You Say It's Your Birthday

I made my first stab at chicken salad. I used a recipe for spicy chicken salad from a Jamie Deen recipe. I decided to be creative and switched out a couple of ingredients. It turned out fairly well but this early in the game I think I have learned to stick with the recipe as written. I also did not cut up the chicken and veggies as fine as they should have been. My lack of patience is an issue with cooking fer sure.....

Today is my birthday. I 've gained another year in the fortysomethings. I have the day off from both jobs and am going to finally take the time to search out other food blogs. Tonight, K is taking me to dinner at Trezo Mare. I'll be blogging about that, you betcha.

The day brings about a flood of food and birthday memories. Many birthday cakes and parties from my parents over the early years. My ninth in particular was a memorable cookout at a park picnic pavilion. I received an awesome Hot Wheels track. For my sixteenth, my friends overtook my parents home and made some seriously scary food in my mother's home. My poor Mom sat on the front porch with my dad as it was happening probably deep breathing and praying to the heavens that they didn't burn the place down.

The highlights of my recent birthdays have been with Keith. For the first several years, we celebrated my birthday in a different city every year. Dinners included some mouth-watering seafood at Fisherman's Wharf at San Francisco, yummy Italian fare in New York City, a sublime evening at an outdoor venue in Santa Fe and an elegant dinner and show at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. These evenings were all pure magic in every way.

Food in celebration is a must. Especially birthdays.