Fridays are like holidays and they are definitely worth celebrating!
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The conclusion of Mama Sox's semester has come and my pre-arranged duties of caring for Mini Sox expired. Last Friday was our final hoorah...well at least for now :o)
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With it being Friday, Mini Sox's schedule is a bit more flexible and he was able to come over to my house for dinner and hanging out. We began our evening with a trip to the grocery store, where Mini Sox pushed around a pint-sized shopping cart assisting Auntie Gullible with picking up ingredients for a special feast.
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Once home, Mini Sox was allowed 30 minutes of tv...yup, that's right! I finally know the truth about how much tv he is allowed to watch. His pick and recent obsession...Scooby Doo!!!
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As he watched tv, I got to work in the kitchen with first cleaning the mussels and cutting broccoli. Following a Giada recipe, this is super simple -
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Add 1 pound of pasta to boiling water and cook for 6 minutes. Add broccoli florets and cook until pasta is al dente. Meanwhile in a large pan heat some olive oil and add garlic. Then to the pan add wine, salt, pepper, red pepper flake and finally the mussels. Cook until all of the mussels have opened, discarding those remaining closed. Combine drained pasta/broccoli and mussel mix in a large bowl and you're done!
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Mini Sox LOVES mussels, so it was a hit! *
At the start of dinner, with his sparking grape drink (which yes, he picked out for himself) and my glass of wine, we toasted to 'Happy Friday!'
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We also enjoyed a scrumptious seeded baguette...with butter!! Like any good food lover, Mini Sox was super excited about the butter haha!*
Auntie Gullible wanted to make sure this meal was all it could be for Mini Sox, so we each picked out a delicious dessert from the pastry cooler. His choice was this super dense flourless chocolate cake...*
The worrisome part was he took a couple bites, looked at me and said: yum, coffee! Uh-oh!!! I tried a bite, but couldn't tell if it was just a dark chocolate bitterness or if there was coffee...who knows maybe it was both haha! *
He did admit to me that he has tried Papa Sox's coffee before and I know he has eaten the Hubs-fav Coffee Banana Cream Pie on occasion...I just hope Mama Sox did not have a restless boy later that night...and if she did, I will take all the blame!! Sorry and yes, I've learned that I need to ask the nice grocery store folks first what it is I am buying (or rather what is in it) for such a wee little one.
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I chose this coconut pastry...it was awesome and I know something Hubs would just have LOVED!*
Mama Sox came over after her final class and we visited for a bit. It was a Happy Friday!!*
All in all it was a successful semester and the perfect taste of what everyday could be like when Hubs and I have one (or two) little ones of our own :oD
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what a cutie!! such a dense cake for such a small child :) but I'm sure he handled it ;-) the dinner looks amazing... I've never used mussels before in my cooking, but I'd love to try! Of course, Chicago isn't exactly the land of abundant seafood....
ReplyDeleteHe is a cutie for sure! He will eat things I would never imagine a child trying...it's all thanks to him Mom, she's an amazing cook :o)
ReplyDeleteMussels, clams etc are super easy! I bet you could find some good ones at Whole Foods...afterall if it's good enough for Top Chef, then it's a safe bet!!