The Birthday Dinner

Got up at 7:00 AM (late for me and late for today) I've got a LOT of work to do today, promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. (Okay, I stole part of that, but it worked).

Decided I didn't have time for breakfast, just coffee as I started cleaning the house. According to the time table (oh yes, there's a timetable on a spreadsheet - hey make fun if you want, but today's dinner is too complex and has too many cooking events - oven, charcoal grill, deep fryer - for this old guy to remember) I'm supposed to leave for Harbor Freight Tool store at 9:00 AM.

Got everything swept, dust mopped, vacuumed and generally spit-shined (except for mopping the kitchen floor. I'll do that as I leave, walking backwards, so it can dry while I'm gone), then shaved and showered. Was putting on my pants when the first tragedy of the day struck! The button broke! Now, I don't mean it came loose or off, the center of the button broke out! Fortunately, I do save loose button, so took a little time found a matching (sort-of) button and sewed it back on.

Got to Harbor Freight and bought the folding trailer. It took much longer than I thought as they have to give me a Chinese Title, filled out in my name, so I can get a real title here in Michigan. By the way, while the box weights were correct (one 50# and one 200#) the lengths were not and both did fit inside the Volvo. Drove towards home and stopped at Farmer Jacks. Got more supplies, then went home.

Put the kitchen back in order and then left for my 11:30 AM haircut. Then over to Westborn and got the salmon (I was hoping for salmon steaks, but the fishmonger said they only have them at certain times of the year) Then home and unpacked. Checked the timetable and I'm still on track (more or less).

Since I had a bit of time, I decided to unload the trailer. I was gonna wait for Jeremy, but I was sure I had a way to do it without hurting myself and wanted to try. 50# box, no problem. 200# 6 foot box, a challenge! I figured you wouldn't really be lifting 200# by picking up one end, so I did. Got it on the edge of the trunk and wiggled it out from there. When it stated tipping downward, I put the furniture dolly under it and tugged it out. When I had the edge of the front of the box, I picked it up and over the trunk lip, then rapidly (and I do mean rapidly) set it down. It did land on the furniture dolly, so I just rolled it out of my way.

So, at 2:30 PM, I started the food again. Warmed up the soup, the mashed potatoes and the casserole. Put fresh oil in the deep fryer and heated it to 320 degrees; then cooked the French fries for the first time. Put them on paper towels to rest for two hours.

I cut the salmon into three huge pieces (just small enough to fit on the cedar planks, which had been soaking in salted water for 4 hours). I brushed the filet chunks with oil and seasoned them with Potlatch seasoning (I got that a while ago from Williams Sonoma when I grilled lobster tails on cedar planks).

I added the clams to the soup and did a final taste test. Hmmm... maybe not my best ever, but damn good! I made up the horseradish and herb-spiked Mayo mixture for a fish sauce and popped it into the fridge. Then I made a lemon and shallot compound butter and popped that into the freezer. Here's where tragedy #2 struck: I have been washing dishes all along as I finished things, so I was washing the food processor attachment for the stick blender (used for the compound butter) when I cut a deep gash on my thumb with the blade. Finally got the bleeding to slow, but had to wear a cloth bandage on it, so for the rest of the food preparation and cooking, I had to use a series of rubber gloves on that hand.

I made up the potato borekas, which were 5 inch squares of thawed puff pastry dough, filled with a heaping tablespoon of garlicky-mashed potatoes, then folded into a triangle, edges crimped with a fork, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds. They had to go into a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Somewhere in here the birthday girl, Jyl, Jeremy, Joe and Riese showed up. We chatted in the kitchen (Riese was watching cartoons in my bedroom) while I finished up. Jeremy's been putting in some long hours with a lot of problems at work and Jyl's having some problems in one of her classes, personal investing I think it was. Joe seemed okay, (Joe's always okay!) and Riese brought over two stories she wrote (she was invited to a Young Writers Conference last weekend).

Topped the casserole with a mixture of Italian herbs, breadcrumbs and grated parmigiano reggiano and baked it for 10 more minutes. Put the salmon on the grill with indirect heat. I put the probe thermometer in the thickest one, looking for an internal temp of 135 degrees. Made the hamburger patties and put them on, adding the cheese at the last minute. I cut up a baguette and gave the French fries their second cooking at 375 degrees for one minute to crisp them up. Nice thing was the rain they predicted held off for my grilling, although you could smell it in the air.

Meanwhile, Jeremy helped me add the leaf to the table and I covered it with a table cloth. Jyl set the table and dished out the soup. Finally, it was time to eat.

The results? Well, everyone said everything was great, but then they have to, right? Well, you already know what I thought of the soup. My personal take on the rest of it was the salmon was very good. I didn't have any cheeseburgers or fries, but Joe said they were good (he eats his with lettuce and tomato, no pickles, ketchup or mustard, BTW). The borekas had a great presentation and were very good (although Jyl confessed that wasn't what she had in mind). It's a Middle Eastern dish, but I was thinking it would have tasted more American mainstream if I had added some cheddar cheese on top the garlicky-mashed potatoes). And, last, but not least, the Italian broccoli casserole! Jyl said she thought it was great. I thought it was awful. Maybe I'm just not a broccoli casserole fan, but very bland.

Jyl cleaned up the kitchen and I loaded the dishwasher. I gave her the recipes she asked for (except for the New England clam chowder - that's a CaptainK-developed secret recipe) and gave them all the leftovers (they will eat them a lot faster than I would). And then they left right at 8:00 PM.

Went out at 9:15 PM to get my grille and it was snowing.