In Which We Celebrate!

For as long as forever, my kids’ birthdays are celebrated with a feast of their own choosing, and whatever birthday cake they want. About a month ahead, planning begins with them deciding their special dinner. They can choose anything they can think of, but it seems that usually they pick something I’ve made before, but maybe isn’t in the regular rotation. I love this tradition we have, and actively look forward to my twice yearly challenge of planning and executing a favorite meal for my favorite people in all the world.

For his Birthday Feast this year, The Boy took a long time in thought. At first, he wanted Cheeseburger Biscuits, Roasted Potatoes and Cheesecake, but was promptly and roundly derided by his older sister for choosing the exact same meal as his last birthday. And, except for the Cheesecake, the birthday before that. I assured him that it was completely his choice, furtively glaring at The Girl, but the damage had been done, and it was back to contemplation. As his birthday approached with no decision, I started casually making suggestions- even of eating out- gasp- which, I am proud to say, he had no interest in doing. And so, in the end, one of my suggestions caught his fancy, and Breakfast for Dinner it was.

With Cheesecake 🙂

If I had to pick only one meal to cook and eat for the rest of time, it would have to be brunch. Now, perhaps it is cheating to consider brunch a Meal, as the argument can be made that it is several meals in one. The challenge (and delight) in pulling off brunch is finding the delicate balance between sweet and savoury dishes. And oh, the possibilities!

At the moment, my family’s palate is not the most sophisticated. The Girl, I know, is game to try anything, a quality in her that I deeply appreciate. The Boy, on the other hand, is a fierce traditionalist when it comes to food. Simple, basic, and limited to a handful of things. Sigh. And since it was his birthday, his special meal, I thought of food that was straightforward and crowd pleasing. And, of course, in accordance with the guidelines of the recently published Yum Proclamation 🙂 

The menu, then, all approved by The Boy:

Baked French Toast

Spanish Frittata

Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Corned Beef Hash

Sausage- links, of course

Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce and Fresh Strawberries

The Boy’s dad was assigned the Corned Beef Hash and the Sausage. I took on everything else. The final decision was made on Monday, and the birthday feast was on Wednesday, so I was grateful to be planning things I’ve made before, and nothing that’s too involved. It was, in fact, one of my favorite Birthday Feast cooks.

Because of the baking and setting time, Cheesecake was first up. I’d had success with this recipe  before, so I trotted it out again. There really is no simpler way to make cheesecake, and it makes me wonder about the more involved methods of baking like using a water bath, or baking for a certain amount of time at a certain temperature, and then turning the oven off and baking the rest of the way with residual heat. Can the results of fussier baking methods really produce results worth the extra work? You can’t argue with the simplicity of a graham cracker, melted butter, and confectioner’s sugar crust, filled with creamy, tangy cheese custard, flavored with vanilla. One of life’s more satisfying desserts, in my opinion- not too sweet, good contrast in texture, and you can almost convince yourself it’s a healthy option, what with all that good protein from the cream cheese 🙂

After cheesecake, Baked French Toast was up. This recipe is also an old standby, usually coming out around the holidays. Super easy, simply tasty. Now, as usual, I thought of several dilemmas in the short time it took to put this together. First off, what bread to use in order to achieve the perfect balance between soft, custardy chunks and crispy, toasty edges? And when that decision has been made, should said bread be sliced into uniform cubes, or raggedly torn to produce more edges and crannies for soaking up the custard? In the end, I went for the bread suggested in the recipe, which was a 1 pound French loaf, and going for the homey, rustic look, I chose to tear the bread instead of subjecting it to the knife.

In the end, I’m not sure the prep of the bread matters all that much, but I would like to try the recipe again, with a richer loaf, like challah. And, I’m not exactly sure what the difference is between this recipe designed for breakfast, and bread pudding, the iconic and highly satisfying dessert. Ah, brunch! Blurring the line between breakfast and dessert- what a meal!

On the day of the actual Birthday Feast, I got an early start. Cooking in my tiny, limited kitchen means planning for only being able to bake one thing at a time, and only using 2 of the 4 burners. Because the Spanish Frittata needs both the stovetop and the oven, I tackled that dish first.

Having spent the majority of my 20’s as a vegetarian, I have a deep appreciation for any and all egg dishes. This Spanish Frittata– or Tortilla- is one of the best, most soul comforting such dishes I’ve had the pleasure of eating. And again, it is dead simple, if a bit labor intensive. And really, it’s only labor intensive because I prefer to slice everything by hand, and that’s a lot of slicing, as it turns out, when you’ve got 2 pounds of potatoes. For this frittata, thin slices are best, thinner than what my Cuisinart can produce. The ingredient list may be short, but the amounts of each are generous. A cup and a half of olive oil. Two pounds of golden potatoes. One large onion. Two teaspoons of salt. Eight eggs.  As I am writing about this, I am realizing that basically this dish is confited potatoes, held together with softly baked eggs. Make this dish, and rejoice.

I sometimes despair about my son’s overall palate, but one thing I can take solace in is his abiding love for fruit. Since always, both of my kids are like hungry bears when around good, fresh fruit. They tend toward the expensive varieties- you know, your cherries, your mangoes, your kiwis and berries of all kinds- which can be tricky when you live in rural, northern Vermont. But I don’t begrudge this particular food habit, and so fruit salad was, of course, going to make the Breakfast Feast menu. Putting together a fruit salad is an investment. And this time, I wanted to do more than just chuck cut up fruit all willy-nilly into a bowl. So I found a recipe that featured a dressing with honey, lime juice, and a pinch of ginger, and it turned out to be just the thing to pull all the deliciousness of the various fruits together. The salad tasted as bright as the colors of the yellow mangoes and vibrant kiwi. The combination of berries, tropical mango and kiwi, with honey and lime brought to life for me the floral-ness inherent in fruit. I had always wondered about the ‘floral notes’ ascribed to certain foods, and this salad proved that this designation is a real thing, and not just a foodie’s elitist concept of flavor profiles.

All in all, I was really happy with how everything came out. It was a joy to gather around the table to celebrate The Boy’s special day, with delicious food that didn’t take years off my life with the stress of preparation. My boy has made it to his teenage years sweet, thoughtful, fun-loving, and with a delightfully goofy wit. He is still well pleased by the simple things in life, and as ever, his spirit is a wonderful reminder of all the things in my life I have to be grateful for.