January is always an exciting month for celebrations in our family. New Years finds many of us together ushering in the coming year and then moving on to celebrating two birthdays. This January we enjoyed an additional celebration, the inauguration of Barack Obama, our historic new President. During my lifetime I have seen a magic shift in the swing of the pendulum in human rights. When I was a little girl I can remember black citizens having to sit in the back of the bus and doors on restrooms denoting separate facilities for blacks and whites. Our election of an African-American president is great cause for hope and celebration over the globe and I am so delighted to be present for this moment in history. Happy New Year to all of us!
The first of the January birthdays belongs to me. Our family seems to find the best part of the birthday is dinner time. Preparing a sumptuous meal, both gastronomically and esthetically, has become almost a competitive sport with our group. The table decor is the first hint of the goodies to come.
Planned and prepared by daughter Liz, this years dinner really raised the bar. Daughter Dianne, grandson Ethan and best friends Nancy and Bob from Tallahassee were part of the celebration. In recognition of the French influence on my endeavors of the past year, Country French decor projects and the creation of numerous sunflower paintings, the dinner celebration was French themed. We began the evening with martinis and brie cheese and segued into Seafood Gratin and a salad of endive, pears and Roquefort cheese. All the recipes were taken from my favorite cookbook author, Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). The piece de la resistance was a French vanilla birthday cake garnished with gorgeous icing sunflowers. It tasted as delicious as it looked. Yum!
The second January birthday belongs to Jeff, my son-in-law. This great husband, father, and entrepreneur definitely deserves "a competitive" quality dinner. So I set out to pull out all the stops for the table decor. The inherited stemware, Rocksharp Crystal, and Fostoria candelabras set the tone for a candlelight meal.
Sparkling sterling tableware and a centerpiece of tiny flower candles and large yellow pansy blossoms floating in a clear marble filled Mercury glass compote completed the table scape. The dinner entree featured Chicken Marsala complemented with Parmesan roasted asparagus bundles (several asparagus tied with long chive stems) and garlic mashed potatoes.
I made an "Almond Joy" birthday cake using a coconut cake mix to which I added one-half cup sour cream. The sour cream trick is one I read about recently. You can add the sour cream to any flavor cake mix and transform it into a culinary sensation. I iced the cake with a fluffy white vanilla flavor and then sprinkled the top with butter-toasted almond slivers and mini chocolate chips.
I must add a footnote about the napkins. When Liz and Jeff got married I prepared the bridesmaid's luncheon (in the competitive sport spirit). The theme of the table decor, it was spring time, was ferns - honoring Liz being a very green-lifestyle person. I took plain and practical white restaurant sized napkins and, using living fern fronds and a cloth-covered hammer, pounded fern imprints into the cloth. Although very esthetically attractive, this craft project turned out to be a lengthy one to complete and especially noisy. When these napkins are used, dear husband never misses the opportunity to razz me about the suffering everyone endured while these napkins were decorated.
Well, it is time to leave gastronomic pursuits and move on to working on my new Etsy art store that will be opening soon. There will be a giveaway to celebrate! Hugs, Marcy
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