4.21.2008

Chateaubriand with Derek Jeter*

At the risk of getting kicked out of the HYC 08, I will confess that we're celebrating with food over here. Mr. Black got a job!! The job he wanted, back at his former employer, a company he loves second only to LucasFilm. In a surprise to us all, it came with a signing bonus. I am so proud of him, thrilled and relieved. He ALWAYS lands on his feet - if I quit my job with no contingency plan, I would be moving in to my Mom's garage after a year, I'm sure of it. I'm lucky that I get to share in his good fortune.


But on to the food part. Mr. Black told me on Friday that he got the job and that to celebrate, he wanted to take me to El Gaucho. I just about fell over, because while I think going out for an expensive meal is money well spent, Mr. Black doesn't usually agree. He'd rather buy tickets to an event, collect action figures, or buy some electronic gadgets. I love celebrating with food. (Have you seen my thighs? Of course I do.) But going out to a "fine dining" establishment is so much more than the food. We had such a night at El Gaucho. Scallops in lemon beurre blanc (lemon butter), Roquefort salad with shrimp, and Chateaubriand. This is an exquisite cut of beef, a tender fillet meant for 2-3 people. And before slicing into it, they slather it with butter, sprinkle with dry mustard, douse it in Cabernet, au jus and a dash of worcestershire, to make its own sauce as the slice it, then pour over the pieces. Heaven. combined with perfectly tender asparagus, grilled mushroom caps and then southwest scalloped potatoes. I think I spent my 1500 calories and then some there. The service is exceptional. Our server chatted us up, asked us what we were celebrating, was excited to share our first time with us, and made us feel even more so that we were in a spectacular place. That's the other aspect of fine dining that appeals to me. I love that royal treatment, and the luxury of ordering something to eat that costs as much as my monthly gym membership, just for one night.

I don't think I'll ever stop celebrating with food. I definitely have given up the "I made it through a hard day, I deserve this cookie." stage in my life, but birthdays, anniversaries and promotions deserve a night out of special treatment, and a I choose to also involve a special meal. Its something I wholeheartedly enjoy, both as an eater, and also as someone who loves to cook and try new things. So today I'm getting back on the planned meal bus. I'm moving past the leftovers in the fridge, and walking the dog on my exercise rest day, because I'm determined to enjoy myself and still lose weight. That's the whole point of this life.

* The joke here is that I assume that Derek Jeter got a signing bonus. My husband was pretending that my calling him Derek all weekend wasn't all that funny. But I know that it was.

4 comments:

Diana Swallow said...

YAY!!!! I'm so happy to hear he got the job! Way to go Derek!!! Sounds like a great evening out and you know something, once in a while you need to indulge!!

I love Chateaubriand, my Mom would make this for us when we were growing up and I didn't realize it was so special and when the Nun Sister Whatsherface asked us what our favorite meal was and I said Chateaubriand she smiled and said "you'll go to hell for telling lies, Chateaubriand is for grown ups only"

No one is kicking you out of the HYC, if they do they'll have to go through me and well, you know I kinda know the woman who runs the thing ;)

Heather said...

that is great news! congrats to your mr black! it is hard not to celebrate wtih food, we are traineed to do that and so often that is what is expected. as long as you both enjoyed yourself, just let it be and get back on track. no harm done.

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

Congrats to Mr. Black! And a nice dinner out is wonderful anytime! You can pay for it (in more ways than one--LOL) later! The most important thing is that you have a magnificent evening to remember!

Hanlie said...

I'm very pleased to hear about the new job! Congratulations!

Don't worry about the meal! I really believe that we should treat ourselves to something truly fabulous foodwise once in a great while. What I don't believe is that we should poison ourselves regularly with fast food and non-food! It's not the once in a blue moon fancy dinner that makes us fat, it's the all-too-regular overeating, processed food and trips through the drive-thru!