Old Friends and Storms

You know that friend you have, the one you've known since elementary school?  Well, my husband's longest time friend, his wife and the two of us all went out to dinner in the middle of a post-holiday snowstorm.  Luckily it was at the restaurant less than 2 miles from our home and we were fine in our 4 wheel drive truck staying well under 30 miles per hour.

We have seen each other during the lowest lows and the highest highs.  After a bit of turmoil and personal storms this year, I thought it would be grounding to reunite with them for a meal.  Unfortunately, my husband's friend recently witnessed the loss of another friend who had suffered and lost his battle with cancer.  Listening through the hard times are one way to show support.

I smile as the friend's wife orders for herself and her husband.  He trusts her implicitly.  They spend their days together at work and she is his number one fan in his recreational pursuits.  

While I do not order for my husband I very well could have predicted his choices.  French onion soup followed by Chicken Marsala.
 

He can certainly provide detailed reviews of area restaurants by their French Onion soup.  It should never be too salty, the cheese should be moderately stringy with a nice size serving of toasted bread at the top.  For him the onions should be a bit on the sweet side and it should always be molten lava hot.

The rest of us begin with salad.  Salads are quite personal I have learned.  One friend only likes lettuce and tomato while our male friend is disappointed by the limited amount of cucumbers and tomatoes.  I prefer my salad naked as I have mentioned in previous posts.  Growing up I remember my favorite tossed salads including the entire produce section; mushrooms, celery, broccoli, etc. and once I discovered salad bars I would try to heap a little bit of all the offerings onto one plate.

The prime rib topped with shrimp scampi served with a baked potato and broccoli for the gentleman.  His lovely wife mirrored his dinner but with the scampi on the side so her dear hubby could have the second portion as well.  I love a couple with a plan and a method.

I did offer assistance though (or butted in, depending on how you look at things) when my husband placed his order.  He asked for pasta with his Chicken Marsala but I have learned from the past that he does not mean he wants it under the chicken in the Marsala sauce, he wants it on the side with marinara.  I ensured this snafu was cleared up.

My plate was one of the specials.  Crispy chicken with creamy garlic risotto topped with roasted red peppers.  The chicken was an enormous portion of breaded and fried breast with melted mozzarella and the risotto was tender without being mush.  I also ate all of my broccoli.

I also must add, this restaurant does indeed serve the best Cosmopolitan and it is served the same way each and every time I order it.

The time passes quickly, our meals are cleared and dessert is ordered.  For our lady friend, a cheesecake while I follow our male friend's lead and have the chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

An evening with "old" friends - part of the holiday season, part of welcoming in the new year, part of life.

I bring home a to-go order of crispy chicken Cesar salad for our younger son and am happy to see it is indeed crisp and fresh.  All is well.  No, all are Fed Well.