It's doesn't get any better than...

when you're picking your child up from the bus and, for the umpty-millionth time, you have to come up with something for dinner and your mind is blank. In fact, the mere thought of having to find something for dinner makes me lose my appetite. And then, you have this conversation...

Me: "Hey Jack, I have to swing by the grocery store on the way home. I have no ideas for dinner so why don't we have whatever YOU want. What do you feel like having?"

Jack: "Hey Mom. I don't have any homework tonight. How about if I cook dinner?"

OMG! The seraphim and cherubim are singing in my ears -- Hallelujah! I'm pinching myself...OK, Susan, don't blow it...he just might cook dinner...

Jack: "But Mom, I have ideas that I want to try. If that's OK? I mean I really want to cook the whole dinner. What do you feel like eating?"

Me: "I'm not picky, big guy. I am so grateful that I wont' be cooking that you are free to set the menu yourself. After all, you're the chef."

Jack: "You sure you don't feel like anything?"

Me: "Nope. No way. You have a blank slate. I'm just over-the-moon excited that I'm not cooking!"

Jack: "OK, then. We're going to have three courses, OK? And, if it's OK, I'm going to use three different plates and serve them at three different times and..." And the conversation went on and on and the creative juices were flowin'!

Suddenly, a drudgery-trip to the grocery store had turned into a fun outing where I got to watch Jack who, having decided to cook dinner for the first time, had to evaluate and select all his ingredients. I was impressed! Two kinds of pasta (angel hair and mostaccioli!), shrimp AND scallops, he wanted asparagus but it didn't look good...some butter lettuce and asiago cheese....hmmmm. I didn't say a WORD about his selection other than to help him make quality selections. I was really trying not to mess this up...

After we got home, I helped unpack and then I got lost and let him alone. He only had one question..."Do you think Dad will mind helping with the dessert?" "Not at all." Check out what happened about an hour later when I was called to the dinner table...

Jack was just finishing plating our main course...


Note that he had placed the angel hair pasta in the center of the plate, then hand placed each of the pasta tubes around the edge of the angel hair like a volcano and then placed the scallops and shrimp in the center. Ladies and Gentelman, I was actually going to have an edible meal! Who would have thought?


After finishing his work, it was into the oven to wait until it was time to be served.



Don't worry the oven wasn't on...he was just using it as a staging area. Huh. I never had thought to do that either...."Mom and Dad, please have a seat. Did you wash your hands?" *giggle. I went and washed my hands and sat.

First course was a butter lettuce salad, with sliced olives and grated asiago cheese...you can tell by Jack's face that he was evaluating whether he liked it or not.


After that, he cleared the plates and brought the main course... I love this shot... Jack saying to Jim... "Here we have two kinds of pasta...angel hair and mostacola ! with sauteed scallops and shrimp drizzled with the chef's special sauce of olive oil, soy sauce and special spices..."


Note that he'd also gotten down the nice glassware to go with our special meal which was absolutely delicious -- in every way. As soon as we were done, it was time for dessert...POPCORN!


Cracks me up! I've never had popcorn for dessert in my life but this was my husband's special recipe that he makes on the stove with oil and butter and salt...but this time Jack had made it with supervision. yum.


I'm not usually one to eat dessert after dinner but you better believe I did this night... Here's how much I liked it...


And here's what you get when you tell your son that it was the most AWEsome, wonderfully-delicious meal that you've EVER eaten on this PLANET and that you're inCREDibly IMpressed with him!


Let's just say that I highly recommend that you let your child watch Top Chef on Wednesday nights and the Food Channel anytime he wants. Who said TV is so bad for kids??

It just doesn't get any better...