A very Happy Birthday to my husband Andy – and many happy returns of the day! Here are a few shots of him in his former life as a police officer. (Some of us are grateful that he no longer carries a gun. And some are more grateful that there’s not a gun in the house in which I happen to live.) Happy Birthday Drew!

Andy and I spent our anniversary dinner at Creo - and it was one of the best dinners we’ve had in a while. From the impeccable service to the delicious food, and the kindest staff in all of Albany, it was a grand evening, and made our special night all the more wonderful.

I began with this St. Germain cocktail, snapping a few shots with my anniversary present – a new camera to replace my long-time Canon Elph that succumbed at last to one too many pool accidents. This one is a Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS, and I already love it.

It managed to capture this amazing special – a whole fried black sea bass, with a side of sesame noodles and braised bok choy. This was my first experience with sea bass, and it was a good one. As for the bok choy – well, I love bok choy when I do a simple garlic soy wilting – but this was on an entirely different plane altogether. Somehow it transcended all of the bitterness and positively glowed from within, pulsating with some rich, buttery goodness that had me ashamed of my rudimentary cooking efforts. I don’t know what they did, but they did it marvelously.

While that may have been enough for the average bear, I got a little greedy and wanted one more thing. Whenever I see truffled fries on a menu, I have to, on principle, order some. Just because. These shoestrings were exploding with rich truffle flavor, and their slim size was something I’ve not experienced anywhere else. It’s a great idea, as truffle fries are so decadent – a little goes a long way. Their chunkier cousins suffer because of this, but these were perfectly sized.

Andy chose the Coriander Wasabi Ahi Tuna – perfectly seared and served with bok choy and a soy mustard vinaigrette. I tried a bite and it was amazing. He also had a side of the cornbread – a perfectly potent and pungent version that was anything but plain – spicy and hot, with a thread of rosemary running through it – it had a lot going on, but somehow it all worked. To be fair, the cornbread could have been an entire meal unto itself – so full of deliciousness and flavor fireworks was it.

At the end of the meal, Paul McCullough came over and delivered a magnificent piece of chocolate cake, adorned with a candle, a single perfect strawberry, and a ‘Happy Anniversary’ message written in a chocolate ganache. It was a pleasant surprise, and the best ending two guys could ask for on their 11th anniversary.

This was the rough cocktail I whipped up for a pre-dinner celebratory toast. Andy said it looked like anti-freeze. Having never seen anti-freeze, I have to trust he’s correct. It wasn’t that good, so perhaps it tasted like anti-freeze as well.

Today marks the 11th Anniversary of when Andy and I met. We consider this our real anniversary, but, aside from last year’s wedding celebration, we usually go low-key on this day. A simple dinner out, followed by a cocktail at the place where we met, is about the extent of our excitement. And it is always perfect.

Here are a few links to some memories we shared:

A look back at the night we met – HERE.

The Way We Were ~ Ten Eleven Years Ago Today ~ HERE.

And my personal favorite – The Wedding Coat.

Andy & Alan from Alan Ilagan on Vimeo.

This is Andy back in 1993, at some firearms training from his cop days. It was probably a good thing our paths didn’t cross at this point. I once asked him hypothetically if he had pulled me over for speeding whether he would let me go for being cute.

He said absolutely not.

(PS – Those earmuffs are ridiculous.)

Last night, before he set about to grilling the swirdfish and zucchini, Andy made me a gin & tonic the way he likes them. It was a happy twist as refreshing as the lemon he used. As stated previously, he grills while I garnish, and he usually cooks while I cocktail.

According to him, the classic gin and tonic originated in England, and used to be made with a twist of lemon (at odds with the lime that you see in most places – and that I tend to favor). He also insists that the gin of choice be Bombay Dry Gin – not Bombay Sapphire, and not Tanqueray. (Personally, I prefer Tanqueray Rangpur.)

I’ll see if Andy can post his technique and recipe over on our sister-site, www.ALANandANDY.com. (I know there was something about counting to seven that was involved…) For now, I will say he did a fantastic job – a rim job if you will, as he slid the lemon over the glass lip before dropping it in.

This is where I got my passport photo taken way back in 1996, (prior to the Royal Rainbow World Tour). It’s a little store tucked behind the Fairmont at Copley Square in Boston, MA, and I was glad to see it still in business the last time I was in town.

Along with its patrotic window theme for the holiday, let this also serve as a friendly reminder to Andy that he needs to get his passport. As with all things in my anal existence, the first official reminder is the only friendly one.

Is it somehow wrong to be planning for a trip to London when it’s the 4th of July? Oh well, the colors are the same. Happy 4th!

One of the supreme joys of summer is the BLT. When it’s made by your husband, and served with iced tea, there’s no better way to spend the lunch hour.