A dinner to remember

I cracked my knuckles as I looked around the kitchen. It was 7:30pm.

“Alright,” I said to myself. “I've only half an hour, better hurry.”

Of course, anyone who cooks knows there’s always a couple of things you need to really be able to get into the mood. They’re a little different from person to person, but I prefer a small snack to nibble on (like olives if I’m making pasta), and some music you can dance to.

It took me a minute or two, but my speaker got turned on, my phone connected, and soon a good beat was going. That’s the stuff.

I swayed my hips and started humming along as I started to get out the cutting board and ingredients. I had some prep work to do before really starting the cooking itself.

The beef and corn starch went into a bowl and set next to the stove. Glancing at the clock I knew I had to get a move to really time this right. I only hoped I had gotten it right.

A pan came out and clanged a bit as it made contact with the stovetop. The knob clicked nicely as I set it to high and dropped some oil into the pan quickly starting to sizzle as it heated up. Once that was hot I added the steak to the pan, moving it around a bit with a spatula to spread it out evenly. 

I let the beef to sizzle and grabbed a new bowl since I didn't have time, she’d be home soon, and there was no way I wouldn’t be done before she got back.

“Don't worry,” I half-sung to myself with the music. “You’ll be okay, just keep focused and you’ll make it.”

I split a clove of garlic with the flat of a knife and diced it as small as I could before sliding it off the board and into the bowl before checking on my beef again. It was starting to sizzle nicely and I flipped it over to see it was browning nicely too.

A root of ginger went under my knife next, and a minute or two later joined the small pile of garlic already in the bowl. I checked the clock again. 7:45, only fifteen minuted left, I needed to go a bit faster, it wouldn’t be pretty if I wasn’t on time.

The beef was good and brown at this point so it I scooped it out of the pan and put it aside before adding a bit more oil the pan and tossing in the garlic and ginger. With a now-empty bowl, I could mix the soy sauce, mirin, fish sauce, and sesame oil, spilling some on the floor as I tried to be quick about it. A bit went on the stove as well as I added the new mix to the pan and brought it to a simmer.

7:50. Ten minutes left.

I hurriedly got a second bowl from the cupboard and added the cornstarch and water, some of the white powder giving my jeans a good dusting on its way to the bowl, and started to mix. This was the difficult part. I only had a few minutes and I had to be patient as I added the cornstarch/water mix to the soy sauce mixture in the pan, but I managed it. 7:55. Five minutes!

Thankfully I had already gotten a couple of other things set up before starting to cook, and it was really just the food left. As the mix in the pan reached a good thickness I added the beef back in and stirred it together to give the meat a good coating of the sauce. I let that sit for a minute to heat to the beef back up and went back to the cutting board with a handful of green onions.

Right as I finished cutting, I heard the front door open. I glanced at the clock, even though I already knew what I was going to see. It was 8:00. She was home.

I practically sprinted to the dining room where the table was already set and lit the candles at the table as she came in.

“Happy birthday Mom!” I said as she came in. She had a few bags in her hands and I hastily took them, setting them aside and wrapping my arms around her.

“Oh honey,” she said, as she hugged me back. “I thought you had forgotten.”

“Not a chance,” I said back. “Here, have a seat, I’ll get the food.” I pulled a chair out for her and sat her down before heading back to the kitchen. I scooped some of the teriyaki beef into two bowls and sprinkled the green onion on top. Perfect.

As I went back to the dinner table I stopped a second to take it in. My mom was sitting at the table lit by several candles with some soft piano music in the background and looked up as I came in.

“What did you make?” she asked as I stood for another breath, just taking in the moment. There she was, the one woman in the world who would love me like no other, and here I was, trying to show her just some of the love I felt for her, in such a small way. It had to be enough for now.

“Teriyaki Mom, your favorite, fresh off the stove. And I’ve got some wine to with it.”

I went back to the kitchen and returned with a Stella Rose Black, one of her favorites, and two glasses. I popped the cork out and poured us each a glass before setting the bottle down on the table

She sighed as I set it down in front of her and she sniffed st the wine and the bowl of food. “Mmmm,” “That smells amazing, thank you honey, and I really need it, it’s been a crazy day.

“Has it really?” I asked as I sat down across from her with my own bowl and wine glass. “Tell me all about it.”