Was this Dinner just a Fluke?

Every once in a great while that elusive meal, that rare plate, the impalpable evening that you swore doesn’t exist, happens. That cosmic occurrence when the planets align, the universe is on your side, and a beautifully prepared dinner is made just for you, perfectly cooked, by your very own chef. Contrary to popular belief, as I have said before, my chef doesn’t cook me amazing dinners every night. He can’t. However, there are those special nights when it happens. Sign of the apocalypse? Maybe.

Fluke was on the menu. If you don't know what fluke is, it's in the flat fish family. Similar to a flounder. And oh so delicious. It started earlier that day when he said to me,

“Don't worry about dinner tonight, I'll take care of it.”

Immediately my head starts spinning, wondering what that might mean.

“Does this mean he'll be the one to pick up the phone to order take out?” I thought to myself, or, “Is he going to be the one to pre-heat the oven for a frozen pizza this time?”

Getting a full dinner cooked from scratch from my chef is so rare an occurrence that these thoughts were completely valid.

But then I see the ingredients. Fresh fluke, white wine, saffron, capers, etc. etc. Then I understand that I'm in for a real meal. Not that I can't cook a real meal, I just don't cook like this...yet.

Seared cauliflower, then simmered in vegetable stock (which he happened to whip up a batch of earlier that day) with saffron. Fluke, lightly floured on one side before putting it in the pan with butter and white wine. Then a white wine reduction sauce with sautéed shallots and capers. This is what ended up on my plate. It was a simple meal and everything tasted amazing, not that I was surprised.

What was most important here was that not only did I get a kick ass dinner, it was that he took the time and planned things out to do something special for me. A meal cooked by your significant other may not seem like that big of a deal to most people, but for me, it's a rarity that I need to grab on to and appreciate because who knows when I'll be able to spend that kind of time, or share that kind of meal with him next.