From Mr. Handsome:
The day before the big snow storm hit Nashville, we had an early Valentine’s Day dinner with my brother and his girlfriend. Some of you might remember us mentioning my brother a few years ago. He is your typical bachelor who struggles to put something edible on a plate. I know he could figure out how to cook if he really cared, but he simply does not prioritize food and prefers to heat up quick meals in the microwave and keep moving.
For that reason, we were very surprised when we received a handwritten invitation to a Valentine’s dinner. The letter included a dress code (smart casual) as well as a printed menu. On the menu were fancy words like “braised and “roasted.” Since the word “microwaved” was not on the menu, we could surmise that my brother was getting some serious help from his girlfriend.
Upon arriving at his house, we were shocked to find a perfectly set table with a white tablecloth. The dining room was lit with mood lighting, and Frank Sinatra was playing on the speakers. This was particularly surprising because up until that day, my brother had only owned an assortment of “reclaimed” kitchenware.
Before getting married, I had prized myself on never spending a dime on kitchen furnishings. Over the years, I collected old pots, pans, plates, and cutlery that family members and friends were discarding. My cups were mostly jars that I had recycled from past purchases.
When Ellie visited my house for the first time after we started dating, I served her ice water in an old Tostitos nacho cheese jar. She wasn’t too impressed. The week before we got married, she boxed up my entire kitchen and dropped it off at my brother’s house. But that was almost six years ago, and most of those items were much older than that. So Ellie and I were thrilled to see that my brother’s girlfriend had bought him a real set of plates and cups for his house.
The evening was lovely, and the dinner was delicious. They served us various courses of dishes, all plated in the kitchen and walked out to the dining room. Butternut squash soup, asparagus wrapped in crisp prosciutto, mix greens with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette, and Cabernet-raised short rips over potato puree. Every bite was incredible. We even had two options for desert (ice cream pie and chocolate lava cake). It felt like dinning at a five-start restaurant. They were kind enough to make a separate kids meal for Little Buddy, which he loved.
Two weekends ago during a spell of warm weather, Mr. Handsome headed out the door on a “run.” An hour went by, and he wasn’t back yet, so I texted him. (Unless you’re a marathon runner, no one goes running for a full hour.) He responded saying he had gotten caught up talking to one of our neighbors and was helping him with a project.
The food looked delicious…
