Bella Sera

It's an oh-so-loverly Saturday evening here at Team Wedding Headquarters. Jamie and I are kicked back, in our jammies, watching Matty Ice try to light a fire under the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Tilly is splayed out, dreaming whatever it is she dreams that makes her little feet twitch and her barkbox emit happy little erfs. Tonight, like so many other nights over the past decade, was experimental cuisine night in La Cucina Catalina. It's not as exotic as it may sound. No Zimmern-worthy menu items here. Experimental cuisine is code for let's-throw-stuff-together-that-seems-like-it-might-taste-good-and-see-if-it-actually-does. Taste good, that is. Sometimes it does not. (Taste good, that is.) But, I would be hard-pressed to remember anything truly inedible. The only significant difference in tonight's gastronomical adventure from those of nights past is that two different entrees were on the menu. Mine:

a Mediterranean salad featuring brown rice, white tuna, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, lemon-pepper, dill, Cavender's Greek seasoning, basil pesto, Modena balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese, accompanied by a crisp Venetian Pinot Grigio.

Jamie's:

Idahoan brand mashed Red potatoes (instead of Russet or Yukon Gold), butter, and fresh cracked black pepper, accompanied by a fruit punch Gatorade.

Don't ask how much of anything went into anything I prepared. I can't tell you. I don't know. That takes the fun out of my fusion. (OK. Trade secret: 1 and 3/4 cups boiling H2O instead of 2 makes the potatoes thicker. But that's all I'm giving up.) I can tell you that it did, in fact, taste good. Both creations. I also can tell you that Tilly enjoyed a feast of tuna flakes mixed with kibble, followed by a dessert of about an eighth-cup of brown rice that missed my mixing bowl and hit the floor. And, I can tell you that even though these days are far from normal, times like these feel pretty damn close. And that, my friends? Feels pretty damn good.