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My name is Mike Hillwig and I live in Salem, MA with my pug, Reggie. I'm a DBA (database administrator) with a high tech company. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, I moved to Providence in December 2004 and then to Boston in November 2005. March of 2008 brought me to Salem on the Massachusetts north shore.

What else do you want to know? I'm an aviation geek, a foodie, have some tattoos and live with Multiple Sclerosis. This year, I'm in my first season singing Baritone with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. If there is anything else you'd like to know, just ask. I'm hardly shy.

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First Date Menu

I had my first date with Scott last night and invited him up for dinner. What does one do for a first date? Well, let me tell you.

First, I instinctively followed Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa)‘s rules for entertaining. I didn’t even realize I had done this until we were just about to sit down to eat. She says to prepare one thing, cook one thing, and then buy/assemble the rest. That’s exactly what I did. Another Ina tidbit is that when people are expecting some fancy, elaborate menu, give them something comfortable and homey. That’s the time for roasted chickens, spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf, or chicken noodle soup.

I started with some garlic/herb focaccia bread from Whole Foods.  I served it with some of the blood orange olive oil from Stonehouse in California. That was absolutely delightful.

For a vegetable, I served from roasted broccoli. We both like broccoli, so it was a hit. I just cut it into pieces, tossed it with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roasted it at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, just as it was starting to brown. It had great flavor, was cooked, yet still had some crunch to it.

And the big thing I prepared was homemade chicken noodle soup, including the homemade noodles. (They weren’t as thick this time, Liz) This was a total hit. I spent all day on the soup, starting with roasting the chicken in the morning and then spending over four hours on the stock.  (That’s another Ina thing—if you’re going to use chicken stock, make good, homemade sauce.) My soup was quite good. The stock totally made the soup.

For dessert, I served brownies. I wanted thick, decadent bakery brownies, but I couldn’t find what I wanted. I topped the brownies with some Dulce de Leche Sauce from Stonewall Kitchen. I also had a jar of Ina Garten’s Decadent Fudge Sauce, but that will be for another time. I had ice cream for the brownies, but we skipped that.

I have to say that this was a meal I’m proud of, and there is plenty of soup to put in the freezer.

1. Well I hope he appreciated it.  And you!  Nice job.

   Posted by  on  11/09  at  07:05 PM
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