32nd Birthday, extreme version

Delancey :: bar and kitchen

Yesterday wasn’t a big birthday, but it was my birthday nonetheless and sometimes you have to celebrate even the unexciting years in a BIG way. Hence the fun fest that was the last 4 days…

On Friday, while I was finishing up a paper at work, Jen, Jeanne and Anita arrived from San Francisco and checked into a seriously cute apartment in Seattle. They’re here for a swirl of activity this week and luckily some of it coincided with me!

When I was done working I headed down to join them for the night. First, we hit Latona Pub for a beer and then we headed over to Delancey for pizza. A confluence of factors and poor planning on our part resulted in us being the last table seated for the night, but you never would have guessed based on how fantastic the salad and 3 pies were.

The nettle pesto special was amazing and I would order both the pepperoni and the sausage again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately we missed out on the gray salt cookies, but since I know I’ll be back with Mike it gives me something to look forward to rather than regret.

The laughing and hilarity of the evening was just what I needed after a long day writing at work. And our weekend was just getting started…

farmer's market haul

On Saturday, after a very productive trip (above) to the U District market, Jen, Anita, and I  headed over to Lara’s gorgeous house and studio, where we were joined by Kimberly, for a private photo class. We started the morning shooting blueberry muffins, styled dahl to look beautiful, broke for a brief lunch at Cafe Presse and coffee at Stumptown, and finished by styling fried potatoes.

Muffins :: made by Lara, image courtesy of Married ...with Dinner

It was a fantastic day spent observing a master craftswoman at work, absorbing as much insight as possible, and wishing for a studio of my own. I can’t wait to apply what I learned, even if it is at just the most basic level for now. Of course, the only pictures I took that day were with my phone (crappy) or Lara’s camera (beautiful) and I have none to share but Anita’s shot at left.

We finished Saturday with more delicious pizza at Pagliacci where we were joined by Kate, Kim and Anita’s friend Judy. Kate brought us blueberry pie (divine) to finish the full circle of our day.

Pagliacci :: special pie

As if that wasn’t enough celebrating and food, Sunday (my actual birthday) was filled with even more. Mike made me blueberry pancakes with bacon and coffee after friends Mia, Ron and Sierra dropped by with gifts and to see the chickens that will be in their freezer later this spring. We visited and laughed and wished we could join them on their day trip out to Whidbey Island (it was a beautiful day) and then we got started prepping for the extravaganza that was my birthday dinner shared with the San Francisco girls.

First there was cheese from Mt Townsend and Beechers with my homemade flatbread crackers (recipe later). Then we headed out to visit the highly entertaining hens, chicks and horses. Unfortunately George (barn cat) decided to hide – of course he came out to find me as soon as the girls pulled out of the driveway at the end of the night.

Animal visits out of the way, we settle in to do some serious eating. First up? Local Dungeness crab with Golden Glen butter melted with our homegrown garlic and Anita’s lemons. We helped it down with Rock Ridge hard cider courtesy of Jeanne.

and the crabs go marching...

Then Jeanne treated us to a dish of oh-my-god-melt-in-your-mouth-this-is-so-good Wooly Pig Mangalitsa ravioli from La Pasta at the market. She topped it with a bit more Golden Glen butter and minced local shallots.

Mangalitsa ravioli :: image courtesy of Married ...with Dinner

After that we finally sat down to dinner – skewers of red wine, garlic, rosemary and thyme marinated grass fed sirloin and mushrooms grilled by Mike, homegrown mashed potatoes and spring salads of greens, Asian pears and shallot vinaigrette.

salads on the table :: image courtesy Married ...with Dinner

We topped it all off with “Mom’s chocolate cake” from Macrina bakery in Seattle. Seriously good.

Macrina chocolate cake

And then, because I wasn’t ready for it to end, I took the day off of work to hang out with Mike today. We began with his famous bacon, cheddar and scallion omelets. Afterwards we spent a few hours working on the bathroom – grouting the back splash and priming it all. Late this afternoon, after a snack of Fromage and hand delivered avocado on flatbread, we headed over to the tree farm for a short trail ride in the fading sun. Finally, we finished up with leftovers from last night. Wow.

And really, it’s not over yet. There’s Fatted Calf pepperoni, Boccalone pork ragu, avocados, and homegrown lemons in the fridge to keep us going for a while yet.

*****

This meal could count as a Dark Days dinner, but I already posted this week. We’ll just consider it a bonus!

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1. Going to the Beach
2. Celebrating Spring
3. Dark Days Week #8 – San Fran Style
4. {066:365} Celebrating
5. Happy Birthday!