Food Fantasies

Wanna know one of Matt's secrets??  My husband fantasizes about food. Not because he's an obsessive overeater or a hardcore dieter, but because he has serious dreams of opening his own restaurant.

In fact, the main reason he has been on such a cooking kick lately is because he has been secretly formulating a MENU in his head, trying to nail certain recipes and writing them down once he thinks they've reached perfection. I didn't realize how serious he was about this until I saw the page in the back of our cookbook where he had been recording his progress. Or until we went to two different outlet malls and the only stores he got excited about were the kitchen supply stores. An example of his behavior lately...

A few days ago, Matt came home from school very excited about something. When he walked in the door our conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hi Honey. (Insert passionate welcome-home-kiss here.) How was class?

Matt:  It was fine. I think the teacher ripped apart my presentation less than my classmates' presentations.... Oh and I thought of a great idea for a SANDWICH!! Imagine a thick piece of sourdough bread, topped with a little garlic-herb mayo.....(And then he goes on to describe in detail each feature of this hypothetical culinary masterpiece.)

That's right. At the #1 MBA school in the country, in a class that costs students $500 to attend (or not attend) each day, my man is thinking about SANDWICHES.

But I can't complain. Sure, sometimes I worry that we're going into an insane amount of debt to pay for an education that might ultimately be used to open a bakery/sandwich shop. But as I lay here on the couch with a very satisfied stomach after an amazing meal that came straight from my husband's noggin, I'm having an absurd amount of trouble not slipping into a blissful post-lunch sleep coma that makes me forget any such worries.


Today on our way home from a swap meet at the church, Matt asked me out of the blue if we had any Swiss cheese or avocado at home. It was then I realized that his brilliant mind would be off somewhere daydreaming about food the whole weekend if he did not get his hands on certain ingredients and assemble his dream sandwich immediately. So that's what had to be done.

And not surprisingly, it was an amazing success! When we got home, Matt pulled out some chicken breasts from the freezer to thaw, grabbed his wallet, and headed back out to the store for the missing pieces to his masterpiece. He came back and put this little baby together:

-- Toasted SOURDOUGH bread --

-- Hand-whipped AIOLI (garlic mayo)

-- Thin slices of AVOCADO --

-- Perfect strips of Matt's secret-recipe GRILLED CHICKEN --

(even I don't know what's in it besides his homemade chili powder)

-- Melted PARMESAN cheese --

-- Fresh sliced TOMATO --

-- Romaine LETTUCE --

-- Spicy DIJON mustard --

It was delectable. So delectable that it deserves its own name and a permanent spot in our recipe book. Only we can't think of a name glorious enough for it yet. I would have taken a picture, but I couldn't pry my hands and mouth away from my lunch long enough to do so.

So next time you're lucky enough to have my husband cook for you, and he asks you to be brutally honest about what you would change about the meal, know that he is serious. He wants to make things better. His future restaurant career is depending on your honest feedback. Maybe we'll start an anonymous comment card box by our front door.

I couldn't be more proud!