AFFIANCED!!!

Saturday, in a fit of passion no doubt induced by the known aphrodisiacal qualities of the chef's tasting menu at a restaurant called Jardiniere, Mr. Matthew Sargent - longtime boyfriend and all around good guy - took a knee at my side and pulled out a three-stone diamond and platinum ring, which I allowed him to place on my finger. Blinded by the brilliance of what can only be described as "quite arock!", I was unable to finish my maple cream tart and Hungarian Tokay. I will no doubt be dazzled for weeks.

My bling!

 

What I ate for dinner

Two recent events have convinced me that there are big bucks to be had in chronicling my dinner habits on my blog. The first is Tucker Shaw's Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth, in which he documents every bite to pass his lips for 2004. A book deal from that! The second is the realization on Saturday, after saving a month's worth of receipts, that Matt and I spend the GNP of a small, developping country (or maybe Rhode Island) on - wait for it - eating out. I mean, we spend some poor graduate student's entire stipend at our local eateries. Now, I heart Cesar (and E&O, and A Cote...), but at some point we've got to go to the Berkeley Bowl and buy our own goddam jamon serrano - where half a pound costs THE SAME as the 3 dressed-up slices at Cesar.

Oh Cesar, when will you be affordable for graduate students?

So. On Saturday I decided to made Seared Ahi Tuna on a bed of sliced potatoes with a blackberry-cabernet sauce. But guess what? Ahi tuna is $22.90/lb! Dammit - shouldn't this be cheaper? Oh well, it was quite good.

On the menu for tonight: Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans (pg. 177 of Marcella's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking). I will keep my public posted!