A Culinary Birthday

Today marks the eve of my 27th birthday.   First I would like to thank all of you for your birthday wishes!  Now onto the play by play for those of you who are just dying to know how I spent my birthday.

The celebration started last night with a dinner at Houlihan's Restaurant.  My parents kindly treated me to my favorite... Disco fries! I also shared a plate of Chipotle Chicken Nachos with my mother.  Of course I also imbibed.  I had three varieties of Long Island Iced Tea, including the original.  Needless to say my father drove home.

Today, the partying continued as my co-worker Christine kindly spread the word about my birthday, which made the day much more fun! Thanks Chris!


Then as I left work I received an email from my boss at my second job containing birthday wishes and a prompt to stop in if I could because I had a package there. And, boy did I ever! I have never received a kinder more generous gift from an employer.  As I unwrapped my beautifully packaged box, inside I found four of the best crystal wine glasses in the world. (Well worth upwards of $60).

After I returned home with my steak purchased from Fresh Market and my Riedel Crystal wine glasses I quickly started baking.

I made myself GF brownies from scratch...yum!

Then I went up to my room, threw on some sweats and pulled out the bottle of wine I have been saving for two and a half years (a $35 Cab from Coppola Winery).

While bringing the wine down to drinking temperature, I began preparing my birthday dinner... STEAK FRITES!  This is one of my favorite french dishes of all time, not just because of it's wonderful saltiness and meatiness, but also because it's absolutely one of the fastest and easiest french meals to make.

After my dinner was fully prepared, I settled in for the night watching a fantastic movie.  I watched the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring, while eating my delicious dinner and drinking my delectable wine.

The only interruption of Aragorn's handsome heroism an studdly sword brandishing was a welcomed birthday phone call from my Big Sister and best friend, Sarah.  Love you, my only regret was that I didn't have you here to watch LOTR and drink wine with me. 

After switching to the second disc of the collection, I started to feel a little hobbitish.  So, I finished the night with a glass of port wine, a couple pipe bowls, and another brownie.  It was the perfectly quiet and lovely weeknight birthday.

Thank you to my family and friends for all your birthday wishes here's to my 28th year on this earth.  Cheers!

By popular request...

Papa Burgers:

1 lb. 80/20 ground beef
3-4 pieces of bacon
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
6 oz. of beer


Cut bacon into bite size pieces, cook bacon in a pan until crispy.  Pour Bacon and fat into a large bowl.  Put all of the remaining ingredients in the bowl. Mix all ingredients in a bowl (*note to pour bread crumbs and beer on top so the bread crumbs can soak up the flavor of the beer.

Makes 4 - 1/4 lb. burgers. Serve with caramelized onions.

I have made these burgers for my co-workers and they have been asking me for the recipe. So, here it is!

And now for a short history:  Originally I came up with these burgers for father's day.  My father is called Papa by my nephews (i.e. Grandpa = Papa).  As such my burger recipe I shortly thereafter dubbed "Papa burgers."  This was named for my father because of the day in which the recipe was created and because this recipe is also meant to only be enjoyed once a year, preferably on father's day. :-)

Happy Independence Day

So it's a cook out, you forgot you were supposed to bring a salad and no where is open.  What do you make?

Here is a tried and true crowd pleaser and it is likely you have some if not all of these three ingredients on hand.

Cucumber Caprese Salad:
2 Lg. English Cucumbers (I use English/Hothouse Cucs because it saves time on peeling, but use any cucumbers you want, but if you use conventional cucumbers just be sure to peel them.)
1 pkg. of TJs Sun-dried Tomatoes
1 16 oz pkg. of Hormone-free fresh Mozzarella (If you can afford it, Mozzarella di Bufala is the best!)
1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I prefer a high-quality first cold press Italian Olive Oil but any EVOO will work.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Simply dice cucumbers and cheese.  Mix all ingredients and serve!  Easy and delicious!