Tortellini Soup and a Gift from Biggie Smalls

Aaron and I just got home from Brillobox. The evening was overcast and drizzly, perfect for soup. We made a delicious broth flavored with onions, carrots, celery and rosemary and loaded with tortellini and cabbage. (I could definitely stick with the cabbage soup diet if it tasted like this.) We served the soup with a salad of mixed greens, marinated tomatoes and everyone's favorite, crispy fried tortillas, the idea for which came from a Southwestern/Mexican restaurant I used to frequent with my family back in Northampton , MA.

This week also brought the most unexpected and thoughtful of gifts! One of our favorite customers was kind enough to bring us the eggs of some of her chickens Eragon, Crow, Chickpea and none other than Biggie Smalls. Stay tuned for more omelets!

So a couple of weeks ago, I formally introduced my partner Aaron and began telling you the story of how we met and I guess it's finally time for chapter two.

When I left you, we were just leaving the Animal ER. One week later...

I was up at the crack of dawn shopping for ingredients, sending out reminder emails and packing my kitchen into the car. In the midst of everything, I called Aaron to make sure he was still planning to come. He worked on Sunday evenings starting 3pm so I only had him from 1pm until 2:30pm. We had instant chemistry in the kitchen but as I started handing out directions it became clear that Aaron had a lot more experience than I had realized, and I really had no idea what I was doing.

Somewhere around 2pm I remembered Aaron was leaving me soon and realized that I had never actually cooked dinner for 50 people before. I started to panic out loud. Before I knew what was happening, Aaron was on the phone trading in one of his very limited vacation days just so he could stay and help me finish. I couldn't believe it. I don't think anyone had ever done a nicer thing for me.

The rest of the evening was nothing short of magical. The orders started coming at 6pm and they just kept coming. We sold all but one bowl of that inaugural meal and didn't end up leaving the Brillobox until 1am.

When it was all over I thanked and hugged him profusely. I was a tad tipsy at that point after one too many celebratory beers and full of energy and excitement but even then I remember thinking, I couldn't have done this with out you.

That's all for now! Good night and sleep tight. Next week is my birthday (September 15) so Sunday's Supper will be extra special. Save room for dessert!

Oh, one other thing. Aaron and I came up with a name for ourselves, the Nitty Gritty Test Kitchen which to us seems quite fitting. So if you start to see Nitty Gritty Test Kitchen presents events - you know that's us. Thanks again for all your support and for continuing to check this blog despite my shameful lapses. Keep coming!