Anniversary Dinner
About a week ago, on August 1st, Phill and I went out to dinner to celebrate our five year anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been five years since we started dating – it’s absolutely flown by! Due to a rostering error, I luckily had Saturday off work, so we were able to spend the entire day together, starting with a visit to the movies to see Transformers 2, followed by chocolate by the bald man (our first visit and OH MY GOD it was fabulous – we had fondue for two) and then a romantic dinner at a classy restaurant.
I decided on the scallops for an entree and, as neither of us had tried scallops before, we decided to share it. Phill isn’t a big seafood eater, but I am trying as hard as I can to get him to experience new tastes. I’ve always wanted to try scallops but I guess in a way I’d been putting it off, waiting for that perfect dish to jump out at me.
The scallops were served on a bed of pea puree and topped with a crispy slice of pancetta. At first glance, the scallops seemed to really vary in size and shape, which I noticed perhaps only because I am a bit of a perfectionist – is it normal to have irregular-shaped scallops on the one plate?
The scallops tasted really nice and not at all how I had expected – they were firmer than I had thought and not at all sticky or gooey. The contrast in textures between the scallop, the pea puree and the crispy, salty pancetta really worked together and both Phill and I loved this dish. I’m glad we tried them and I’m keen to try them again, maybe in a pasta dish? I’m working towards tasting everything involved in a paella so one day I can eat one without worrying about having to pick out a certain seafood.
For our mains, we had very contrasting dishes. As the restaurant specialises in steak, Phill had a steak cooked medium, with a pepper sauce. I must apologise for the fuzziness of the photo – it was the one photo I asked Phill to take! I guess by this point we were rather hungry and eager to dig in. We were very impressed with his steak knife (unfortunately not pictured) which was Japanese, steel and very sharp.
My main was asparagus risotto which was absolutely delicious. I’ve never had risotto before and I was tossing up whether or not to go with a steak, but I am glad I decided on the risotto because I thought the flavours were more impressive than Phill’s steak. The only downside about an asparagus risotto is the resulting, err, smelly asparagus pee that I have discussed here a while ago. That night, it was particularly strong. While Phill can’t smell anything, I really can and it actually hung around for quite a while.
At the end of the meal, instead of dessert, we had a special plate delivered to us:
It was actually a perfect size for the two of us to share instead of ordering a dessert each because, by this point, we were absolutely full from dinner. It was a brownie chocolate cake served with strawberries, a huge dollop of fresh cream and some strawberry coulis dots, with “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate sauce. It was delicious, although we felt a little bad “ruining” the writing – but I’m glad we did because that chocolate sauce was very smooth and rich and went really nicely with the cream and brownie.
It was the perfect end to a really lovely day.
Happy anniversary! The meal looks delicious!
….Daisy the Curly Cat´s last post ..Movie Monday: Horsing Around
Happy anniversary to you both! Time does fly. Richard and I will be celebrating our 5th (wedding) anniversary in Dec too. You’ve given me some ideas on what to do then. That chocolate restaurant looks divine! I don’t thhink I can wait till Dec though! Lol.
….Salihan´s last post ..Sweet & Salty Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies
Happy Anniversary to you both! Hope you have many more to come!
What a wonderful meal you had! I love scallops and I’m glad you gave it a try. It is perfectly normal to have different sized scallops and I think you would love it with pasta.
That brownie chocolate cake looks delicious, and the chocolate writing is a lovely touch!
….adrina´s last post ..In Dissertation Hell
Daisy – Thankyou! The meal was lovely – and it was even better because I didn’t have to cook!
Salihan – Wow, five years of marriage – that’s great! Glad I could help with the ideas – the chocolate fondue was absolutely delicious and so romantic, I would really recommend doing something like that.
Adrina – I am eager to try scallops in pasta, thanks for the tip. Do you have any recipes you could recommend?
If you make scallops, try to get ones about the size you showed, or smaller. There are larger ones but they seem tougher. Sautee in butter … the only way!
Actually some scallops are really “plugs” cut from skate wings or shark .. that’s partly why get the smaller ones that are a bit different shaped!
Oh gad I have a lady cuts my hair and once we moved away for a year and then when we moved back we moved fairly far away from her and I was scared to death to go back and have to explain! So I didn’t .. but then I saw her in a store and sort of blabbered some stupid excuse and now back I am!
….Rabbits’ Guy´s last post ..POOFY ……….
Rabbits’ Guy – I didn’t know that’s what scallops are – thanks! At least you moved away from your hair dresser, but I wonder if she would believe you if you told her? lol
Hi Katie, “Happy 5th Anniversary” to you and your love one
Most scallops come in different sizes, only those artificial ones are same sized. They’re tasty right? I love seafood a lot too!!!
….cHrIstInA_YY´s last post ..Yonex Armortec 900 Power Badminton Racket
Christina – Thank you! I’m glad they were different sizes then, if that means they were fresh because they certainly tasted fresh!
Real scallops have a roe (which is orange) and should be attached to the rest of the scallop. Real scallops are maybe 2 cm thick.
I was served some “scallops” in Melbourne which were those ersatz ones cut out of something e.g. a skate. No roe, less than a cm thick and had never lived in a shell. Wider and thinner than real scallops.
I said to the waitress that these are not real scallops and the maitre d’ or manager type turned upt shortly thereafter to somewhat belligerently tell me that these were genuine scallops so my wife told me not to make a fuss.
Tasmania has lots of real scallops so I know my scallops!