My real birthday was on Thanksgiving Day this year, so my sweet oldest son and his lovely girlfriend wanted to make me a birthday dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Of course I was delighted!! It is particularly kind of them since they have been so very busy working alongside their contractors, renovating a townhouse they bought in Brooklyn. Very exciting! But a lot of work!
Flowers from Zach who’s in Europe right now.
Our other son and his fiancée are in Europe doing research for their dissertations. One of the gifts from both boys was the new Jean-Georges Vongerichten home cooking cookbook, signed by Jean-Georges, no less! My job was to choose the recipes for my dinner. What fun!!
This book is terrific! The recipes are really doable for the home chef, with just a few unusual ingredients that you may have to search for. So here I was, marking off way too many recipes, having trouble deciding.
We started with Crudites with Anchovy Dip. OMG – so UMAMI!!! Amazing!!
We ate the WHOLE thing – supposed to service for 8 – 12 but we all couldn’t stop eating it! It was very light and none of us had had lunch. The dip comes out thin, so we all loved it with endive spears, so you could scoop up a lot of its deliciousness!
Sorry, we were all so busy eating that none of us took a picture! But here is a photo of the recipe.
For the entrée, we decided on this fantastic Sea Bass dish that tasted like it was made in some fine restaurant.
Really!
Isn’t this beautiful?!
It was so delicious – so flavorful with all the fresh herbs and the broth literally tasted buttery with not a spec of butter. The fish was cooked perfectly. It was so totally delicious and beautiful as well.
And the dessert that his girlfriend made – well – we all had two pieces!! Crazy good. Super yummy.
I am so very, very proud of the cooking and baking skills of both of my boys and both of their girlfriends. They are not afraid to tackle ANYTHING!! Their confidence and skill level are unmatched, along with the LOVE they impart while making a meal.
That’s just one of the reasons everything tastes so darn good.
Yep! This is my family.
I am so very lucky.
And I’m so very lucky to have you to share it with. May you all have very happy birthdays whenever they are.
Chocolate Cake Recipe from Jean-Georges
100 Cups A Day with Gazpacho
Let’s talk about temperature
Decadent Oatmeal with Michel et Augustin Cookie Squares
Tangy Sorrel & Potato Soup with Bacon, topped with MOM’s Popped Lotus Seeds
What a beautiful birthday feat. BTW, a happy belated birthday, Mary Frances.
Jovina Coughlin recently posted…Buon Hanukkah
should be feast
Jovina Coughlin recently posted…Buon Hanukkah
How sweet of him! Both fish and tart look fantastic, Mary.
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted…Wholegrain Spelt Persimmon Bread with Peanuts and Raisins
Wow, this looks very elegant! Perfect Birthday dinner! Happy birthday, Mary! Hope you had a great day!
A talented bunch indeed! Happy Birthday! Looks delish!
I love that sea bass dish, simple and delicate definitely will be an easy favourite for me
Raymund recently posted…Non Stop Mlekomat (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
I find the food at your birthday celebration to be very inspiring. This book just went on my Christmas list. GREG
sippitysup recently posted…By: David
I was just thinking I need to cook more with fish. What a delicious sea bass recipe. And I’d probably have a second slice of that tart too. Yum!
Amanda recently posted…Genoa Cake
What a lovely gesture…your birthday meal looks absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with us. May you have many more memorable celebrations like this with your family.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted…Tortellini With Butternut Squash, Brown Butter And Sage
I have a couple of Jean-Gorges cookbooks — they’re quite good. Not this one, though. So I’m glad to get this preview — it looks terrific! Happy Belated Birthday!
What a wonderful treat for your birthday! Everything looks splendid!
Loretta recently posted…Pistachio Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bark
Happy birthday…and yes, what a lovely family you have! Love the idea of a birthday dinner…I think I might have a hard time deciding what to have. It all looks wonderfully delicious.
tableofcolors recently posted…Christmas is coming in my Kitchen
Happy belated birthday Mary! Sea Bass sounds like a very special birthday dinner. So nice to have your kids cook for you. 🙂
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen recently posted…Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Happy belated birthday:-) grt feast for the spl dat
Traditionallymodernfood recently posted…Baked Kale Chips
Happy belated birthday! That is so sweet that your kids made you such a special meal! Looks amazing!
That tart looks incredible, Mary Frances! Wow. What a great way to belatedly celebrate your birthday!
Mir recently posted…Candy Cane Snowdrift Cookies
You are the luckiest woman in the world to have two sons who love spoiling their mother! Great choices on all three menu decisions. The happiest birthday meal!
Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences with my family.
I’ve just got to try that sea bass recipe! Sounds absolutely delicious! And you are so lucky to have such thoughtful and loving children and great cooks besides – awesome! Happy belated birthday!