Tin for the Tenth! Part I

We hosted our supper club on the night of our tenth wedding anniversary. It turned out to be a lovely evening and I am excited to share the pictures over a few posts. First, here is the email I sent announcing our theme: My first thought was to make our theme "wedding feast," and I also pondered tin-can chicken (tin being the traditional 10th anniversary gift). D suggested Italy in honor of our recent trip, but then I got to thinking. We don't need a gimmick because cooking and eating is already of huge significance to our marriage. Cooking was one of the ways we learned how to run our home. Together, we figured out who would do the cooking, shopping, and dishes. We each brought our own ideas to the table (literally) and forged OUR family's culinary palate. His grandma's matzah balls won the first battle! Our first year of marriage did not include the proverbial burnt dinners, though there was an unfortunate fire while toasting coconut. When we married we were already confirmed foodies, though I am not sure the word had been coined. So, our first meals mostly involved me trying to show off for D. I was flooded with many sweet memories thinking about it that I wanted to share them with you: In 2002, I still cared about presentation, and thus, everything was vertical. Trader Joe's was not yet in my vernacular. We still ate potatoes, often wasabi mashed. Salads were bejeweled with berries and nuts, speckled with goat cheese, and dressed in balsamic vinegar (as was everything else in that period). The People at Bob's Seafood knew me by name and gave me the best cuts of sushi grade tuna to be seared and drizzled with soy reductions. Rachel Ray was new to the airwaves, and I did not know what quinoa was. My cakes were the yummiest molten lava. Sunday morning was our breakfast day. The meal was big and eaten in our robes while watching Trading Spaces with no cares at all --there were no birthday parties or t-ball games to fill our day. I skipped red meat and kept kosher. David was sure to order crème brule whenever it was on a menu. We had time to read not one, but three, cooking magazines each month. Times and tastes have obviously changed! The roast chicken I perfected that year on Amherst for my new husband has not. Our life together has been delicious and we are thrilled to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary with you on November 2nd. We hope you will all take a trip down memory lane and bring the dishes that were significant to you as newlyweds. I will make roast chicken, serve wedding cake, and (of course) have champagne for toasting. We want you to have freedom to make what you wish but are hoping for at least two starters, a salad, a starch, a vegetable.. Please let me know what you plan to bring as well as the title and artist of your first dance song!