12 Years Ago…

12 years ago tonight a northern boy and a southern girl had their first date, and their lives would never be the same.

Who knew that a bouncy, southern twang talkin’ college student could impress and be asked out by a yankee boy who was 6 years older than her…

I guess it was the sweet sound of the southern twang in her voice, or maybe it was her smile and bubbly attitude {as he likes to tell the story}. But there was somethin’ about those crystal, baby blue eyes that drew this southern girl in hook line and sinker.

It was a match made in heaven. And although he had to work a little bit she caved and these two lived {and still are living} happily ever after…

I seriously cannot believe it’s been 12 years since Eric and I had our first date. It seems like just yesterday he was picking me up after work to hit downtown Athens, GA for dinner and clubbing.

I remember the butterflies and excitement. I remember what I wore {and yes, I know it’s cra-zy that I remember this}. I remember standing outside DePalma’s Restaurant having a drink waiting 45 minutes for a table, and I was STAR-VING!

I remember our table in the corner of the restaurant and how we ate and talked like no one else was in the room. Then we met up with a few friends and hit the clubs for some dancing.

What a great night!

But, I must share my favorite memory of that night. You see, growing up, my Daddy always taught me that when you go on a date a guy likes to have a girl who will eat. It’s not polite to order a big meal, take a couple of bites, and then say, “I’m full”. This was engrained in me for years. Well, this night I was going to make my daddy real proud.

After waiting 45 minutes for a table and not eating much that day because I had school, work, and quite frankly I was poor, by the time we sat down for dinner I was star-ving…and that’s putting it mildly.

Well, I ordered my favorite thing on the menu…a pasta dish. Eric ordered chicken fettuccine alfredo {or something of the sorts}. We talked, and laughed, and ate. Eric pushed his plate to the side with about half of his dinner left. The waitress came by and asked if he needed a to-go box. He simply replied, “No, I don’t thank you, but maybe she…..nope, she doesn’t need one either.”

At that point I looked up to him and the waitress, and looked down at my bowl. I was scraping every last morsel out of my bowl. Nothing was left, and to tell you the truth I might’ve licked the bowl clean if I could’ve.

He kind of giggled, looked at the waitress and then at me and says, “Would you like some of mine?” and started to hand his plate to me.

I was mortified!!!! But I was full, and my mission was accomplished. I ate my dinner and I was quite satisfied.

I guess we all have those fun first date stories and memories. It’s fun to look back and think how times have changed. To think we were just two mere crazy kids entering the dating scene not knowing that God had put us together for a reason.

The story that was will still go on…I am still the southern girl and he will always be my northern boy. So, to celebrate tonight I made a dessert I want to share with you. Just think of it as a sweet southern twang meets northern deliciousness.

Banana Pudding Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 large ripe bananas, diced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 Tbsp. coffee liqueur

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Meringue

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Press into bottom of a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Combine bananas and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute or just until sugar melts. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 minutes or until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each one. Beat in liqueur and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Spoon tablespoonful's of banana mixture evenly over mixture and swirl gently into batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven, and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Drop spoonful's of meringue gently and evenly over hot cheesecake. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Remove from oven and gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake to loosen. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on wire rack. Cover loosely and chill 8 hours. Store in the refrigerator.

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. sugar

Beat egg whites and salt at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until soft peaks form and sugar dissolves (about 1-2 minutes).

 

So tell me, do you have any fun first date stories? I’d love to hear them.