I have been meaning to post about the anniversary dinner that I cooked for my husband and I last year in October. We were on a bit of a tight budget around the time our anniversary was on and I decided I would cook something special for our dinner at home. It was our 5 year wedding anniversary and I wanted to make sure we celebrated it and had a special evening. We were going to have it on our newly finished deck at sunset, which turned out to be a beautiful evening.
I even invested in a set of beautiful dinner plates and bowls for the occasion. The cost of the ingredients and the dinner set were marginally cheaper than us going out to a nice restaurant. It's all about trying creating a special mood or atmosphere when creating a memorable evening. Nice touches such as candles, flowers, special cutlery, centerpieces and table cloths all go about creating this dreamy and special atmosphere..
This is the menu that I planned a few weeks before the big day. A tip when planning your menu try and pick recipes that you can have prepared earlier in the day or even the day before and this will reduce the time you need to be at the stove over spending time with your hubby.
We started the evening off sipping chardonnay on the deck eating the tomato & basil bruschetta that I had prepared, watching the sunset. It was a wonderful way to start the evening. I just love the light in the evenings as the sunsets as it gets all soft and day dreamy streaming through the trees.
While we were enjoying the bruschetta I had the citrus salad prepared earlier in the day resting in the fridge, the potato gallette was roasting and the duck was marinating ready to be pan fried. The duck was probably the most extravagant thing we bought for the whole evening. It was about $20.00 for two duck breasts but I will say it was well worth the money. It was absolutely delish. To the restaurant critic it probably would be over cooked but I just don't like my duck breast still quacking... if you know what I mean.
Dessert was next and I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the Dairy Free Chocolate & Strawberry tart I had made earlier in the day. There is a secret ingredient in this tart and your wouldn't believe what it is...... Avacado! Yep the chocolate filling is made from blending avacade, cocoa powder, maple syrup and a few other ingredients together to create the most divine tasting thing ever. I promise you won't even recognise the avacado in it.
Thankfully I made two extra tarts so I could enjoy it again the next day.
Recipes:
I'm being a bit lazy today and showing you where I got the recipes from. I am also being naughty and not putting the duck recipe up because it's in a recipe book somewhere and I forgot to type it out.... so if your desparate for it I will put it up for you.
I hope that I have inspired you to attempt making a special anniversary dinner somewhere along the years you will share with your loved one!