Date Night

When you have two children under five years of age, it is hard to have a conversation.

A simple adult conversation.

One that does not involve Ultraman, or poopy diapers, or screaming/crying tantrums.

Okay, there is always the potential for me to cry or have a tantrum. Unfortunately, last night I did both.

We have been planning this "date" since Wednesday. I was really excited to just sit down and have a quiet, peaceful, uninterrupted meal.

And then, Mr. Smith went to run errands.

Cue dramatic music.

When he was getting out of the car at the bank, he threw his back out. He can no longer stand up straight. He is listing to the right and in a ton of pain.

Listen, I am not mad at the man for getting hurt. That would just be plain old bitchy. I am frustrated that any time we plan something, it gets a big old steaming poop dumped on it.

Okay, that being said, I had a hissy fit and tried over and over again to cancel. Mr. Smith refused and insisted that we go ahead, despite his excruciating back pain.

He is such a trooper and THAT is another reason I love that man so damn much.

After some quality time with an ice bag and a handful of Ibuprofen, we were on our way. I still had my doubts.

Luckily, I am married to a man that makes me laugh. In fact, he makes me laugh harder than any other human being has ever made me laugh.

The clouds quickly passed and it was just nice to be out together, like adults.

So we left our little chickens to torture entertain their grandparents. They were watching Ratatouille for the 1,975th time, went to the park to see ducks, and ate McDonald's. Basically, they had a great time.

We chose the Salt Creek Grille in Dana Point for our big night out. If you get a chance and are interested you should check it out.

It is a lovely, Craftsman style restaurant. It has large cozy, private booths and is just so relaxing. It is one of our favorite places to eat.

Mr. Smith is a more recent convert, but I have been smitten with this place since the first time I ate there about a million years ago.  The setting is gorgeous and the food, oh the food.

I am going to be super annoying and tell you about the food.

For appetizers (since we basically skipped lunch) we had the homemade potato chips sprinkled with sea salt, thyme and gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Mr. Smith decided to be daring and try the lump crab, avocado and quinoa appetizer. He loved it. They bring it to the table with a bottle of Trappy's Louisiana Hot Sauce. Mr. Smith was waxing poetic about it and the appetizer.

For his entree Mr. Smith had the “Brandt Beef "Bleu Cheese Crusted “Baseball Cut” Top Sirloin 10 oz., Brandt All-Natural Beef, with Caramelized Onions, Classic Demi Glace & Served with Jalapeño Au Gratin Potatoes…A“House” Specialty. The potatoes were amazing. I am not a fan of potatoes au gratin in general, but holy mackerel, these were so good. Just the right amount of zip.

I had Spicy Gulf Shrimp Linguine which is Blackened Cajun Shrimp Tossed in Goat Cheese Béchamel Sauce with Roasted Farmer’s Market Vegetables Tossed with Linguine. The linguine was cooked perfectly (a pet peeve of mine is over cooked pasta, ugh) and the vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash) were nice and crisp. The shrimp was spicy, but not overpowering. The sauce, I will be attempting to recreate here. Oh my goodness. Goat cheese béchamel...you had me at hello!

For dessert we had this

Chocolate Ganache Soufflé.

You order it before you start dinner. They bring it hot from the oven, burst through the center at the table and pour warm chocolate ganache into the center and top it with whipped cream.

Mr. Smith felt that our waiter might have skimped a bit on the chocolate ganache, so he added more.

After you are revived from swooning due to the sheer beauty of this concoction, you have to try to be patient enough to wait for it to cool down enough to consume it. Good luck. Every time we have it, I get burned, but it is so worth it.

After dinner and a few drinks (for me and my stress level), and a vicodin (for Mr. Smith and his back), we ambled down the coast to catch the sunset.

And so endeth another date night. We all survived, barely.

Mr. Smith is still shaped like a question mark, Famous Baby C woke me up at 3 am and refused to go back to sleep.

So, in other words, things are back to Smith Normal.

Damn.

P.S. The air conditioning was repaired the same day. If you need someone, look him up. He is the most honest, reliable repairman I have ever done business with in the area. He is a gem!