Nothing could stop Dave Nelson from dining out with his wife, Jan, on their 55th wedding anniversary. Not windchill, icy roads, nor a liquid diet that is a wistful reminder of his battle against stage four bladder cancer.
It's a cancer doctors say should have taken him months ago.
Dave fell in love with Jan at age 14, married her at 19, raised three kids with her and cherishes the noise of seven grandkids, ages 11 to 24, especially when they're all together at their Wisconsin cabin, named "Lykkebo," Norwegian for "happy home."
On Jan. 10, Dave wanted to celebrate all of that, even if he had to do it over a bowl of broth.
The low-key couple couldn't imagine what happened next.
As Jan sipped champagne and dined on a salad and filet mignon, Dave's cup runneth over with flavorful clam chowder, beet salad, walleye and beef, all of it served up with a secret ingredient:
One amazing blender.
"Pretty much anything can be puréed if you have the right blender," said Paul Neu, executive sous chef at McCormick and Schmick's in Edina. Neu was delighted to help make the couple's anniversary memorable.