I need to start by saying that Thursday was the Hub's birthday. He's moving from the lower 30's to the uppers! YAY!!! You guys know how much I LOVE birthdays, especially other people's birthdays. Well in our family, on your birthday, you get to have your favorite food. No matter what it is, we'll take all possible steps to make sure that it gets in your tummy on your day. My favorite is Japanese hibachi style food. Fried rice... YUM YUM... Eat 'em up!!! On the other hand, the Hub's birthday request is quite different...
Some of you may have heard this story before but if you've ever heard me tell a story more than once, you know that generally it gets better and more amazing each time it's told, so hold onto your hats!
The Hub's favorite meal request is... Drum roll please... Fried chicken livers with mustard, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and carrot cake for dessert. I know... RIGHT... No this is for real!!!
The Mashed potatoes, corn bread, and carrot cake are not a big deal, but the fried chicken livers are a little tricky... (to put it mildly). So for the past 4 years I've embarked on a search for the livers with last year being particularly difficult. "But Lili" you say "haven't you been married for 5 years?" Why yes... As a matter of fact I have... Let me tell you about that first year.
There I was, Queen of domesticity... Actually I'd just started a new job, in a new city and just learned that the Hub's mom makes "the BEST fried chicken livers on EARTH". Well naturally, just as I'm sure ANY of you would have, I decided that anything the Hub's mom could do "the Best in the WORLD" was something I needed to at least be proficient at. So after making a call to my wonderful mother-in-law and getting step-by-step instructions on how to make these illustrious "fried chicken livers" (a dish I've never even laid eyes on let alone cooked), I headed to the grocery, shopping list in hand. After about 30 minutes I had everything I needed except the main ingredient, so with a shutter I headed back to the meat counter and asked the sweetest old man behind the counter if he could please direct me to the chicken livers.
He maneuvered his jolly self through the diner style swinging doors and walked me to a nearby refrigerator case, lifted a jar of about 40 floating chicken organs and put them in my hand. Before he let go he asked me kindly, "you know how to cook these, right?" I nodded with what I'm sure was a ‘dear in the headlights’ look on my face and said "yes sir, I think so".
Well to make a long story short, I DID NOT know how to make chicken livers and after burning all 40 of those livers, and making my kitchen smell like something died in it I realized that I needed a new plan. I called the grocery and wouldn’t you know it, they were out of chicken livers. For about five minutes I sat in my living room floor pouting, but then I had a light bulb moment.
Several months back the Hub and I had eaten at a restaurant in down town Memphis called the
Flying Fish where he’d ordered… wait for it… Chicken Livers!
The next 15 minutes was a complete blur and consisted of me finding the number for and calling the Flying Fish and ordering large amounts of chicken livers. I jumped in my car and as the man was delivering the livers to the passenger seat of my car my phone rang, it was the Hub. “I’m on my way I’ll be home in a few.”
“Okay,” I said trying to hide my panic. I dropped my phone in my coat pocket and hit the gas. I like to think there was smoke coming from my tires, but as I’m sort of a grandma driver, it was more like a ’look both ways, use my blinker, and gradually merge into traffic’ situation. I arrived home with just enough time to deposit the purchased chicken livers on to our plates and hide the take out containers in a trash bag in my closet.
I waited 3 years before I told him the truth about where I’d been getting his birthday chicken livers.
So for the past 2 birthdays the Hub’s chicken livers have been procured from
Lexington Market. The Monkey and I took the train and had a fantastic time! I know it’s a little bit of trouble and I don’t really care too much for them, look at this face!
(The first year of the Fried Chicken Livers)
(This year's Chicken Livers)
He LOVES them, and so that’s why I do it.
Happy birthday to the Hub!
Till next time,
Bon Voyage!
.As always I wish I'd remembered to take more pictures. We did so much that isn't captured. We took a walking tour of the South End, had breakfast at Mike's City Diner, walked through some SUPER cute baby boutiques, went to Church with the Sabbes and to visit their cute new place, went to Harvard, which was beautiful. I guess it's just because I went to UT Knoxville , but I was surprised by how small it was. I really thought it would be bigger. Riding the T was an adventure in itself, and made us very appreciative of the easy to navigate Baltimore Metro. Oh and we definitely made time for LOTS of chowder!
