Happy Birthday Jeanette!

Because Jeanette's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving, we got together earlier in the week to plan the Thanksgiving menu, and to make meals of her choosing to celebrate her birthday. 

We had a busy day of planning, shopping, and cooking, so Jeanette made breakfast ahead of time.  From the cookbook A Passion for Baking, she made the Frendship Sourdough Coffee Cake using the sourdough starter she has been keeping.

Here's dinner:

We started with a simple green salad tossed in Granny Smith Apple Cider Vinaigrette from the November 2012 Bon Appetit magazine.  The main dish was Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce from the November 2012 Food Network Magazine.

As usual, we used only beef instead of beef and pork.  Here are the rolls before being steamed:

And here they are cooked:

We had some help stirring the tomato sauce!

Homemade pasta, using a different method than we had done before, was also on the menu.  Made with semolina flour, Frascatelli with Pecorino and Mustard Greens from the November 2012 BA magazine are little dumplings reminiscent of gnocchi.

We omitted the mustard greens and made the variation with browned butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes (but without the chopped tomato).

We all loved the pasta, including Wesley--the texture of the dumplings and the flavor of the browned butter was really good!

The last component of dinner was Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts from the November 2012 FN Magazine.

There were a handful of small brussels sprouts in Ian and Jeanette's garden that we used, and we purchased the rest from the Olympia Food Co-op.

For dessert we made Metropolis Bars from the cookbook A Passion for Baking, as well as homemade vanilla ice cream.

Our little helper was back again, and very interested in this dessert! :)

Happy Birthday Jeanette!

Autumn

These meals, especially dinner, captured a lot of the flavors and feelings of fall

We started with a Nectarine and Blue Cheese Salad with Plum Vinaigrette from the August 2012 Bon Appetit magazine

 

The main dish was 1770 House Meatloaf from the October Food Network Magazine.  Instead of using three types of ground meat, we used all ground beef

 

 

 The garlic sauce on top was delicious, really kept the meatloaf moist, and gave it a lot of great flavor

Our vegetable side dish was Spicy Pumpkin and Collards from the October Food Network Magazine

We substituted frozen spinach for the collards because we couldn't find frozen collard greens, used peppers from the Wilson's garden instead of the scotch bonnet chile pepper, substituted raw milk for the evaporated milk, and used raw cheddar from Cornerstone Dairy. 

Lastly for dinner, we made Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits from a cozy kitchen

You wouldn't know it by looking at Wesley's face, but everything in this meal was really delicious!

Dessert that night was Chocolate and Olive Oil Fig Cakes, also from the October Food Network Magazine

As is customary, we had homemade vanilla ice cream with the cupcakes!

The next morning for breakfast we made Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Citrus Glaze from the September 2012 Bon Appetit

The cream cheese in the cake came from Cornerstone Dairy, and we also made raw whipped cream to have with it

While we made breakfast, Wesley practiced riding his big boy bike all around the house!

Birthday Fun

These meals were made and enjoyed in Olympia on Bethany and Wesley's birthdays (dinner and dessert on Bethany's, and breakfast on Wesley's).

First up: Dinner

The salad recipe is from the September 2012 Bon Appetit magazine for Grape and Watercress Salad with Caraway and Granola.  We replaced the pine nuts in the granola with pecans.

With the yogurt and buttermilk dressing, it's almost like having yogurt with granola and fruit, but in salad form!

Featuring Cornerstone Farm mozzarella was Eggplant, Mozzarella, and Saffron Rice Bake, also from the September 2012 BA magazine

We also made Sausage-and-Basil-Stuffed Tomatoes from the July/August 2012 Food Network Magazine.  The only thing we weren't crazy about in these was the walnuts--they could do without them, but otherwise they were delicious!

Up next: Dessert

Behind that melting ice cream is a Black Bottom Cupcake from www.bakerella.com, made with cream cheese from Cornerstone

The birthday boy wanted to help get some photos

Looks like he got some good shots!

And finally: Breakfast

On the menu was Peach-Almond Upside-Down Cake from the July/August 2012 FN Magazine.  Here it is right-side up

And upside-down

We made almond whipped (raw) cream to have with it, and had some granola from the salad from dinner with it too

Here's the newly 3 year-old ready for his birthday breakfast!