Death and Dining

Is it in bad taste to tell you that my grandma died in the same post that I go on to tell you about the fancy dinners I had in celebration of my birthday? (For some reason, I really wish I could make "my grandma died" into a link to something, only I feel fairly confident that there is no web page about my grandma.) Ah, well...

My grandma - my mom's mom - died. It was time. She was unhappy...probably for the last 56 years or so. And sick, apparently. I feel like we got just enough extra time with her for her to meet my boys and husband...and to confirm that she was, in fact, ready to die. So although I'm sad in that vague, death-is-sad kind of way, I don't consider this a tragedy. (File that under "emotionally closed.")

So anyway, my birthday...better known as "the day before our birthday" by my boys...was good. I think I will like 32. And I got to have two fancy dinners (on separate nights), which leads me to believe that I should have as many fancy dinners as I am years over 30, every year! 

The first one was at Heidi's Restaurant, which I consider to be Minneapolis' little slice of Manhattan foodiness. And heaven. I had to show you my entree: steamed Scottish salmon with blue crab stuffing, passion fruit and sage.

Shoddy camera work aside, isn't that pretty? Pink salmon on purple potatoes! Naturally, I was in love before I even took a bite, but man, oh, man, the taste was even better. I will dream about that dish until we can be reunited. Delicious. 

Then, over the weekend, my husband took me to La Belle Vie, which you may remember from my birthday last year. While Heidi's has fancy food in a more casual atmosphere, La Belle Vie is fancy, fancy. 

Normally I would indulge in the tasting menu (I love tiny bits of lots of deliciousness), but both the warm goat cheese tart and the sautéed sea scallops with caramelized eggplant, asparagus and prosciutto were calling out my name, and they were over on the a la carte menu. They were divine, to be sure, but next time (as in, next year) I will return to the tasting menu because it's just more fun. 

Sorry, I have no pictures from La Belle Vie. I guess I got into the spirit of acting like a sophisticated lady who doesn't photograph her food...dumb. Next year, there will be pictures. 

And now that my binge of fancy dinners and cupcakes (so many cupcakes) has passed, it's back to trying to eat healthier...and exercising. And crossing things off my list. 

Pretty Good Year

I love this photo. It just conjures up so many possibilities on what that is and where and what it tasted like. (FYI, it's a marshmallow from Three Tarts in NYC and I have to assume it was good.) Sadly, it's not my photo. It's from Cakespy, where they've counted down their 25 Most Delicious Bakery Experiences of 2008. (note: If someone would pay me to travel around eating and writing about baked goods, I could never ask for anything more.) 

I am so delighted with (and jealous of) this list, that I hereby resolve to take more pictures of my food in 2009 so that I can make a Best Meals of 2009 list at this time next year. And possibly I will also make a Biggest Home-Cooking Disasters of 2009 list as well. I didn't document all of my failures this year, but I can assure you that the pumpkin cake incident is #1. 

Ok, so what do I have to say about this year as it draws to a close? Well, to be honest, 2008 sucked in a whole lot of ways. Without rehashing the drama with the teenager, let me just say that my biggest hope for 2009 is that it will be easier for him and that it will contain far less fear and heartbreak for all of us. 

Perhaps my second biggest hope is that I find a job that is at least tolerable, if not awesome, so that we can weather this failed economy and reclaim some financial stability...and go to Hawaii next Christmas. You see, in my view, the whole point of lowering your cost of living and/or trying to make more money is that you have the freedom to experience more of life. The Hawaii experience is the goal for 2009. 

On that note, 2008 was not a total bust. I made a ridiculous three trips to Las Vegas (oh, that's where I left our financial stability) with some of my best friends. My babies turned five and started kindergarten. I had two of the best meals of my life: one on my birthday at La Belle Vie and the other at Craftsteak during trip #2 to Las Vegas. Most of all, I got to spend another year (what looks to be my last year) making a living as a freelancer and staying home with my boys. That's all pretty good. 

So goodbye, 2008. You've had your moments, but it's time for you to go.

Hello, 2009, all shiny and new. No pressure or anything, but don't let us down, okay? 

The Morning After

Now that the birthday festivities are over (for a couple weeks, anyway), let us reflect...

This is how I celebrated my birthday.

This is how the boys celebrated theirs.

For me, it was lots of eating. It began with family breakfast at the Good Day Cafe, where my beautiful boys actually cleaned their plates (happy birthday to me)! Then it was on to a four-hour "lunch" extravaganza with my cosmic twin Kevin -- we share a birthday and initials -- during which there was a very high drink-to-food ratio.

But the highlight was the fancy romantic dinner with my husband at La Belle Vie. I've been wanting to get to this restaurant for years, but apparently got sidetracked by planning fancy dinners in Las Vegas...I don't know. Anyway, I really didn't know what I had been missing.

It was phenomenal. We had the five-course tasting menu. There was king crab, pork belly, beef tenderloin...the individual ingredients were great, sure, but this was really about the experience in its entirety. We just nodded our heads as we were presented with yet another gorgeous plate and proceeded to be amazed at how good everything was. Add to that a waiter who seemed to actually want us to have a good time...who surprised me with champagne because it was my birthday...who insisted that my husband have a taste of the wine I was having because he didn't think the birthday girl should drink alone. :)

I have eaten some fabulous meals -- mostly out of town -- but this shoots right up to the top of the list. We've already agreed that this is special occasion central from now on. Any excuse to go back will be taken. Btw, that poorly taken photo above is orange chiffon cake with orange basil sherbet. Divine.

And then it was full speed ahead into the boys' birthday. The above pictured bouncy house arrived in the morning even though the party wasn't until the evening. Turns out this was a good thing, as the afternoon brought severe thunderstorms and we were forced to deflate the damn thing. Between bounces, however, we managed to work in another family breakfast -- this time at Perkins (when told they could have anything they wanted for breakfast, that is what they chose) -- and a round of educational minigolf at the Science Museum.

As the afternoon approached, my party anxiety was high because I really didn't have a plan B...like my outdoor wedding, I just figured that it simply could not rain (and it didn't that day, thank goodness).

Of course, it was pouring when the boys' little friends arrived, so we just sort of accelerated the proceedings, jumping right into dinner, then presents, then cake. (the gold cupcake-cake shaped like a 5 was awesome) After all that was over, things were looking a bit desperate (how do you tell your guests to just go home?) until the men folk decided that the rain had let up enough to try to re-inflate the bouncer. Success! The kids got to bounce for maybe 30 minutes. They were soaked, but didn't seem to mind a bit. We did, however, have to deflate it again when the lightning started. Still, the party was saved and I was happy mom with happy kids.

Now we can all rest up for two weeks until it's time to celebrate the husband's birthday...he will not be having a bouncy house.