29...really????

No that is not my age...though I could pass, ahem. It is the amount of years Frank and I have been married which usually shocks people; not because they think we're too young (which they usually do...really!) but because it's 29 years and that's a long time. Does it feel that long, does it feel long at all? Heavens no, I don't even know how you measure that, I do know it feels like it's exactly where we should be.

So today I read on the internet where 33% of divorced women knew they were making a mistake when walking down the aisle, and they still went through with it? How desperate are some people? And clearly the guy standing there at the end of that long walk wasn't this one!

And what did we do to commemorate this momentous occasion? Well since we're a couple of old fogeys; we had a bottle of champagne (or 2) and I made my husband's favorite dinner, after all 29 years doesn't just happen overnight.

Roast rack of lamb-adapted by me

1 rack of lamb, Frenched
salt & pepper to taste
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (about) of extra virgin olive oil
breadcrumbs

Season the lamb with the salt & pepper. Mince the garlic in a small food processor, add the mustard and olive oil and combine thoroughly. Spread the mixture over the lamb and between the chops. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Roast in a preheated 350F oven about 25 minutes. Breadcrumbs should be toasted and lamb should be pink on the inside.

Mashed potatoes with garlic cream- adapted by me

4 or 5 red potatoes or 2 or 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks

4 or 5 garlic cloves peeled

salt

3 to 4 tablespoons of butter

1/4 to 1/3 cup cream, half & half or milk

Freshly ground black pepper

Put potatoes and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and add salt to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook at a simmer until potatoes are soft. Drain the water and mash the potatoes and the garlic. Add the butter and mash that in; add the cream or milk and mash until the desired consistency. Cook over low heat stirring until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper.

Creme Reversee au Caramel - adapted from Le Cordon Bleu at Home
4-cup mold

Preheat oven to 350F

Caramel
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Combine the sugar and the 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over low heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Raise the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the syrup turns a light caramel color.
Remove from heat, pour the caramel into the mold and quickly tilt the mold so the caramel coats bottom and sides. Put mold aside and let cool.

Custard

2 cups of milk
1 1/2 tspns vanilla extract
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar

Put the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a boil; remove from heat. Combine the eggs and yolks in a heatproof bowl and whisk to blend. Whisk in the sugar, gradually add the hot milk whisking constantly but gently so the mixture doesn't become frothy. Pour the mixture into the cooled mold. Put the mold in a deep baking pan and pour hot water into the pan to go about 2/3 up the mold. Bake in the oven 40 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into custard comes out clean (more like 60 to 70 minutes)

To serve run the tip of a small knife around the top of the custard to loosen. Invert a serving platter over the mold and quickly reverse the two. Remove the mold. Voila!

And we didn't have to get all dressed up

and Max just wondered, "why are they so happy? must be cause I'm here!"

Gee, my Mom looks 29.