The Dinner.
I wrote in September about my little obsession with having a romantic dinner, one where I’d be cooking and otherwise hosting dinner for someone that I… right.
The other night this dream, if you will, came true. I never imagined I’d be making him dinner, particularly in that sort of setting, but in retrospect I cannot think of anyone I’d rather have done that for; someone that in a sense would deserve it, and more importantly someone that would appreciate it. The goal wasn’t to be snobishly impressive, but to do something elaborate and thoughtful. I achieved that.
He has cooked for me before, though not individually, so I did have a fairly good grasp of the sorts of flavors that he likes, but still, it was a bit of a learning experience and I did approach it with trepidation on certain aspects. I think, if anything, him appreciating that I took the time to come up with something I was fairly certain he’d like, in addition to the appreciation of ‘holding back’ in certain areas because of my uncertainty, is more satisfying in the ‘I did this right’ respect.
I suppose I’d been preparing for the last year for this, though I wasn’t able to put a point onto it until I’d met that stupid boy from near Baltimore at the end of summer. I know now, also, that my desire to obtain quality items in terms of both function and appearance while I can, versus when I absolutely need them, has been a very good course of action. I have a quality set of cookware, a quality set of flatware, and a quality set of china… granted the china is from IKEA, but it’s all about the price versus quality ratio, and while it isn’t “fine china” by any means, it isn’t stoneware, nor is it earthenware, it is procelain and it is white.
I took a certain level of pride in the fact that nearly everything used in preparation and during the meal was owned by me, with the exception of major kitchen appliances that are part of the house, of course. I also used a ‘family’ pyrex dish for roasting the potatoes, but I quickly remedied my lack of pyrex on Friday, yes, braving the holiday rush.
Overall, the experience was amazing. It’s the classic good food, good conversation, good company, but elevated even more, such that I can say excellent all around.