It's Been a Year!

Talk about time going by so fast...it has been one year that I have been married. This is the longest I've ever been married! Ok, this is my one and only marriage.

Married life has been great. I'm not just saying this because my wife reads this blog, I'm actually being truthful. Yes, there have been a couple of turbulent times...who said this would be easy? It does take time and adjustment when living with someone, especially when I have been a lazy and sloppy bachelor for so many years. Ok, I'm still a bit lazy and sloppy but, hey, I'm not a bachelor anymore! Yeah, I've improved in my ways of keeping the place clean. Do I have room for improvement? Sure I do...don't we all? At least now, I don't leave a sink full of dishes until they get crusty and offer a bountiful buffet for the local roaches and ants anymore.

My wife has been great and so very understanding. She's the more thoughtful one in buying a Valentine's gift and anniversary present. Me on the other hand...let's say I feel like the village idiot when it comes to gift giving. My poor excuse is I really never had to buy gifts for people during my years of being a recluse. Why she still likes me, I haven't got a clue. I guess I should just get a gift of whoop-ass from her instead of the kindness she has expressed to me. Yeah, I need to get with the program and fast.

I am not totally a bastid in which I do cook some gourmet meals for her from time to time. I have been getting into the French kick a bit. Yeah, those guys can lose wars really badly but they made great contributions in food. By getting into French style cuisine, I don't mean French fries but the real stuff like berre blanc sauce, wine reductions, and other artery clogging but oh so good stuff...oui, oui! I've gotten on the French bandwagon because of some of the books written by Anthony Bourdain. Yeah, he's the crazy chef from Brassiere Les Halles in New York City and can been seen on the shows No Reservations on the Travel Channel and on A Cook's Tour on the Food Network. A few weeks ago, I made a French inspired dish of Braised Short Ribs with Carmalized Wild Mushrooms and Demiglaze Cabernet Sauce. The other night was Steak with Cabernet Reduction, and on another night, the classic Steak with Compound Butter. The wife really loved the short rib dish. I think I need to make it again soon. The only problem I have is that I do not have a written recipe for any of my dishes. I tend to experiment and toss a few thing here and a few things there. I kind of remember what I put in so I guess this time, I should write things down. I have to agree with the wife that the short rib dish was fantastic. The meat was so tender and fall off the bone, seasoned throughout the meat. The carmalized wild mushrooms added depth and intense mushroom flavor and the sauce just tied everything together. Mmmm...getting hungry just thinking about it.