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!