Another Birthday Celebration

Saturday afternoon we celebrated Emma's birthday with her party for her friends. It was held at Metroplex Gymnastics where we gathered with some her day care friends to enjoy cupcakes and punch and then the kids got to play on various gymnastics equipment. The highlight of the party for most of the kids was the zip line after which the kids got to let go into a pit full of foam cubes. Even though it was the highlight for most of the kids, it was not Emma's favorite thing to do. Emma had fun even without doing the zip line.

Sunday was all about celebrating Gerry's birthday. He chose Pumpernickel bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon (not lox) for breakfast. A very nice and simple breakfast.

Lunch was Pea Soup, Caesar Salad and Mixed Berry Parfaits. I started with the soup early in the day by sauteeing sliced leeks and diced onions until tender. I then added chicken stock which I let come to the boil before adding a 20 oz. package of frozen peas. The peas were cooked for a few minutes and then off the heat, I added some chopped fresh mint and salt and pepper. The soup was pureed in batches in the blender and then reheated just before serving. Each bowl got a spoonful of creme fraiche, a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives and a handful of homemade garlic croutons. There was a lot of skeptism around the table, but this soup was really good. It was a Barefoot Contessa recipe, so of course it was good.


For the Caesar salad, I used my favorite go to recipe of Ellie Krieger's. It started with Egg Beaters, which is a pasteurized egg product and therefore safer to use than a raw egg. I added, crushed garlic, mashed in a few anchovy fillets, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and fresh lemon juice. Once all of this was nicely combined, I whisked in olive oil until nicely emulsified. Finally the chopped romaine was tossed in with a good amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. The salad also got a handful of the homemade garlic croutons.

We rounded out lunch with parfaits which was layers of Greek yogurt, your choice of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and golden raspberries, and homemade Nutty Granola (another Ellie Krieger recipe). Some of us added a drizzle of honey. Overall a delicious and rather healthy lunch.

Dinner started with an old family favorite, stuffed mushrooms. The mushrooms were stuffed with the chopped up cooked stems and cooked sausage meat combined with mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs. A 15 minute visit in a hot oven and they were done.

We moved on to a Rack of Lamb for which I used a Barefoot Contessa Parties recipe. I mixed a good amount of Dijon mustard, a fair amount of kosher salt, some chopped fresh Rosemary, minced garlic and a little Balsamic vinegar. Once the mustard mixture coated the racks, they were allowed to sit for an hour. They then went into a hot oven for 25 minutes, removed promptly and the roast pan was covered with foil to rest for 15 minutes. I sliced them into individual ribs and they were perfectly medium rare. The easiest recipe ever! Our sides were oven roasted red and white potatoes and oven roasted carrots and parsnips.

Gerry wanted a key lime pie for dessert and my grocery store is really hit or miss when it comes to key limes. I have seen them a few times, but never when I need them. I bought a frozen key lime pie and it was perfectly fine. The next time I see key limes though and I am determined to buy them and try my hand at making one from scratch.