Last night, we celebrated Chad's birthday. It was a day late because we wanted Super Bowl food on his birthday and knew we be concentrating on the game. He agreed that it would be better if we waited a day.
I think he had a good celebration. It wasn't the big party he had last year, but he wasn't turning 50 this year. We had dinner and desert at home with all of the kids. He chose chicken enchiladas, Snoop Dog's brownies, and ice cream. We also played a game of Exploding Kittens. After dinner, he opened his gifts, and we sat around talking and enjoying each other's company.
I don't know for sure if he enjoyed his celebration, but he seemed to have liked it. My hope is that he felt special and loved.
This book has some unconventional recipes (hotdog and kimchi sushi, for example) which is good because I have some picky eaters in my family. I landed on chicken and cucumber sushi.
This was in some ways a harder process than I had imagined and in some ways easier. The kit I was given has what they call a sushi bazooka. All I had t do was load rice on each side, add the chicken and cucumber, close it up, and shoot it onto the nori sheet. That already made it easier than I had anticipated. However, I didn't read the instructions, I just looked at the pictures the first time. This means I didn't fill it enough and shot it the wrong way on the sheet. I ended up having to spread out the stuff and rolling it like I would have had I not had this tool. The next time I still didn't have enough stuff in it, so it rolled weird. The next two attempts were much better.
Sushi was fun to make and tasty. My pickiest kid even ate two pieces, and my other kid ate all but the nori of three. (They are 19 and 21 and still very picky.)
How 1990s is that memory? We used to be able to buy soups, salads, pastas, and more in bread bowls. That was before people were afraid of bread. We also used to have smoking and nonsmoking sections in restaurants in which there was either an accordion curtain, half wall, or just a sign between sections. If I was eating with Anthony, we were always in the smoking section. (Apparently, we didn't realize or care that it wasn't good for my asthma.) this of course was before we learned how dangerous secondhand smoke was for us. Also, Anthony died in 1996. He didn't live to see these things go away.
While making my weekly sourdough batch, I thought of my brother, Perkins, and those bread bowls and decided that I would make bread bowls with broccoli cheese soup this week. I found a recipe online for the bread bowls and searched my recipe books for the broccoli cheese chowder that I love and waited patiently for Friday to come.
Finally, that day came, and I got to make this meal I was looking forward to. I started making the bread bowls around 2pm (luckily work was slow) and carefully followed each step of the recipe. They were smaller than I expected, but that was a good thing because I can no longer eat like I did in high school. Then, I made the soup. As soon as it was all done, we sat down and put it all together. This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time! I will definitely be making it again.
To start off, I made mashed potatoes. My family prefers real potatoes over the flakes. That's easy enough. I just washed and cut potatoes and boiled them until they were so soft that they were almost falling apart. Then, I put them in the stand mixer with milk and butter and mixed them while working on everything else.
Then, I put the chicken nuggets in the air fryer.
Eric's birthday was last week. He came over for pizza (his choice for birthday dinner), presents, and monkey bread (his choice for dessert). I love this kid and love celebrating special occasions with him. I love watching him continue to grow mentally and emotionally. He amazes me on a regular basis. I am so blessed to be his mom.
Noel took pictures this time around because my phone had died.
Tonight, Eric and I went out for our yearly Mom and Eric day. Given several choices of things to do, he chose dinner at Fat Shack, a strange restaurant that serves very odd sandwiches. He loves this place but hasn't been there since moving back to our part of town. We had weird food and good conversation. It's nice that he still wants to spend this kind of quality time with me.
Then, we had Panda Express for lunch and headed to see Wicked Part 1. We loved it. Neither of us have seen the stage production, so this was our chance to see it. We already have plans to see the other half when it comes out next year.
Last night, I hosted a Christmas dinner at my house. It was originally going to be a Friendsgiving with an ornament exchange, but I’m in Christmas mode now. I made a roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions like my dad does and cheese broccoli casserole that I have been making for holiday meals since I got the recipe from my former mother-in-law. Chad made a gluten free bread and an applesauce bread that was gluten and dairy free for people that came that had allergies. Each couple or family that came brought a dish as well: soup, peanut butter cheesecake, and sliced oranges. We also serve a festive punch, water, and hot cocoa. The food was excellent. And with 13 people in my home, there was only a little left over.
I had a lot of fun hosting this dinner. It was a bit more involved than I had expected, but I’m glad I did it. The next one will be for Chad’s 50th birthday in February. I can’t wait!
This week he made four cheese ravioli with marinara sauce. (He has a ravioli making tool.) We all loved it. Even my most picky child, Sean. The only problem with him making such things is that he probably won’t make it again because he likes to experiment and rarely makes the same thing twice.
