J05

For my little adventure, I decided to make an extravagant anniversary dinner for my boyfriend, AKA the pickiest eater I've ever met.

1. Try and locate a meal worthy of Lee's high standards
2. Who doesn't love Italian food?
3. Giada de Laurentiis' food always looks amazing, even if I don't like the ingredients.
4. Choice: chicken and shrimp with a pancetta chimichurri
5. Chimichurri....what?
6. Chimichurri: a variant of green sauce, often used as a marinade
7. That is not enough.  Let's add in some pancetta buttermilk biscuits with a cinnamon sugar butter!
8. Printing off the list, and cutting in half the recipe (is it bad that I need a calculator to cut 1/3 in half?)
9.  Off to the grocery store
10. Number one pet peeve: when you are stopped at a light behind two other cars; the first car behind the light is going to turn left, the car behind that car (and in front of you) is going straight. The light changes to green, and the car in front of you refuses to acknowledge that it is ALLOWED to go around the right side of the person turning left.  Instead, they wait the entire time span alotted for the green light, therefore making zero progress in the trip
11. 5 days later, I arrive at the grocery store
12. Where is the list? Oh right...sitting on the laundry machine at home
13. Drive all the way back to find the list exactly where I knew it was
14. Return to the grocery store, luckily without any moronic drivers in my way
15. Decide against getting a shopping cart, I will only need a small carrying basket
16. Wonder why the carrying baskets are located no where near the shopping carts...
17. Get out my list, I need
           18. Chicken
           19. Pancetta
           20. Shrimp
           21. Garlic
           22. Boxed biscuit mix
           23. Fontina cheese
           24. Buttermilk
           25. A head of lettuce
           26. A red pepper
           27. A vanilla bean (only one!)
28. There is a box of peanuts mixed into the vegetable section of the store...why?
29. I do not think there is one vanilla bean in this place...let alone several
30. Moving on to the cheese section; who decided to put dairy products next to vegetables?
31. No fontina cheese. No international cheese of any kind, for that matter
32. Cheese next to milk. How convenient :)
33. I only need a small amount of buttermilk, but am forced to buy a huge container of it, which I am sure will never be used again
34. Meat products next to milk.  I am inwardly pleased that I am moving in a giant circle around the store and that I don't have to backtrack
35. Amish chicken? Why can't I buy non-Amish chicken?
36. I've always known that shrimp should be de-veined, but I never actually knew what de-veined meant.  I ask Lee, who informs me.  I thank God that I am not a fan of seafood
37. There is a center section in the middle of the aisle that holds international food; my pancetta and fontina has been found!
38. Boxed biscuit mix...does it exist? I can only find pre-made tubed biscuits
39. Spend about 15 minutes walking up and down every single aisle in the store looking for these boxed biscuits
40. Spend 10 more minutes arguing with Lee which one of us will break down and ask an employee for assistance
41. I win. He asks
42. We are directed to the exact place we walked by about 7 times.  There are 3 tiny packages of boxed biscuits amidst a plethora of pancake mix
43. I learn that pancake mix also doubles for biscuit mix; good to know that NOW >:(
44. We add donuts to the list; I am thinking that whoever designed this store knew that an unsuspecting customer (i.e., me) would be walking out of the store and pass by a table of assorted cakes, muffins and donuts, which they would find completely irresistable
45. I find that Lee has been sneaking other items into the basket while I was hunting for things on the list.
46. I find that choosing a basket over a cart was a mistake.
47. Someone should make a carrying conveyance sized somewhere in between a cart and a basket.
48. I see a grown man wheeling around a miniature baby sized shopping cart and almost ambush him for it
49. Since Lee has upgraded our amount of food, we no longer qualify for the "10 items or less" aisle. Do they really count how many items you have anyway? I am almost positive I've gone through that aisle when I've had more than 10 items, which means that that rule is simply bogus and false advertising
50. I realize as we check out how many plastic bags we are being handed and wish I had brought my own bags that won't kill the environment
51. I feel like that trip called for a lot more effort than necessary...
52. Now that I am exhausted I have to cook an elegant dinner
[Now I know this isn't part of the assignment, but I just want to add that it took me literally 3 hours to complete this meal.  Giada included on the recipe that the estimated time would be a half an hour........]