Eighteen years ago this weekend, there was a huge storm, the bartender got caught in the elevator, and my older sister sang torch songs around the piano by candlelight long after the power had gone out.

Months before that night, my {now} Husband and I called my parents in Nebraska to let them know that we’d finally settled on a wedding date.

When you call your parents at your childhood home, you recognize certain background sounds as if you’re right there in the room. Mom had picked up the phone in the kitchen and was relaying the news to Dad. When she shared the date we picked, I heard him slide that heavy oak captain’s chair back from the kitchen table, and begin a deliberate walk across the linoleum kitchen floor.

You might think he was rushing to grab the phone. Nope! I knew he was checking the calendar.

“Mom!” I said, “Tell him we’ve already checked. It’s an away game!”

We planned the wedding early enough in the evening so that anyone who wanted to head to the bar to watch the Cornhuskers play a night game against Arizona could do so without having to sneak off.

I smile every time I think about that call, and, of course, the wedding.

It was a relatively small gathering with our family and a few dear friends. Later in the evening, as some guests headed out, others ordered a nightcap and gathered around the piano. Then lightning hit, thunder clapped like a cannon, and the lights went off.

Undeterred {by the storm OR the missing bartender, who was now stuck in the elevator with our wine and after dinner drinks}, a few of us hung around until we ran out of songs and energy. The lights eventually came back on and we headed off to start our new life.

Dinner that night had been a simple fall menu that included a delicious chicken dish I’d sampled weeks before. I finally got around to asking for the recipe, and the then-chef was kind enough to write it down {even if the amounts and instructions were rather vague}.

If we aren’t traveling, or we don’t go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, this is what I make.

I usually don’t have these crackers in the house – but they make such a difference in this recipe. The combo of salty and sweet flavors makes a delicious, delicate crust for the chicken. In fact, I’ll keep a batch of the crumb mixture in the freezer for a quick weeknight dinner of crusted chicken or fish.

You can make the apple-cranberry sauce ahead of time – just gently reheat it before serving.

I chose my dress {and Husband’s tie} in the spirit of “Go Big Red.”

Our preferred dress code these days!

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