That sneaky Nancy Leson! She tried to get me to name the musician I'd most like to have entertain at a Valentine's dinner for me and DeGroot. Naturally, I refused. If I name someone, then I'm excluding everyone else, I told her.
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Nancy, of course, has no such qualm. Nance named singer, songwriter and guitarist John Pizzarelli.
What would Nancy like Pizzarelli to play? "Anything he wants, so long as he plays 'Embraceable You,'" she said.
On to the food. To prepare her perfect V-Day dinner, Nancy wants chef Jim Drohman of Seattle's Cafe Presse and Le Pichet. "Because he's brilliant. And low-key. And because he makes the best roast chicken ever," she said.
She wants oysters, too — "fresh-shucked and ice-cold." Which brings me to the exciting news that Nancy's taking me for my very first ever raw oyster. Assuming I don't lose my nerve, we'll record the Big Slurp on video for all posterity, or at least next week's post.
And for the after dinner movie? Nancy picks the delicious flick about food and fatherhood, "Eat Drink Man Woman." For me, it would have to be the delirious dining depicted in Stanley Tucci's "Big Night."
Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart...
Even so, I think the perfect Valentine's Day dinner should be the iconic Valentine's Day image, the heart!
Mmmm, that's eatin'.Here's the recipe beef heart stuffed with mushroom and spinach.
And from Nancy and me, a very happy National Day of Maximum Emotional Extortion to one and all.
"Kisses are a better fate than wisdom."
– e.e. cummings
