Birthdays & food ramblings

We have entered the period of birthdays. Three of us in just 3 weeks.

Mine comes first and I had a lovely day celebrating last week. Kyle stayed home with the kids in the morning because Saben was sick and I was going to have to cancel plans to meet up with some friends. (awesome husband award) After enjoying a nice peaceful shower, I headed off for my birthday brunch/board meeting. Sounds boring maybe, but so nice to just hang out and not have the kids interrupting every 5 minutes.

While I was gone:

Saben: I need to get mommy her birthday present
Kyle: What do you want to get her?
Saben: one of those noisy things
Kyle: What? Where?
Saben: At the nursery
Kyle: Where is the nursery?
Saben: I know where it is...

Full of faith apparently, Kyle loaded the kids in the car and Saben directed him to the Garden Spot where we had seen some windchimes the week before.

Last time we were there, Saben had asked me to lift him up so he could rattle them (what exactly is the word used for "activating a wind chime" Chiming it? I know, TINKLE it. Much better.) After tinkling the chime, he asked me to buy one. Thinking it might be fun to have in the garden, I casually mentioned he could get me one for my birthday, never dreaming he would actually remember.... I can't wait to be even more strategic about this for mothers day, I had no idea it would actually work... hmmm.....

Saben picked out the giant $600 chime for me but settled for a cute little clay one (kyle forgot how violent our winds get, I'll have to be careful). Kyle got me a computer printer and annika "picked out" a little red flowered houseplant. : )

In the evening we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant ever - Prospect Street Cafe. Whenever we go, we always ask the chef to do little tasting plates of whatever he feels like making. (Kyle knows the guy, he rides mt bikes when he's not cooking). They went all out for my birthday (we also had a gift certificate) and our meal went something like this:

Duck breast on a crispy wonton w/ hoison guacamole & mango salsa
A "BLS" sandwich - a scallop w/ bacon & shredded lettuce, sandwiched between two little crisp triangles of grilled bread
Shredded Potato pancake topped with horseradish cream, raw salmon & tuna and crispy leek shreds

Sea bass two ways - cooked on a bed of pureed potatoes & raw ceviche style (marinated in lime juice w/ serrano chiles)
Cold smoked pork loin medalions w/ maple apple shreds, a butternut squash ravioli and brown butter sage sauce
Duck breast slices w/ candied kumquats & kumquat sauce
NY Steak slices w/ risotto cakes stuffed w/ fontina
lamb chop w/ bean & goat cheese springroll (the springroll was much tastier than it sounds)

flourless chocolate cake dessert

It was incredible (yes, that's a 9 course meal) and I probably messed up some of the sauce/side combinations, so if Spencer finds this - sorry!

Every single bite is so fabulous, he cooks all his meats perfectly, has amazing textures in the sides, awesome sauces.... I never was a huge fan of raw fish, duck, or lamb and now those three are my absolute favorite. After tasting the steak compared to the lamb & duck, I almost wondered why anyone even bothers with steak. And I LOVE steak. (it was NY steak - not my favorite. Maybe a ribeye would have stood up to the lamb & duck) Last time we were there we had fois gras for the first time ever and I fell madly in love.... Then there was the green papaya salad, caviar...I could go on and on. Seriously, the only great perk of kyle owning the bike company is getting treated great by this guy. : )

Now I am scurrying to plan Saben's party next week...and finalize paint & carpet for our basement...and making green bread for st. paddy's day tomorrow. Phew.