Our Journey With You: Nice. Very Nice.

Saturday evening Tony, Lily, and I had dinner at our friend, Janis's. Janis used to be Tony's work wife. No, they didn't get divorced...but...since Tony is working someplace different now I guess they are undergoing a trial separation!

Tony is crazy about Janis and it is obvious why. Janis is warm and friendly and a lot of fun to be around. I instantly liked her from the moment we met and after watching Janis with Lily Saturday night...I like her even more!

Janis welcomed us into her beautiful home and immediately made us feel comfortable. Lily is normally very good when we go places but it is always a little nerve racking when your little one goes "exploring" in someone else's house! Janis was such a gracious host and put us all at ease in no time!

The four of us have had dinner together before but normally we go out to a restaurant. On Saturday night we ate at Janis's and everything was absolutely perfect! Seriously, I think even the Top Chef judges would have been impressed.

Speaking of Top Chef....I know most "normal" people have basketball or football pools. Not us. Tony, Janis, and I have Top Chef and Project Runway pools. This season I won the Top Chef pool by picking Stephanie to go all the way. My prize for winning was a scrumptious home-cooked meal at Chez Janis.

Now, if the fact that we have Top Chef and Project Runway pools doesn't make us strange enough you should know that on Saturday night Janis and Tony competed in a quickfire challenge. If you don't know what a quickfire challenge is you really must check out Top Chef!

Since I was this season's winner I got to pick the ingredients for the quickfire. I chose spinach, tomato, and feta. How can you go wrong with those 3 ingredients?!? The appetizer had to include...but was not limited to...those 3 items.

I'm not sure what got into my husband but he was really psyched for this competition. Unbeknownst to me Tony packed his favorite knives and sauce pans to bring with him. (Okay, it's scary enough that he has favorite knives and sauce pans...I know. I really don't know what has happened to him!)

It was obvious Tony had given a lot of thought to what he was going to make long before I announced the ingredients. It is true that Tony asked me several times before Saturday night if I had decided what I was going to have them use for the quickfire...but I hadn't. I didn't really even think about it until I was sitting in Janis's kitchen Saturday evening drinking a yummy glass of wine and daydreaming about what I was hungry for.

After I picked the ingredients Janis and Tony headed to a nearby grocery store to do a little shopping. They were back in no time and went straight to the kitchen and started whipping up their culinary masterpieces. The two of them worked great together. Maybe if they ever decide to leave the exciting world of accounting behind they can open a restaurant!

Now, you may be wondering who won the quickfire...it was a tie! They both came up with beautiful and delicious appetizers. See for yourself:

Janis's creation

Tony's creation

After the quickfire challenge Janis treated us to a delicious meal. The salad, entree, and dessert all looked too pretty to eat...but that didn't stop us! In fact, I ate way too much...and would have squeezed in more if I could!

Not only did Janis put together a delicious meal she also somehow managed to keep Lily thoroughly entertained! Janis was kind and sweet and patient and involved Lily in every part of the evening from food prep to conversation to clean up. Lily LOVED every second of it!

Normally, it takes Lily a little while to warm up to people...but not Janis. Maybe it was because Janis got down on Lily's level to talk to her...or because she let Lily help her cook...or because she let Lily blow out a candle between each course...or because she played with Lily on the floor...or because she fed Lily strawberries with gorgonzola (one of her favorite things)...or...you get the idea! All I can tell you is that Saturday night Janis definitely had a 3 foot shadow!

We had so much fun at Janis's that we stayed way past Lily's normal bed time. Lily handled it like a trooper. Truth be told, I don't think Lily wanted to leave either! As we were driving away from Janis's house Lily said, "Janis. Nice. Very Nice!" I couldn't agree more!