Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!


Today's my mom's birthday. We had her over for dinner and Chris made chicken Parmesan. I got some Asian eggplant from the co-op I belong to (Purple Dragon) so he baked that for me (I'm the only vegetarian) and then cooked it with a red sauce and fresh mozz (or mutz as they say here in Hoboken).

I made a salad (the lettuce I got from the co-op was a little fibrous though) with carrots, zucchini (both from the co-op) and green pepper. I used a special julienne peeler to create an interesting look of ribbons in the salad. My sister (TJ) thinks it loses too much texture that way though. I tried making an Italian dressing but it wasn't as good as my melicious dressing. I made it with oil, balsamic and dried Italian herbs. I also added crushed garlic. Not the most exciting salad but it was the first thing to go so I guess I could have made more.

We had excellent corn on the cob - just right for this time of year! Also, we had Portuguese dinner bread (usually I would make the bread in the machine but simply did not have time). I would have loved to get Dom's bread but I completely forgot till I was almost home. The pathmark bread was fine though.

My centerpiece dish was linguini with a fresh tomato sauce. I sauted garlic in oil, added white wine (cartlidge & brown sauvignon blanc) and after cooking it down threw in fresh tomatoes (from the co-op - so beautiful!) that I had pureed in the food processor with about 2oz of basil. The tomato mixture barely heated up before I took it off the stove. I chopped up a tomato and some basil and shaved some fresh parm into long strips for garnish. It was a simple yet delicious compliment to Chris' chicken.

I made an iced tea with a flowery herb tea that my mom gave me for Christmas. I pureed some apricots and a peach from the co-op and stirred it in with a little honey. It was so so so good and refreshing. As it got to the end though, I realized I should have strained it. There was too much sediment from the fruit and TJ and Chris didn't care for it. Plus it stuck to the glass. Would definitely make this again.

Ben (my brother) couldn't come unfortunately because he was in Philly for work, but Brenda (his girlfriend) came with Margee Liz (my 1-year-old niece). Ben is a trained pastry chef and manages a whole foods bakery. Brenda brought a whole foods almond cake - it was like a tirimisu (my favorite dessert) but with ameretto. It was an amazing dessert and a perfect match with the dinner. Mom was concerned about the alcohol in it but I have a feeling the sugar is probably more harmful. Needless to say we spent less than 2 seconds discussing it and just enjoyed it for what it was - simply delicious!

Highlights:
We all chipped in and got my mom a photo printer. She loves her digital camera that she got after Margee Liz was born but doesn't have a good way to distribute her millions of photos. So I think once she figures out the printer, she'll be very happy.

My dear Cassie called to say Happy Birthday. She is in Georgia with her dad for the month and doesn't call very often but at least she remember to call her gran-anne. She's a good girl . . . I really miss her. (note to self . . . need to start planning her 18th birthday - September 22)

Brenda announced that she and Ben have made the decision to get married. Nothing fancy . . . just a simple celebration with family and close friends. They are planning to do it in the next few months.

Ben called in to say Happy Birthday to mom

TJ came with her new boyfriend. This is the first man she's ever brought over. She seems very happy and he seems quite nice. He's very likeable. It was good to see her with someone.

Margee Liz is almost walking. She's all over the place using the furniture to hold her up. What a doll!

It was a really nice evening - my mom deserved it and I hope she felt loved and celebrated.

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