A Dinner Worthy of 14 Anniversaries

Call me Ishmael.  Ooops- nevermind.

So- my wonderful, glorious, Adonis-like husband and I celebrated our 14th anniversary yesterday.  Did you hear me?  14 YEARS!  Given the times we live in, I'd say that's something to be mighty proud of!

Unfortunately the business of our every day lives prevents us from having our own private celebration- somewhere quiet, candlelit,and free of children.  Instead we settled for a quiet dinner at home; moderately quiet (meaning we turned the TV volume down), candlelit with an LED centerpiece, and definitely NOT child-free.  We've decided that the result of our Great American Love Story  should be permitted to join us for our celebration dinner, anyway.  More on the Great American Love Story comment in a minute.

Our Anniversary allows me reflect on the years Todd and I have been together and allow myself a moment or so to relive some of the spectacular times we've shared.  I love my husband.  There isn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that we were destined to marry from the time we both were conceived ourselves.  Almost daily I am amazed by our identical thought process when it comes to anything, really- from business decisions to finances to raising our son and even political perspectives.   It's like we share part of the same brain. 

And there is the opposite side of this brain-sharing thing, too.  Like he fills in the parts of my missing brain with his and vice versa.  Only I think I might have a few more missing parts than he does.

Usually for our anniversary, I write up a top-ten list of certain things, like why I love him and funniest moments in our marriage and so on.  I think I've posted one of them a few years back.  This year I didn't do that (yet).  I blame Moby Dick.

But I did take the time to recreate the first meal I ever made for Todd when we started to date.  Todd has always been a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  I, on the other hand, didn't eat meat when we met, but I did eat fish and chicken occasionally.  I knew two things about what he liked then, back in 1997.  He liked spice, and shrimp.

I personally was going through a weird stage in my life where (prior to meeting Todd) I had myself convinced I was going to move to Brazil and marry Christian Fittipaldi.  I immersed myself in Brazilian culture- studying Portuguese and learning the geography and history of the country.  I had a Brazilian cookbook and a recipe for something called Brazilian Shrimp and Corn Moqueca seemed simple and yummy enough.

So I made it, and Todd seemed to like it a lot.  The only problem was, due to my skill limitations in the kitchen then, any time Todd came over for dinner all I would ever make was this dish because it was the one thing I always got right.  (You should have seen my disastrous attempts at homemade garlic toast or grilled chicken that tasted slightly of lighter fluid.)  Needless to say, he ate this more in the first few months of us dating than any one man should be subjected to.  Finally I learned to cook different things and this recipe was forgotten about in my "Favorite Recipes" collection of my index-card recipe box.

So, in honor of our 14 years of wedded-bliss, last night I came home from work and made some delicious Shrimp and Corn Moqueca, along with some baby DelMonico's and some bacon-ey and cheesy twice-baked potatoes.  (The man needs his meat and potatoes and I respect that.  I need my bacon and cheese and he respects that)

So- In honor of November 13th, which was Friday the 13th in 1997 and the happiest day of my life until our son was born, I share with you my well-guarded secret to a happy marriage:  Brazilian Shrimp and Corn Moqueca!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small jalapeno, chopped and seeded (or 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Tabasco sauce, your preference
1/2 cup fresh, chopped parsley
1 tablespoons flour
1 cup of milk, or 1 cup of coconut milk (not sweetened) if you want to be authentic
1 can creamed corn
3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese   (Please do not use that nasty stuff in the green can.  Buy yourself a good hunk of Parm and grate it by hand or in the food processor.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a cast iron or oven-proof skillet, soften onion and jalapeno in olive oil for a minute.  Stir in shrimp, tomato sauce, parsley and Tabasco sauce (to taste) .  Allow to simmer for a few minutes until the shrimp is warmed through.  Sprinkle in flour, stir.  Gradually add in milk, bringing to a slow boil until the sauce is thickened.

Remove from heat.  Spread can of creamed corn over shrimp mixture.  Do not stir in!  Spread cheese over the top of skillet.  Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. 

Allow to cool slightly before scooping into shallow bowls.  You can put a spoonful of cooked rice in the middle of the stew or on the side before serving.

OK.  And to further explain the Great American Love Story reference from above, it was an answer to a question that my son asked recently.  I knew this day would come. 

TJ:  "Mom- you are white and Daddy is black.  But I'm brown." 

ME:  "We are not colors.  You are not defined by the color of your skin.  You are the result of a Great American Love Story." 

The End.