Rating: 💋 💋 💋 💋 💋
I know, I know, another one??? Look, birthdays are synonymous with food. Focus on the food. This time we have steaks with roquefort butter, so might I suggest you even take notes?
Eating at times gets boring in quarantine. There, I said it. The food blogger said it. I love food, but with so little stimulation otherwise, I get into slumps where it is like "Ugh, I have to figure out what to eat for lunch again??!" Meals sadly join the cacophony of monotony, in phases.
For this reason, for my at-home birthday dinner celebration, I wanted to make sure I picked out something we had not eaten in a while. The menu I ended up choosing was actually a dinner and dessert I had not had in years. So really this is an instance of the perfect, much-needed meal rising to the occasion.
In my family, the way we have done it is, if your birthday falls on a weekday, as mine did this year, you can pick a dinner you like that is reasonable for the daily schedule and maybe you open a gift. It really is your choice, but the point is, it is a simplified birthday. Special, but saving top celebration energies for the weekend. Then, you can pick either the weekend before or after, the Friday or Saturday, to have the big birthday dinner party with the nicer dinner, tablecloth, birthday cake, gift unveiling routine.
I always choose the weekend after because I like to stretch it out. I am just being real with you. I like to end the festivities with the grand finale, you know? I also have pretty much always had to account for Lent when planning my birthday. My eighth birthday was on Good Friday (shudders). Ya finally get a Friday, and then you have to go to Stations of the Cross. Sad! My ninth birthday was on Easter Monday and honestly, I had a chocolate hangover, but that was still an improvement. When it came to planning my birthday this year, the big issue was the menu. Catholics cannot eat meat on Fridays in Lent. If I found a good, new-to-our-rotation fish dish, might as well go for the Friday. I didn't though. I found steak, which is pretty much the antithesis of fasting, so we had to have my birthday dinner on the Saturday. Just as well. Here it goes:
We kicked off the night with my mom popping a bottle of champagne. It really was so lovely. Champagne would probably be my go-to drink if it was not such an extra order, but since this was my Champagne Birthday, it was pretty much mandated that we celebrate with Veuve. Wee!
Remember how I mentioned that when I was a child, my mom told us she was a witch? Honestly, she is probably reading this now and scoffing, "But I am a witch!" Although, generally, all due respect, we refer to her as a goddess. The point is, I grew up surrounded by magic in the funnest way possible. So, it seems very fitting that we spent cocktail hour laying out Tarot cards. Shannon and I did a Three Card Spread and here is what they hit me with:
Apparently, I am in a phase of reflection. I have to be mulling over everything in my life, getting organized, and making sure I am clear on my goals before I take action. This reflection will ensure that when it is time for me to make my move, I do so with wisdom and clarity. I have to make the right choices at the right time. I am down with that. I mean, considering I can be kind of impulsive, I'll have to sit on my hands, hold my tongue, stay seated, whatever. I think I can do that though, especially given that I am aware of this message, because my future is of utmost importance to me.
I shall just sit here patiently and think.
While reading our futures, we listened to a killer playlist that I had made. It was originally twelve hours but after a lot of hard work and tough decisions, I narrowed it down to about eight. It was really difficult for me, you guys. I love music. My family laughed at how long it was, but cocktail hour started at about five o'clock, and the party went til midnight. I kid you not. Seven hours so, really, I was very wise in my playlist-curating. Plus, I picked songs for every party attendee. I mean, it goes without saying that I liked everything on there, but I took great care to hit everybody with some faves. We had AC/DC and dance music for Rebecca; 80s hits for Dan; and Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac and childhood throwbacks for Shannon; and all the rest were my loves. We had a fabulous time bopping through drinks and dinner. Over and over again, people commented, "I love this one!" or I caught them giving a little shimmy and, yeah, I was really proud.
French Bistro Steaks with Provencal Butter
from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics Cookbook by Ina Garten
Serves: 4 Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 4 anchovy filets, drained and chopped
- 1 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temp
- 4 NY strip steaks*
- EVOO
- 4 tsp herbes de Provence
- kosher salt & coarsely cracked black pepper
Preparation:
- To make the Provençal butter, put garlic, anchovies, capers, thyme, chives, zest, and pepper in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and process briefly until the ingredients are evenly blended. Place the butter mixture on a piece of parchment or wax paper and roll into a log with a 1 1/2 in. diameter and 5 in. in length. Set aside.
- For the steaks, heat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the steaks on a platter and drizzle them with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle each steak with 1 tsp of herbes de Provence and season with salt and pepper. Let steaks sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- When the grill is hot, grill the steaks for 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once, for medium-rare. Place the steaks on a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow steaks to rest for 15 minutes. Slice the steaks crosswise diagonally and serve hot with a slice or two of the Provençal butter on top.
* In the original, Ina Garten calls for hanger steaks, but we do NY strip because we prefer the flavor.
I cannot express enough how beautiful this meal really is. The salty-sweet butter is full of refreshing herbs and just the right amount of citrus to bring the flavor of the steaks to life. Watching the butter decadently melt over the steak is just gorgeous. Making an herb butter is such a simple way to elevate a meal, and it tastes so special. While our main was a French export, I traveled south and tapped into my Italian roots with the side. I just love Caprese. We eat this salad a lot but it never gets old - pepper brightening the tomato, olive oil soaking into sweet mozzarella, avocado bringing all the flavors together and a sprinkling of capers to intensify the dish. I also love how the essence of the ingredients soaks into oil, which then serves a second purpose as a bread dip. Our bread came from Parc, and the flavor of their baguettes is unparalleled. You do not even need oil or butter, this bread speaks for itself. That is what I call quality! When the bread has a great taste all its own, it demonstrates how beautiful a cooked ball of dough can really be. Any spread on top just adds an extra oomph.
