things...... 

How about a little early morning story????

 

Some scene-setting.......putting empty bottles to good use!

On Sunday, in a fit of  winter blues and  to try to make the best of a Valentine Weekend that was more about obligations than celebrations, we decided that we would do something totally crazy....shop for a meal that we cook together.    So, we went to our local ginormous market place to gather up a few nice ingredients to cook up a romantic dinner.....you know the kind...with candles and pretty flowers and lovely dishes and loving gazes and whispering sweet nothings.....  

Yes, I know.... borderline insane. 

Grocery shopping and kitchen togetherness are rare activities for us...it is not known to lead to loving gazes and whispering sweet nothings.  Typically, it's anything BUT romantic.  It's more like a bicker-fest than anything else.  But, I figured...maybe we've matured.....

My daughter said it would only last 5 minutes while my nephew gave us more credit and said it would end after 15 minutes.  

You see...my resident engineer--who doesn't cook at all--is also a master of better-ways-to-do-things and he loves to tell me about them!   While I want him to respect my expertise in the kitchen (and to be quiet!), he wants to improve it with his ideas (by lecturing me!).  

Not a good mix....

And, he can be quite impatient with processes.   

While I am all about the process in the kitchen, he is all about the let's-hurry-this-along-so-we-can-eat-then-I-can-relax-and-watch-TV . 

And...don't even get me started on our grocery shopping style differences!   

When I go to our ginormus market place, I like to linger over things and talk to the butcher and the fish monger and anyone else I happen strike up a conversation with.   

Again, he is much more about get-your-stuff-and-get-the-hell-out.   

Since we really didn't have any special plans--which made me a little sad-- I  suggested to shake things up a a bit with grocery shopping and cooking together.   And, since he didn't have to come up with something to do for Valentine's, he went with it....

I know. I know.  Risky business.  Living on the edge.  

 

Martinis helped.  Forgive me, but I think this cute apron makes me look F*A*T! 

Just when you think you are going to hear an awful horror story....you are not.

But, I don't want to disappoint you! 

So, I will report on the few minor glitches.....

The first glitch was the predictable "what do you want to make?"  problem of wandering around the store aimlessly hoping something magnificent would just appear in your cart.  

My shopping partner doesn't take too kindly to not having a plan.  

So, he was very impatient.  In fact, he disappeared a few times--leaving me to make decisions that I was sure he was going to nix.  I was a bit annoyed....

Thankfully, I was rescued by my daughter's high school sewing teacher who was standing in line with her friend at the fish counter with a recipe in hand.   She oohed and awed about it and her friend just gushed over it.  Even the fish monger chimed in to sing the praises of the recipe and to give us some insider tips.   A perfect sign that this recipe (they suggest the garlic and herb Boursin cheese so I went with that...) was meant to be.....

So, I immediately got in line behind them and ordered whatever they were ordering....

Shrimp. Crab. Scallops.  

(although the recipe doesn't call for crab...they strongly suggested adding it and since crab is one of my favorite foods, I was onboard.....) 

Although we had a little disagreement over the type of pasta---he prefers DeCecco Spaghetti and I thought we might spring for Fede pasta---we ended up with his choice.....this time. 

Once the main course was chosen, the rest of the shopping went pretty well.  

Everything else fell easily into place.....

Appetizer:  Artichoke Hearts and Proscuitto roll-ups (a good recipe when you are only serving 2-4 people...Carmen especially likes this appetizer so I figured I'd make it!)

Salad:  Spinach Salad with Meyer Lemon Parmesean Dressing (I used my own croutons)

Dessert:  Raspberry-Chocolate Parfaits  (I had already decided on this before we left the house!)

Another issue came up when it came to martini time.  

As a Valentine surprise for Carmen, I ordered him the olive juice that they use at one of our favorite martini bars in the downtown area.

Unfortunately, it did not arrive in time for our day-after-Valentine's-Day-martini-time.  

So, this left me in quite a quandary. 

But, I decided to remedy it by visiting one of our favorite local suburban bartenders and see if she could score me some good olive juice (this stuff is pretty tough to find, trust me!).  Luckily, she was able to share some of her stash and off I went carrying my little to-go cup with a lid filled with this precious olive juice....yes, it looked like a specimen! 

Anyway...

Come martini time, Carmen noted that we did not have his favorite vodka......which was quite unusual.  (he also noted that we had my favorite gin!)

Not having his favorite vodka made him quite unhappy.  

Even when I presented him with my olive juice score, he was still a bit pouty....

For the record....my martini was just perfect.  

His....notsomuch.  

He be-damned using the precious olive juice with such a substandard vodka and had quite a little pity party for himself having to endure such a hardship......

Oh, the problems of  seasoned martini drinkers.....

Even with a not-perfect martini, my cooking partner was able to loosen up enough to go with the flow-of-Judi and follow directions without interjecting better ideas......

The cooking part of a success.

The romantic dinner part could have used some help.  

But, I have to admit that I am not really sure how to do this intentional  romantic dinner thing.  It feels way too contrived for me.  And, I giggle....

Which I suppose was another glitch.....

Would this have been more romantic????