We celebrated Steve's birthday.. all. weekend. long. Unfortunately, the weekend was slightly marred due to Steve fighting a losing battle with some poison oak in the yard. It was a valiant effort, but unfortunately the poison oak won. Steve was sick and itchy late last week and we were both worried that his birthday weekend was going to be spent at home.
We stayed home Friday to nurse him back to health, so he got a home-cooked meal. Apparently the meal was either really good or the drugs the doctor gave him are especially awesome. I've received rave reviews of the meal ever since. I made Portobello Raviolis and served them with an Italian Sausage Marinara Sauce, a
Caprese Salad, and Garlic Parmesan Bread.* It was pretty yummy, actually. I'll have to remember to take a picture next time I make a special meal. Yes, it's that rare.
*I capitalized the names of these food items so that the meal would appear more formal and fancy than it actually was. I bought the Raviolis pre-packaged at Central Market in their refrigerated italian section. I simply brown some Central Market-purchased mild italian bulk sausage (about 1/2 pound) and combine it with a Central Market-purchased sauce (Amore brand) and add some seasonings. The caprese salad is a hold-over from our dating period. We cut Central Market-purchased cherry or grape tomatoes in half and place them randomly on a plate with several Central Market-purchased basil leaves. We then place pre-packaged olive oil and pepper-marinated mozzarella (also from Central Market) on the plate and then drizzle the whole thing in olive oil. Top it with salt and pepper, and it is a crowd-pleaser. The bread - also a Central Market purchase (notice a theme?) - was best warmed in the oven for a bit.
On Saturday night, the
KreiNiTars had dinner at
Tillman's in Bishop Arts District. If you haven't been there, don't go. The place is already too crowded and we don't need any additional competition for a table.
Sunday night we hosted a cook-out/pool party at the house. The Krei's came over (can't get enough of them, though we missed the Tar's) as did Steve's fraternity brothers and their families to enjoy the first relatively cool evening of the Summer (I think it was actually less than 90 degrees on Sunday).
It was the first "Kids are Welcome" party at our home and, boy, did our friends take us literally! I'm not sure, but I think the kids outnumbered the adults. It was fantastic. I got to hold the youngest - a new baby just 1 month old. She was as sweet as could be. Two other friends had their 5 and 10 month olds there. We are definitely a group of breeding couples.
The kids and the adults had a fantastic time and, most importantly, Steve said it was his best birthday ever. EVER! That is high praise. I got these very Steve-themed cupcakes for the party from
Tart Bakery - they were a hit. I bought 3 dozen - there are 3 left. Granted I have eaten about 3 of them myself, but still -
Steve's actual birthday was yesterday (the 18th) and we spent the evening at a very romantic dinner at
Hector's on Henderson.
It was a wonderful birthday weekend, but we aren't done! Steve somehow managed to lengthen his birthday into a full week and we will be having family time this weekend to celebrate his birth. I'll have to figure out how he managed to do that when it is my turn in May.
Happy birthday, Sweetheart!
