Posts tagged anniversary dinner

Anniversary meal - 2011

As I posted a few days ago, last year Sara and I decided to make a completely chef-chosen meal at local fine dining restaurant, Azur, our new anniversary tradition. Thursday night we celebrated our three year anniversary with eight courses, designed on the spot by Azur executive chef, Jeremy Ashby. Ashby is a gifted and inventive chef - and a really nice guy. Here’s what he made for us (I was scrawling down descriptions on my iPhone as the waitress served us, so hopefully I got everything mostly right):

First course
Red chile and guava shrimp in a coconut lime sauce (what a way to start…)

Second course
Smoked salmon with pacific rim vegetables and avocado butter (Butter! With avocados! Genius!)

Third course
Fried green tomato with country ham and buttermilk dressing

Fourth course
Halibut w/ mushrooms and cilantro chipotle gnocchi in corn butter sauce (This one was probably my favorite - soooo rich, but not overpowering)

Fifth course
Chicken stuffed with andouille sausage and spinach in tomato and fontina cheese sauce

Sixth course
Olive oil poached beef with fontina cheese wonto in truffle oil (I’d never heard of poaching beef - or poaching anything in olive oil, but the result was a really tender, buttery piece of meat)

Seventh course
Watermelon with cayenne, mint, and melon liquor (We both loved this, but when it came out, Sara looked at me and said, “By the way, this doesn’t count as desert.”)

Eighth course (BONUS)
Blackberry cake with vanilla sauce and ice cream

So much food. We could barely move when we left. But a lack of mobility us a small price to pay for that kind of great food. We wondered if people noticed us taking pictures of all of our food and furiously typing in the names of the dishes into my phone. I’m sure they did and I’m sure they thought, “Tourists…” but I give exactly one flying frick about what the other patrons thought. I love food and I love documenting the things Sara and I get to try together. I’m already anticipating next year.

In Anticipation of Thursday

Monday is Sara’s and my three year anniversary. We’ll be celebrating this Thursday by spending the night in a cabin near Cumberland Falls. Before that, though, we’ll be partaking in what we decided last year would be our new tradition - a multiple course, chef-chosen meal at Azure.

Last year we did five courses. This year we’re doing seven. I know what you’re saying: “Five courses wasn’t enough? You barely finish a meal as it is! Darn you for being so handsome!” Let me take these one at a time. No, five isn’t enough when it comes to new interesting dishes prepared by a talented chef. Yeah, I tend to eat like a bird, but these are small plates and I plan on fasting all day. Thank you for noticing.

Here’s what we ate last year:

Seared ahi tuna on salad with mango mascarpone cheese

Angus beef spring roll with bok choi over guava sauce

Foie gras and passion fruit soup with avocado tempura.

Elk rack and tiger prawn over smoked cheddar and leek risotto with portobello au jus!

Awesome, right? It was all delicious. I’ll be tweeting our meal on Thursday just because it’s the mindless posting of thing we eat on the internet that separates us from animals.

I won’t, however, be tweeting from our cabin at Cumberland Falls. Sorry pervs.