Happy Anniversary to us...

So it's been three years since Eric and I celebrated our wedding and we finally found a little sliver of an evening, when neither one of us was booked, to have a nice anniversary dinner.

We've been saving a couple of good bottles since we met, of course. One of them was that Thackrey Orion that I blogged back in March. For our anniversary though, we uncorked a Crane Family Merlot that we've been stashing and had a little picnic on the living room carpet.

I love red wine that's stood the test of time. All the things that make me wrinkle my nose -- the tannins, the overpowering punch in the front end -- they all round out and soften with age. Kinda like me.

Along with the Crane Family Merlot, we had a terrific dry-aged, grass-fed NY Strip steak, some mashed yukon golds with garlic and some brussel sprouts. Simple, but perfect on a chilly night.

So perfect that we've attracted the attention of one of our fuzzy friends, who asks us not to forget the neediest. The kitties heartily approved of the jus sauce Eric created.


Actually we've been in a steak kind of mood a lot lately as we attempt to suss out how we're going to make beef for fifty people -- beef that doesn't suck that is...

Kitty has been advising us that skirt steak is flavorful, but becoming a more expensive cut every day.

Yes, kitty, we know.

So it may be a roast beef of some sort. Heston Blumenthal of Bray Village's highly regarded Fat Duck intrigues us with his blow torch beef recipe.

Every time I've mentioned it to anyone, when I say the words "propane blow torch" I get The Look.

"No, no! Now stay with me, just go with it for a sec," I say.

Searing a roast all over with a 3600F torch to seal in the juices and then cooking for 20 hours in a 130F oven -- c'mon! How could you go wrong?? Pink, juicy, lovely with a crispy exterior??

Eric's in -- we went and purchased a TS3000T Bernz-O-Matic (no namby-pamby 2700F creme brulee torches for us) from our local hardware store and we are ready to roll next weekend with a test run of the wedding roast beef.

Yeah -- I might get him some safety goggles before we do this thing...