Josh and Korey

Hey hey it’s my birthday

Today is my birthday! Woohoo!
I love birthdays. I think it’s so great that we celebrate the day someone we love came into this world–to me it says “I am so glad you’re a part of my life.” This year will be nice and low-key for me. I started the celebration by having dinner with some of my favorite people in the world: my little family, my parents, my little brother and his girlfriend, and the Penprase clan (minus Dillon who was there in spirit). It was wonderful!

Snuggling with my boy

I was trying to make a video of Jacob’s sweet singing, and he kept grabbing my phone and bringing it close to his face. The result was actually much cuter than I had anticipated! 🙂

Dinner

This was one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time, and as all the recipes are my own, I will share them with you! A great Sunday dinner or special occasion meal. (or Wednesday night!)

*this meal has a lot of dairy; it can be ignored except in my potato recipe.

Golden beet and raisin radicchio salad with blue cheese
Garlic and sea salt green beans
Twice-baked crispy mashed potatoes
Rib-Eye steak with a crunchy goat cheese crust and Cabernet reduction sauce

Recipes:

Golden beet and raisin salad

Ingredients:
Mixed greens
Radicchio
Walnuts
Golden beets (one large or two small)
Golden raisins
Blue cheese
An oil and vinegar dressing: I used my favorite, which is a combination of blood orange avocado oil and balsamic vinegar. Regular olive oil would probably be just fine, but of course the blood orange is amazing.

Preheat oven to 450.
Peel and chop beets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in a foil pouch and roast for about 30 minutes or until soft. Let cool.
Combine mixed greens and chopped radicchio in bowl. Top with beets, raisins, walnuts, and blue cheese and toss with oil and vinegar.

Garlic and sea salt green beans

Ingredients:
green beans, trimmed
Crushed garlic
Salted butter
Coarse sea salt

Boil green beans until al dente. Remove and place in bowl with butter and garlic. Toss and top with crushed sea salt (kosher salt would work as well)

Twice-baked crispy mashed potatoes

Ingredients:
Yukon gold and/or russet potatoes (about 1 lb)
Butter, salted
Flour
Crushed garlic
Cheddar cheese (1 cup)
Pablo bread crumbs
S and P

So this dish has a story. I planned to make scalloped potatoes, but Jacob started crying and I whisked him off and left the potatoes boiling. I decided they were too soft for au gratin so I grabbed my food mill and popped them in. Of course I’d already made a roux for my bechamel sauce and couldnt let it go waste. I decided this dish is the way mashed potatoes should be served!

Boil potatoes until tender. Set aside to cool a bit. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tbl butter. Add as much garlic as tour heart desires and let it cook in the melting butter When melted, add 1 tbl flour and whisk. Add 1 cup milk (even 1%! Or nonfat!) and whisk until it’s smooth. Allow it to slowly cook and bubble on a low heat until it has thickened substantially. Add 3/4 of your cheese and whisk until smooth. Continue thickening. place potatoes in food mill and process through On medium blade. Mix in 4/5 of your cheese sauce and place in a stone baking dish (Pyrex is fine, too). Top with remaining sauce, grated cheddar, then Panko crumbs. Bake uncovered at 450 until the top is golden brown.

You can use any type of cheese and add things like bacon or chives if you want!

Rib-eye steaks with crunchy goat cheese crust and Cabernet reduction sauce

In case you’re curious what I used that came from the farmers’ market:
Green beans
Radicchio
Golden beets
Blood orange avocado oil
Goat cheese
The bread we’re eating (pictured)