Happy Birthday to me!

Because Easter was such a crazy week for Jarrod and I, we decided to celebrate my birthday on Thursday, the 28th. Jarrod took me to La Provence in Lacombe, Louisiana. It's a John Besh restaurant and it was absolutely incredible.

 We got all dressed up and hit the town for a night out. La Provence is on the Northshore and is not terribly far from our home. It's a beautiful farm house with a comfortable atmosphere. We were immediately impressed with the service. Jarrod made the reservations online and all night people were wishing me a happy birthday. The woman that sat us at our table, our waiter, the bartender, manager, and bus girl all were so friendly. We learned all about where our food was grown or breed, which was awesome!

Instead of simple warm bread, we were served pate and toast before our meal. Jarrod enjoyed it so much that he ate it straight from the serving knife! We ordered drinks - a cosmo for me and a mojito for Jarrod. Both were incredibly delicious and made with lots of love. The mint in Jarrod's drink was so fresh!

For an appetizer, we ordered the smoked salmon latke. Delicious! The potato pancake was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It paired incredibly well with the soft smoked salmon and light greens. After the appetizers we were brought delicious little rolls. It was the softest bread I've ever had! Delicious fresh herbs on top made this an incredible little bite. Soon our meals were delivered. I ordered the soft shell crab and Jarrod got the ham-wrapped sword fish. Both were incredibly delicious! My crab was lightly fried in a crisp corn batter and served over jalepeno grits. Jarrod's was served over polenta. Both were cooked to perfection and had a lot of deep flavors. The sauce with my crab had huge pieces of ham in it, which made for a delicious smokey flavor.

I'm glad we saved room for dessert!

It's called a candy bar and it was one of the best things EVER! Check out the candle on the edge of the plate, a beautiful touch! The dessert was made of a dense flourless chocolate cate topped with a light peanut butter mousse, a thin layer of homemade caramel, and salted peanut brittle on top. On the side was the most incredible ice cream on planet earth - a salted caramel ice cream with a cookie tuile. Jarrod and I fought over the last bite and practically licked the plate. It was a delicious ending to an incredible meal.

Jarrod gave me one of the best gifts ever over our meal. He said that he'd like to be a food blogger! I don't think he knew what he was getting himself into when he said that, but it's ON! I've been working for months to get him more active on this blog. I don't know if he will now, but I'm going to attempt. We needed a new blog theme now that we're moving from Louisiana. After much discussion, we're going to be

What's Cookin' with the Johnstons! 

I've purchased the domain: www.cookinwiththejohnstons.com and have begun work on a new look for the blog. It'll take a few weeks, but I hope to have things set by June. Don't worry, not much is going to change. I'll still be writing about random life happenings, recipes, and our crazy animals. Hopefully we'll include our journey to expanding our family and more restaurant reviews as we move to Dallas as well. And we might even see Jarrod make an appearance or two!