My parents had plans that evening, but they graciously agreed to keep Wade, so we could go to the grocery store to buy food for the evening. Who would have known how therapeutic and relaxing it would be just for the two of us to shop without Wade!?! (That might have been one of my favorite things about our evening.)
Being homebound (or at least that's what is seems like sometimes) make me miss all of our travels. I decided earlier that week that we would have an Italian evening of food and fun! If we can't go to Italy, we could at least enjoy a little bit of Italy at home.
We began preparing and cooking all while feeding, bathing, and tending to Wade. Somehow, Wade was exhausted and went down really early that night! Whew...
Once Wade was asleep, Jason and I were able to cook together and try some new recipes! These items were all very similar to our favorite things to eat in Italy.
Penne Arrabbiata: my go-to when I can't figure out what the other dishes are on the Italian menu. It means the angry Italian. A spicy red sauce... yummy! I was going to make it from scratch, but there were too many other delicious things to make - and buying the jar of the specialty sauce was cheaper than buying all of the ingredients.
Bruschetta: heaven on toasted pieces of baguette bread. This is more American Italian, but we did find it once while traveling.
Toasting the bread
Final Product
Course 1 and 2: Penne Arrabbiata
Balsamic Steak: yummo! We found this jewel of a dish in Florence. A little piece of Texas with a Mediterranean twist!
Course 3: Balsamic Steak
Course 4: Desserts purchased from Fresh - tiramisu and trianon (triple chocolate layer mousse deliciousness)
Dinner was full of wonderful conversation. We discussed all kinds of things that we hadn't talked about in a while and other things we needed to talk about.
Once the kitchen was all cleaned, we snuggled up to a movie - Roman Holiday. A cute Audrey Hepburn movie with great scenery!
(Please believe, I did fall asleep in the middle of the movie, but I rewatched it the next day.)
I have always heard the saying, "Date Your Mate." Before having a baby, everyday, every meal, every restaurant trip was like a date. That saying didn't have any real meaning until Wade came. It was a great evening, and we hope to do it again soon. Because dating your mate doesn't have to require a babysitter!
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