The Dragon Legend | The Ultimate Date Night Platter

THE ULTIMATE DATE NIGHT PLATTER

Today I present you my story behind our Ultimate Date Night Platter. G (my hubby as he prefers obscurity) and I have known each other for the last 16 years. After knowing each other for 3 years we decided to get married. What followed has been a pure whirlwind of emotions. We have two beautiful cherubs now. Our life has gone through so many ups and downs but we have always made our time together as priority. In the initial years we have spent nights together partying and frolicking with our friends. Then our daughter came into this world, we were very focussed on what we wanted in our life. We did briefly invest in a nanny but being full-time working we hardly wanted to step out without her. Our world revolved around her and we just avoided night outs altogether. There was immense joy in just seeing her smile and flutter around like a butterfly.

Over the years G and I found our tandem and just then when we thought we had mastered the art of running a house, juggling a five-year old and still making time for each other, our son was born. We had an assumption that handling a second born would be cakewalk since we had already mastered the art with the first-born. This one came with a booster of adrenaline rush and putting him to sleep would drive us to our wits end. What followed was a vicious cycle of sleepless nights and rushed morning. It made us eternally tired for the next two years.With the lack of support system, we realised we had not had “OUR” time for a long time. By that time we had realised the child is our responsibility and not a nannies especially when they are infants. We never had the heart to leave our kids with a child minder so that we could have a night out together. We’ve managed to have maintain our social life in a way that at least one parent is there to look after the children’s well-being. This is our way of dealing with work life balance while it could be very different approach for another parent. Being aware of the natural temperament and needs of your child is one of the necessary (and wonderful) parts of being a parent.

Somewhere in between our hushed goodnight kisses and rushed mornings comes our dates. Since we are working from Monday to Friday, Friday night is the ideal night to be chosen as our ultimate date night. We’ve swapped the swanky restaurants tables with our floor mat while the kids snooze on the bed. The kids have a schedule and they are already in bed by 8-ish and on weekends by 9. The pantry is stocked on weekends to ensure everything is readily available. Otherwise M&S is just a two-minute ride :-). That Dolby screen is replaced by our laptop while we sit huddled around it with the headphones plugged-in and binge watch our favourite show which coincides with the binge watch phenomena on NETFLIX. G becomes our bartender while I guzzle down liquor as he simultaneously pours it. All of a sudden I am, it seems, a little lighter.

The platter below is one of the easiest to assemble with all the seasonal ingredients. Freshly blanched asparagus goes amazingly well with crunch of rye crisp bread and corn nachos. I always make my own hummus and chilli salsa and you will see the bottles last for a week in my refrigerator. The cheese plate is incomplete with the cheese and in our case I prefer not loading it with too many choices. I have chosen a Gruyère because of its fruity tones and goes well with this summer themed platter.

HIGHLAND PARK – THE DRAGON LEGION

There are no guesses for saying its striking resemblance to the game of thrones theme though very little is known about the true legend associated with this bottle.  The DRAGON LEGEND is richer and smokier side of Highland Park and anyone who is a whisky aficionado would know that islay whiskies are known for their smoky peatier notes.

As quoted by the website, this is the story behind this magnificent single malt.

For our ancestors, dragons were both feared and revered, possessing mystical powers but representing the forces of evil. According to legend, the Viking warrior Sigurd killed the evil serpent dragon Fafnir in a battle of great bravery and cunning. Licking the dragon’s blood from his thumb, Sigurd was granted powerful gifts of prophecy and wisdom and became one of the greatest heroes of the ancient Nordic sagas. In DRAGON LEGEND we’ve created single malt as bold and unconventional as Sigurd himself. Our local peat from Hobbister Moor delivers an intense aromatic smokiness that’s melded with a spicy sweetness from long, slow maturation in
sherry seasoned oak casks.

…the earth shook all about him, and he snorted forth venom on all the way before him as he went; but Sigurd neither trembled nor was afraid at the roaring of him. – The Volsunga Saga

This is my ode to the finale of Game of thrones, G and I will be sad as we have tried moving one with many a series after GOT but nothing has had such a lasting impression. Even the waiting gave a a sweet pain. Those days would be memorable when we avoided going on youtube or new reads to avoid spoilers and virtually unfriended those who spoke a lot on spoilers. It will be sad as we were closely related to its journeys and more so even our travel plans were around GOT locations.This journey started when my dear team lead and a very dear friend gave me the whole stack of books to read long before the show had come. I think reading a book always bring a better perspective. I feel with the length of the show and storyline this was the right time to end it. Madness I know 🙂

Game of Thrones was one of the best shows ever written, second in plot only to its own books, A Song Of Ice and Fire!!

Hope you enjoy the video and do share your date night stories and whats your mantra!! Lots of love…give my video a like on youtube would be a great compliment to all the effort spent.