Letter to a Husband

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Dear Peter,

One score and some-odd years ago, my life changed forever. Why? Because now you were in the world.

Years later, I had the fortune of meeting you.

… and, I’ve been happy ever since.

I love you whether you’re soulfully contemplating a stream on the island of Torcello.

Or gazing at a loaf of bread.

Whether your hair is groomed.

Or given some “freedom”.

You love me despite the fact I’ve walked around like this:

Or come up with some strange veggie concoctions.

Or given my puppy a red velvet cushion to lie on.  On my desk.

I guess we were made for each other.

Happy Birthday, P!

For the past several years, Peter has been making fried chicken for his birthday dinner (yes, he makes his own birthday dinner – we all know I can’t handle hot oil). This year, he decided to prepare his fried chicken two ways: half of the chicken marinated in a usual brine, and half marinated in VANILLA EGGNOG. Yep.

That is one happy man.

On the side, I sauteed some green beans and almonds … in butter. Hey, it’s Peter’s birthday!

To round out the meal: checkerboard cookies.

A delicious meal for a special man 🙂

36 Comments

  1. Marie & Mike says:

    Happy Birthday, Pete! Love the photos, especially the one of you two from Ashfaq’s room – I have one just like it. 🙂 You guys are awesome, and I hope that Pete’s greatly anticipated fried chicken was fabulous.

  2. Hello hot Jessie 😉

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!!! Love the picture of the “free” hair. Hahaha. Literally made me laugh out loud. K turned and looked at me like, “mom is crazy again”. Oh, and ive walked around looking a lot worse than a big green Jacket, Jessie. The picture of you two together is very cute. Oh my God, Vanilla Eggnog chicken sounds super yummy. Great pairing with your green beans and almond. Finishing off with checkerboard cookies completes a perfect meal. Just like how your two dishes go together so well, you and Peter make the perfect couple as well.

    Peter, I wish you a very Happy Birthday full of laughter and love. I was going to say great eats too, but looks like you already had that and a beautiful, warm loving wife. Hope all your wishes come true. You both are very lucky to have eachother. Cheers to you Peter!

  3. Happy New Year Jessie! and Happy Birthday Peter! So how did the Eggnog chicken turn out?

    1. You know, the eggnog chicken wasn’t so great (!) Since the usual brine is full of salt and spices, the regular fried chicken was full of flavor, but the eggnog chicken tasted like … nothing. Oh well, now we know! 😉

      Nice to see you again!

  4. Happy Birthday Peter…nice job with the chicken 🙂
    Lovely Birthday post Jessie, I hope you both have an amazing New Year!

  5. Looking a little short in some of those shots

  6. Hello Jessie! And Happy Birthday Peter!! I’m not much into zodiac signs (indeed not at all) but I can tell you from personal experience that the Scorpio-Capricorn combination is a winning one, and I’m guessing you’ll agree with me!! 😀 😀

    I just love the picture of the two of you in that messy room!

    Aaaaand I would love to make checkerboard cookies, I just never realised the instructions on how to do it, I think I have to see how it’s done before I attempt it! 😀

    But that looks like a very nice, proper birthday dinner! 🙂

  7. Happy Birthday to Peter! What a nice post! Those cookies look like a nice touch to the meal.

    1. We actually met in college, but people always say we look younger than we do. We were 17 and 18 in that picture (hard to believe!).

  8. Happy Birthday Peter!
    OMGosh!!! You’ve known each other since you were kids! That is a real love story, Jessie! So fantastic. And, Peter – that is a great crust on your chicken. Give us the recipe! (I know that may be blasphemous on Jessie’s HEALTHY blog – but, it IS YOUR birthday!
    🙂
    valerie

    1. Hi Valerie! It looks like I didn’t explain well in the post (or at all, for that matter). Even though we look young in the second picture, we were actually 17 and 18 years old when we met (in college). So, we weren’t exactly kids. I’ll clarify in my next post 🙂

  9. Happy Birthday to Peter! Awww, you two are so sweet together! That is quite the fantastic meal and I wondering which chicken was better? (Oooh, was it the eggnog? 😉 )

    By the way, love your puppy’s red velvet cushion on your desk, that is too cute!

  10. Awww, how sweet! You two are absolutely adorable 🙂 Happy Birthday Peter!

  11. Happy Belated Birthday Peter!!

    Awwwww….look at the two of you! I am almost jealous. Jessie – how do you know when you’ve found the right guy? When he gazes at a loaf of bread like he’s gonna propose to it 😉 So glad you two found each other!

  12. Aww this is the sweetest post Jessie! Happy birthday to Peter! You guys are adorable. Mega adorable.

    Eggnog fried chicken…was it good? If so, you should totally sell the idea to Popeye’s. It would be a great seasonal item. Best seller.

  13. Awww what a beautifully written post! Happy birthday Peter! Those checkerboard cookies look so cool! Hope you are enjoying your rotation too! So weird not to have classes 🙂

  14. A big Happy Birthday to Peter!! That is one of the sweetest posts! You two are adorable!

    Is that Maddie on your desk? haha..that is the cutest thing ever!!

    The fried chicken looks delish! yum!

  15. Dr. frybaby says:

    Happy Birthday, Petie Son:
    Wishing you all the best for all the years of your life. Jessie, that is a wonderful and touching story that brought tears to my eyes.

    I just wish you could give me the recipe for those fried chessboard cookies. When I try to make them, they all turn brown in the oil. Still crispy.
    If you had eggnog chicken, did you have rum and chicken broth cocktails?

    Love you both,
    Frybaby

  16. This is so cute!! And such a wonderful tribute. 🙂 Happy Birthday Peter!! I hope he had an amazing day.

    I love the pictures of you two together — you can definitely tell how happy you both are!

  17. Happy Birthday to Peter! You two are a beautiful couple…and I loved seeing a little glimpse into your life. You both look so happy. Thank you for sharing such a fun and joyous post. I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a beautiful weekend!

  18. Happy Birthday to Peter!

    My gosh Jessie, every time I see photos of you I am just amazed again at how gorgeous you are! Seriously, I really do mean that.

    You guys looks so happy together…very cute photos.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

  19. awwwww how cute! mmm fried chicken sounds like a great b-day dinner!

  20. Happy birthday to your hubby! Fried chicken sounds like an awesome birthday meal to me… you need to be decadent on your birthday 🙂 Thanks for sharing your photos and sweet memories with us.

  21. Aw…this is such a sweet post, Jessie. Your husband is a lucky man, and you’re also a lucky, blessed woman. 🙂

  22. What a great birthday letter. You sound like such a wonderful couple and I wish I could one day meet you both in person! It’s Nick’s b-day on Wed. and I feel the same way about him, he’s amazing.

    And, YEAH for fried chicken on special occasions! And fried with eggnog?! Love it!

  23. Well Peter…I don’t know who’s lucky here?
    It could be that there’s truly no luck at all…you were just made to be in each other lives ;o)

    Jessie…I don’t do well with hot oil either…yikes!

    Happy belated B-day Peter.
    Here’s wishing you many more delightful life moments together!

    Ciao for now,
    Claudia

  24. What a sweet post! 🙂 Happy belated Birthday to Peter! That chicken looks amazing!!!

    And the cookies remind me of the ones my mom used to make when I was little…

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