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The birthday linner

January 17, 2013 by Mary Frances 14 Comments

The birthday cook-a-thon celebration for my husband was a huge success and just so much fun. We started cooking at noon and ate from 2:45 to 6:45 just in time to put Zach on a 7:10 train back to New Haven. So what do you call a leisurely meal like this that encompasses lunch and dinner? Linner!

While every dish was great, what was even more terrific was the time spent together, planning, chopping, sharing pots, debating, arguing, laughing and agreeing. My oldest son was upset at first with the look of the short ribs. He said they weren’t going to look pretty enough. Being a designer, that made me feel good – at least he learned something from me! We played games in between while watching football. And since one person did not have responsibility for the whole meal, there was time off for everyone. It was really a wonderful day of just being together.

Now for the food! Here’s the photo essay.

Birthday making torta— Making a zucchini, red pepper and fennel torta

Onions sauteing in a Le Creuset pot.

Onions sauteing for the short ribs

Browned short ribs in a Le Creuset dish

The short ribs, browned

Mozzeralla, tomato, baby arugula and olive oil salads on a burgandy rimmed plate from Pottery Barn.

The salads – mozzarella, tomato, baby arugula and olive oil

Linguine with olive oil, garlic and spinach topped with broiled breadcrumbs in a bowl, recipe from Union Square Cafe.

Linguine with olive oil, garlic and spinach topped with broiled breadcrumbs

The beautiful zucchini, red pepper, fennel and mint  torta on a crystal platter

The beautiful zucchini, red pepper, fennel and mint torta

The  torta with red bell pepper, zucchini, fennel and mint.

The torta serving – so pretty!

Delicious short ribs with creamy polenta squares on an antique Wedgewood plate.

The main course – delicious short ribs with creamy polenta squares

The birthday dessert - beautiful warm, chocolate-filled pastries.

The birthday dessert – beautiful warm, chocolate-filled pastries made by Agata, so yummy!

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Meat Tagged With: baby arugula, birthday celebrations, chocolate-filled pastries, mozzarella, olive oil, polenta squares, red bell peppers, short ribs, spinach linguine, tomatoes, torta, zucchini

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