A Dinner Date

Saturday morning Tony and I were thrilled to see the sun.  After a pretty lazy morning we decided to head out to lunch and to do a bit of grocery shopping.

We went to a place called The Assembly.  Back in the day, this was one of the only restaurants/bar in the area, and Tony spent quite a bit of time there in the 80’s.  They are known for their burgers.  They grill them right behind the bar.

What did I order?  A turkey Rueben.  WTF?!  I took one look at Tony’s Parmesan burger and quickly realized my error.  It was as if I’d ordered lasagna in an Irish pub.

He graciously gave me the perfect bite, and as soon as I swallowed I said “punch me in the face the next time I try to order anything but a burger from this place!”

After lunch we shopped a bit and then I told Tony that there was a new barber shop that I noticed that opened up by our house.  We ended up stopping by on our way home, and as luck would have it, he was next up.   He did a great job, and it was only $15 bucks!  I like how this picture turned out – I am in focus in the mirror and Nick is in focus in the mirror and everything else is blurry.

I am loving my new lens, but still need to figure out how to use it.  I liked how these two pictures came out.

I am a horrible work friend.  I could have lunch with them every single day for years but if I leave the company or they leave?  I rarely talk to them again.  It’s like I just shut that chapter in my life and move on.

I had a boss that was a ton of fun that I am friends with on Facebook.  When I first started working for her, she wasn’t married and didn’t have any kids.  Tony and I went to their wedding about 5 years ago, and now they have two kids.  And they moved last year and live only about 10 minutes away.

I kept joking with her on Facebook that whenever she wanted me to come over and make deep dish pizza in her kitchen, I’d be ready!  Last week she said “How about Saturday?”  Done!

I ended up making both pizza dough’s at home – one thin crust for the kids (well, the baby doesn’t eat pizza yet!) and my deep dish pizza.   And then brought everything with me to assemble once I got there.

Big G rolled out her dough and put the toppings on by herself (with a little help from me).  I am pissed because I had a small apron I was going to bring and leave with her.

I did one sausage deep dish and one sausage and pepperoni deep dish.  The key to this pizza is to not forget to put the olive oil in the bottom of the pan, it makes the crust.

Baby G wasn’t sure what to make of Tony!

We also brought a red velvet cake for dessert.  When we were at the store they asked us if we wanted anything written on the cake, and we asked if they could write swear words, but they said no.  Tony came up with this:

Thanks A & C for a great night!

And they had a dog that reminded me of Ed – his name was Abe and he liked to put his head on my lap.

Sunday morning was another lazy one – we slept in until 10:30!  Love.  For lunch I made us hot dogs.  Not just any hot dogs, but Nathan’s hot dogs – we think the best hot dog and worth the $$ – a package of 4 is $5.49!

I may or may not like a lot of mustard on my dog!  It was nice enough that Tony and I could sit outside before I started dinner.  It could have been a tad warmer, but it worked. 

I made a little cheese and crostini plate.  I enjoyed a glass of red.  Tony has switched to “summer beer” – Bud Light Lime.

Tony also enjoyed a cigar.

Once the sun went down, it was really cold so I got to work on dinner.  I decided to make scallops over vegetable risotto.  Tony gave this dinner two thumbs up! 

Seared Scallops Over Creamy Risotto for Two

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of Aborrio rice
• 2.5 cups of chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup cooked edamame
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 6 large scallops

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add rice and toast for 1-2 minutes.  Add in diced carrots, and start adding 1/2 cup of stock at a time, and stir.  I am not a constant stirrer when it comes to making risotto.  I’ll leave it alone for a few minutes at a time, then add some more broth. 

With the last 1/2 cup of broth, I add the edamame, salt, pepper.  Once the last of the broth has been absorbed, I add the Parmesan cheese and stir. 

For the scallops, I just followed Robin Sue’s method of making scallops.  I think I could have had my heat up a little more, but they were still delicious.  The secret is not to move them once you put them in the hot oil so they get a nice sear.  4 minutes on one side, just a minute on the flip.  (If you do Paleo – Robin Sue has a lot of great ideas!)  I ended up using this seasoning for the scallops that I found at The Fresh Market:

Just yum.  This one is a definite keeper and the perfect dish to a great weekend.  How was your weekend?

Alright, off to get my shit together.  Make it a great day!