Happy Anniversary ~

My parents celebrated 34 years of marriage yesterday! Unfortunately, that's not something you hear of too often these days. What an accomplishment! My sisters and I knew we wanted to do something special for them, something a little more personal and intimate than just sending them out to dinner. So we found Michael Carillo (www.michaelcooks.com), a personal chef who serves the Birmingham area. After talking with Michael about what my parents liked to eat and didn't like to eat, he came up with the perfect anniversary dinner! While my dad was at work, we sent my mom to the spa to have a mani/pedi. They weren't allowed to come home until 4:00. Michael arrived around 3 and began setting up. He brought all of his own "tools" and everything he would need to cook a great dinner. After he cooks and serves the meal, he cleans up EVERYTHING and leaves the kitchen just as he found it! When they got home, they walked in the front door to see the table set with all of mom's china, silver, candles, and bottle of Pinot Noir! I think they were in shock. Each plate had a menu: pre-dinner snacks~dates stuffed with spicy cream cheese and pea and sun dried tomato puree on endive; Appetizer~crab cakes w/ red pepper sauce and a capresi salad; main course~seared duck breast with a fig compote, polenta, and baby bok choy; and for dessert~bread pudding with rum sauce! They said it was all great! We all love them so much and couldn't begin to give back to them everything they have given to us! Hopefully they enjoyed the meal and the experience of having it cooked for them in their own home! Happy Anniversary to them both!!