If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. ~Larry McMurtry, Some Can Whistle
Last weekend Lanny and I had a wonderful conversation reminiscing about the time when we were dating. He remembered very fondly the first time I invited him to my home for dinner. It was a weekday evening, so I had had to work that day. However, I managed to prepare a delicious beef burgundy and bake a peach pie. My intent was to wow this new man in my life with my culinary skills, and it worked... so much so that he could recount, over a decade later, vivid details of the meal. He was whistful in his remembering-- and it dawned on me that I had not ever fixed this dish since that evening.
This past Monday, with that conversation fresh in my head, I realized that I had all the ingredients for beef burgundy-- including a large bottle of burgundy wine. Neither of us had any plans for the day, and it was a beautiful day weather-wise, so Lanny planned on spending it working out in his shop. I was planning on spending the day knitting. I had no plans for dinner, thinking that when the time came I'd grab something out of the freezer and throw a meal together. As I thought about our conversation it dawned on me that delaying a special meal until the weekend was just stupid. The time to treat my husband and I with a special meal was now.
I had fixed a nice meal on Sunday night, so I knew the last thing Lanny would expect was a second special meal. The element of surprise made it all the more fun. I set to work, getting the beef thawed and cut up, browning it and some onions, mixing the wine and some beef stock, peeling and mincing garlic. I even found a loaf of french bread in the freezer, and set to making some garlic bread. I had the whole thing in the oven in about a half hour. It takes three hours or so to let the meat slowly cook in the wine, so I cleaned up the prep dishes and spent the rest of the afternoon knitting, as planned.
The aroma of the meat simmering in the wine filled the house and was literally intoxicating... and when Lanny came in from the shop his eyes lit up. He knew something good was in the oven. I had set the table with the new placemats and linen napkins and got out the good wine glasses. I opened a bottle of better red wine (burgundy, in my opinion, is okay for using in recipes but not really all that good as a drinking wine-- especially the cheaper kind that is available in the grocery store). It didn't take long to prepare the mashed potatoes and the peas, so when Lanny came downstairs after a quick shower, dinner was ready.
His delight while eating the meal only increased my own pleasure... we sat longer than usual sipping wine and remembering the first time I'd fixed the dish. My plan was to remind him that I still loved doing special things for him, that he was very special to me. In doing so, my own day had become a special one... and it was "just a Monday". There is no time like today to make those you love feel special-- whether it is a special meal fixed for their pleasure, or a special experience, or perhaps just an expression of your love for them. Whatever it is, make today special!!