We kept the conversation light and fun, discussing projects Shannon is working on and where we are headed next. We had a little champagne toast and my mom assured me that twenty-four would be a much better year. My dad's toast centered around appreciating having me home. We are unlikely to ever have this time to spend with each other again, and we have made quarantine pretty fun, for what it's worth.
During clean-up, we warmed up for the dance party. Dua Lipa - my girl! - is always a big favorite, but major shout outs to Jax Jones and Doja Cat because they really pumped up the party. My mom was sashaying across the kitchen.
We did gifts in between courses so we would have a little digestion time. I really did not know what to ask for this year. It was so hard to make a list because I am just chilling at home. How can I buy clothes for outings I do not know I will get to go on? In theory, I would almost want to use the opportunity for practical things for my apartment, but I do not have an apartment right now, so what to do? Do birthday list coupons exist? An IOU for a gift when life picks up, perhaps?
I kept my requests vague, asked for a few cds for my car and a book on bunny breeds. I got what I asked for and that is pretty cool. Now I can do research so that when the time comes, I know exactly what kind of bunny to get and then he can be my little buddy. I have a vision of me carrying Rufus the rabbit around NYC or LA in a cute little purse-carrier. I just need to get to the point in life where that is possible. It's okay. I am certain I will make my dreams come true.
I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have had a birthday dinner and family to celebrate with, friends to talk to, a place to stay, and the opportunity to pursue my career goals from home during this past year. It might have been a weird year, but I am truly aware of how lucky I am, and grateful to everyone and everything that contributed to that.
Ugly Cake??? I don't think so! Look how cute 🐝 🦋 🌺
My mom really outdid herself decorating this sucker. Piped peanut butter frosting, clear crystal sprinkles, bumblebee AND flower sugar decor! My goodness! This is the kind of cake where you fight over what piece you get. "I want the bee!" "I want the flowers!"
It made for a very sweet start to spring.
Peanut butter frosting is the greatest. It was quite sweet, but the peanut butter flavor just makes things so much more interesting than the standard buttercream. The chocolate cake was mouthwatering and the whole thing tasted like a decadent, homemade Reese's delight. Peanut butter and chocolate are the dynamic duo that this world cannot live without.
Or at least, I cannot live without it. It may be my greatest weakness and I am not even rueful about that. It is just too rewarding a combination.
After they brought out the cake and sang to me, my dad told me that I had five candles and I had to make five unique wishes. I took some time thinking of the best possible requests. This was serious business. I was not expecting this prompt, but I found I had the answers easily enough. These were wishes for my big, personal hopes for this life. I have no idea what the world is going to throw my way this year and despite my devotion to my planner, I long ago stopped being shocked when the unexpected runs through my days. Things will not go as planned. Sometimes, this will turn out to be much more fun. Sometimes, I will have preferred the universe had listened to my version of the schedule.
We can get through anything though. We just have to stay flexible, stay creative, and do the best with what we are given - which might involve climbing over walls other people tell us to believe are there and exploring 'the impossible'.
No matter what the universe hands me, I have got big plans. I might have to change the route at times, but I know what I want and where I am going. I am very happy to have five little candles putting in a good word for me with the fates.
After dinner, we did a seven card spread. I cannot tell you my question or exactly what it means - but you see the cards, you can look up. I can tell you that these cards blew my mind. Maybe tarot cards are not just for fun??? They were scarily insightful. Maybe the cards really do know what is up. If so, somebody has got some explaining to do and here I am, being patient. They can stop by anytime they like. The reading was positive, quite cute, and very much involved with things that are apparently written for me in the stars. Well then! We will just see.
I really think I made a fantastic playlist, and I was so very pleased my family liked it so much. There were jams all the way back to the sixties, right up to songs released a few weeks ago. In case you want to party like a Magee, you can check out my birthday playlist here: Champagne Birthday 🥂
Once the cake was no longer a rock in our stomachs, we hopped up and ended the night with probably the most sensational dance party I have had in a year. My dad sat this one out but the rest of us were rehearsing for our Grammy performance, and I really think we are ready to take on the Staples Center. AC/DC and INXS were two of our biggest favorites. We gave snappy choreography! We gave glitter! We gave drama! My mom laughed because Shannon and I had our own styles. Shannon was a fairy queen twirling, loving the music. Meanwhile, I was quite the diva queen frontman. I would have been a great rock star but alas. My pipes are not quite up to Ariana Grande's level. Never mind. My family room will have to do (for now).
I do think the pink hair helped my stage presence a lot, and on Saturday, this last day of my birthday celebration, I finally got a good enough photograph that captured what, exactly, I did to my scalp.
As I told my hair stylist, Kristina (though these tresses were colored by the lovely Mary Kate): "This was the chaos I needed."
Who would have thought? This really was one of the best birthdays I have had in a long long time.
As for the year ahead, my tarot cards summed it up pretty succinctly: "Clarity of purpose is key"
XX,
MK
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