Mrs. Delicious

Sabado Gigante!!

Not only was it my birthday recently, but this weekend was also Sonya and Ted's birthday! We decided to have a big joint party at their house. It was the perfect day for it -- everyone was giddy because the sun had finally come out. People came from three states! The party started at 4:00 p.m. and was billed to last until 4:00 a.m.

Sonya made all the cakes:

Carrot (with ricotta-farro tart in background):



Chocolate:



And currant:



I have to admit that I was so full that I did not even try the chocolate one, even though it was decorated so festively. But the carrot cake was the best I had ever had. Sonya said that she doubled the spices in it because the first time she made it, it was too bland. Excellent call. Plus it was so moist and cream-cheesey.

Here is a photo of Sonya and Kip looking at the table, set with several party dishes that I made and Sonya's cakes:



It looks a little empty, but that was quickly fixed by Jae and Corey, who brought reinforcements of roasted garlic ciabatta, goat gouda, and peppery sausage. Then Flavia and Sergio brought an entire roasting pan full of homemade empanadas! They were so full of meat and egg and spicy goodness that I almost put some into my purse for later.

I made a bunch of things. The best part is that we ate them all with plastic forks and spoons that were clear with gold glitter suspended inside. So sparkly!

Here are some of the dishes that were on the groaning board:

Ham and gruyere spread (looks like Spam but does not taste like it!) and red pepper and walnut pesto:



Edamame salad with beets and beet greens:



Total New Mexican Down Home Green Chile Stew, recipe courtesy of Jesse:



And some other stuff that I did not take photos of: turkey and cilantro meatballs, ricotta and farro tart, and cheddar-olive mini muffins. I made some of the hot foods halfway through the party so that there would be some anticipation of treats and good smells emanating from the kitchen. I must say that those cheddar-olive muffins smell DAMN good when they are baking. There is something very Pavlovian for me about the smell of baking cheese.

Andy made a special drink for the occasion called the Roman Candle, in honor of Sonya's small obsession with fireworks (we let several off at at least two points during the evening, perhaps three). It involved Romana Sambuca, honey liqueur, vodka, Constant Comment tea, and orange juice, all set aflame in a big punch bowl. Sadly, only a few of the orange slices floating in the bowl agreed to ignite, but at that point everyone was so excited by cake and fancy punch and mini meatballs that no one really cared if the fire extinguisher remained languishing in the corner.

We ate and drank and laughed and ran around outside until well into the night. People from neighboring states went home and people from the neighborhood kept coming by until 2:00 a.m.! We left right around 3 and let poor Ted and Sonya go to bed. Any party that goes on for 11 hours without an appearance by the cops, any calls for an ambulance, or anything red spilled on anything stainable is a HUGE success by my standards. Plus many people who did not know each other at 8 p.m. were toasting each other with whiskey at midnight, and that is even more of a success.

And now my birthday is officially OVER, and I will stop talking about it until next year. When we will hopefully be in Helsinki for the occasion.

posted by Mrs. Delicious @ 9:25 PM