Tonight it's Mongolian Beef. A Chinese-American restaurant staple that has nothing whatsoever to do with Mongolia.

There's a reason for this one: This past weekend, we made the long drive up to near Rochester NY for the wedding of Signora V.'s daughter (my stepdaughter). It was a crazy, Murphy's Law occasion - among other things, we got drenched in a virtual monsoon after everyone else had left the outdoor wedding site (in a state park) and we arrived at the reception venue looking like a couple of drowned rats...

But back to the food...

One night, we were so delayed in all the pre-nuptial prep that the only thing open for dinner at that hour was a P.F. Chang's restaurant. I had never been to one, but since it was literally the only the game in town, we gave it a try. It wasn't really that bad, but I thought I could do a lot better than the Mongolian Beef I ordered. I guess P.F. Chang's is to Chinese food like Olive Garden is to Italian cuisine...

Anyway, our 7 hour drive back on Monday took well over 8 hours due to a wonky GPS that, I'd swear, was possessed by the Devil. Signora V. had to hit the ground running the next morning as it was back to work for her - thank goodness she's working from home these days. But, she really didn't have any proper time to wind down from the previous five days. She had to leap in feet first and help with a lot of the last minute wedding details because it became neccessary that she offer up her expertise since she planned out our wedding three years ago.

But, I digress... As I write this she is sacked out a few feet away on the living room couch, totally exhausted. So, she was totally agreeable to my whipping up dinner which I am only too happy to do considering all she's been through.

Mongolian Beef with steamed rice. Photo (hopefully) to follow.


Signor V.