Date night

Chocolate and peanut torte with salted caramel drizzle and yes, I do take pictures of my food.

On Friday night-- for the first time in weeks-- my husband and I went on a date.  As a I am HUGE advocate of weekly date night, clearly there is something wrong with this picture. Date nights are important, nay,VITAL if a couple is to survive the rigors of working full time and parenting as many kids as we do. We need our us time, and frankly, when we don't have it, I get a little cranky.

Lies. I get a lot cranky.

I'm sappy enough that anyone who has taken even a cursory glance at this blog over the course of the last several years knows that I'm pretty googly-eyed over my husband. A date for us usually consists of a cup of coffee and a stroll through World Market. We hold hands, we touch all the nifty goodies on display, we may even pop over to Borders if we're feeling particularly racy. And we're home by 10:00 p.m.

Life in the fast lane.

And if we don't get that date time, we may crumple it into a Sunday afternoon at Costco, noshing on international sampler cuisine and fro yo.

But as of late? Nada. Not even a quick pass through Vons alone together. Every date night has had at least one child attached to it and as any woman can tell you, THAT IS NOT A DATE. That is everyday life  and I get that at home. Everyday. As defined.

Alas, great minds think alike. On Friday night, Steve took me to Trelio, an upscale restaurant in downtown Clovis. We took advantage of the California Restaurant Week fixed-price menu (which includes your choice of a starter, entree and dessert) and the 30% discount on bottled wine.

We each started with the quince salad; I went with the pumpkin ravioli entree and ended with a chocolate torte with peanuts and a salted caramel drizzle.  It all went perfectly with the Santa Ana Pinot Noir (which made the Chronicle's Top Ten Red Wine list). Oh. My. GAWD it was amazing. Phenomenal.

Wonderfully cozy atmosphere, excellent service, food that was to die for, wine that was to kill for... and a dessert I can't stop thinking about. It was a romantic atmosphere, and even better, we didn't stare longingly into each other's eyes all night. We laughed. We gabbed. We caught up. Added bonus: I look super hot in extra-dim lighting.

I ate the whole thing, but refrained from licking the plate (of which I am very proud).

It's funny how you can share a bedroom with someone and bathe and dress and sleep near that person, and still not really have enough time together to catch up on all the stuff (let alone the minutia) that fills your daily lives.

It was a great night. The food was fantastic; the company even better.