I made these super-easy "acorns" off of Pinterest with my 11 year old niece once...
But I love to eat. My love for doing so grew along with my love for my husband. When we met, I didn't touch anything that lived in the sea, loathed mushrooms, and the only kind of wine I had ever had was of the "cooler" variety (hey, I was only 21...). As Andrew and I spent more time together, his newfound love for food spread to me and my "I'll have the chicken fingers" mentality. Slowly, through the dishes he prepared for me, I came around to love salmon, mushrooms in all their forms, and wines that come in a bottle with a cork. I am still picky; the smell of shellfish makes me ill and I'm with him on the broccoli thing, but I have a great appreciation for the food that arrives on my plate, the farmers who grow it, and all of the planning and preparation it takes to get it there. I am by no means the most knowledgeable or adventurous diner, but I enjoy going out for a meal with a husband who can decipher even the most technical of terms on a restaurant's menu.
To my credit, I also made these New York Giants cookies with very little help from the husband.
I have an interest in eating food, and in the way it is presented, from the feel of a restaurant upon opening the door, the care put in plating the meal, and the decor and dinnerware choices. I realize that a lot of thought goes into all of that. I also like to gauge restaurants for what they're perfect for - anniversaries, celebrating a promotion, girls' night, quick meals, and the like. Obviously, my opinion might differ from others, but I like to imagine what life experience most closely matches that of the restaurant. Though I have never worked in the restaurant industry, nearly every job I have had has been heavily reliant on customer skills, and I pay special attention to that. Sometimes, poor service can ruin an otherwise great meal, but a great server can make me want to return if the food was only so-so. I want to provide some of the commentary that an untrained person who likes to eat has to offer, coupled with Andrew's in-depth knowledge.
Gratuitous picture of our cat, Bauer, whose name represents our other shared love: television.
What else should you know about us? We love food trucks. We plan vacations around where to eat, rather than what to do. Andrew has never turned down an Asian meal, and I am a carb-o-holic. We both have huge sweet tooths (teeth?) and indulge them too regularly. We follow our favorite food-related people on twitter and discuss them and the latest posts on the Houston Press' Eating Our Words blog daily. I also love reading blogs and know a post is not a post without pictures, so I have tasked myself with finding something to illustrate each and everything we post. Since husband wants to keep this "about the food, and not about us" and has told me that I can't post pics of us stuffing our faces, I'll conclude this post with a picture that sums up what my husband loves above all else: the groom's cake from our wedding two years ago - it was chocolate, Lost themed, and featured his beloved New York Giants.
The baker is bafflingly no longer in business. Photo from Lindsay Elizabeth Photography. If you squint, you can see a photo of us on the left. I win =)