Yesterday was Sam’s birthday. It’s hard to believe how quickly 21 years have flown by; it’s even harder to imagine that Noah will be 26 in December! My boys grew up so fast, I was looking through a few photos yesterday, and I picked out a few that I love and a few that show how much they have grown. I have different relationship dynamics with each of my sons, but I laugh a lot with both of them.
Last night after Sam’s birthday dinner, he kissed me on top of the head and said, “Thank you, everything at dinner was perfect.” 🥰
As a cook and someone who likes to entertain, this was such a great thing to hear. Yes, the food was delicious, and the cake was decadent; but the table, the outside temperature, the fan keeping flies away, and the company all set the stage for that perfect dinner.
After I picked up the seafood for the seafood boil, which ended up being a combination of a low-country boil and a New England clam bake, it was a lot of prep work, but the cooking portion was a snap!
I made my court bouillon with the Old Bay seasoning I made the other day, along with a whole head of garlic, red and green onions, and some fresh herbs. I made the bouillon earlier in the day so the flavors would have time to develop, and indeed they did.
While I prepped everything, I put each component into its own containers. It wasn’t all getting dumped into the stockpot at once; they would go in one at a time, beginning with the potatoes, corn, colossal shrimp, clams, and the lobster went last.
I dressed my table the traditional way with lots of newspapers, a tray covered with newspapers, and lots of lemons not only for squeezing on the seafood feast but also to keep the flies away. I also had Marty set up a fan to blow in the direction of the table, which is an entertainment trick to keep bugs away.
I got out the little seafood cocktail forks and nutcrackers. The newspapers were our plates, and I had lots of paper napkins on hand. I usually prefer cloth napkins, but not in this case. Everything had to be simple and rustic.
When the seafood pot was done, I literally piled it in the center of the table, on the large flat tray covered in newspaper. After everyone had a cup of drawn butter and a little cocktail sauce, we dug in.
It was so much fun watching everyone cracking lobster tails and claws, peeling the colossal shrimp, and dipping their baby potatoes and mini pieces of corn in their butter cups. The clams were amazing, and only two didn’t open, just like last time.
Everyone took their time while they ate, and slowly the huge mound of the seafood feast was whittling away.
Clean-up was a snap, or I should say roll and fold. We rolled and folded up the newspapers and threw them directly into a garbage bag. The table was clean and didn’t even need to be wiped down!
I grabbed the birthday cake, which was a Boston Cream Pie, one of Sam’s favorites right after we ate. It was getting late, so I didn’t want to wait; I know Noah was beat and needed to get up early.
The cake came out good; at a couple of points, the cake became a huge pain in the ass, but in the end, it was better than I hoped. Sam’s eyes danced when I told him what kind of cake it was. 😊
We had some funny conversations while we were having dessert. My heart was so happy that the four of us had such a great dinner together, and everyone loved the food. A cook’s dream…always.
Everything that was presented at dinner looked like it was smooth sailing. Cooks, chefs, and hostesses know that this is what you strive for whenever you cook and serve others. The dinner guests don’t see the cluster-fucks that go on behind the scenes in the kitchen.
I am always honest with you guys, so I’ll share the three fuck ups that I had to fix. The first one was the pastry cream for the cake. I made it on Friday, trying to save time on Sunday. While it was cooking, it seemed ok and tasted good. I put some film over the top so a skin wouldn’t form and popped it into the fridge.
Sunday morning, I pulled out the 2 yellow cakes and the pastry cream. The cream got thin after it cooled. “Sons of bitches!” I sounded like Ralphie’s father from the movie A Christmas Story.
Ralphie tells us that his father “worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium. A master.“ Illustrating the point, Ralphie says that the Old Man “wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.” Change Lake Michigan to Arlington, VT, and it could be me that Ralphie described when things go wrong in the kitchen.
Before I started another batch of pastry cream and looked up a recipe for a rich custard, this is what I should have made in the first place, not the pastry cream I use for cream puffs…dumb ass Julz!
The next flub up was the amount of chocolate ganache I made; I didn’t make enough. I clean as I go, so I dirtied the clean double boiler, whisk, and spoons again when I had to make a second batch. Grrr!!!
The last mistake took me by total surprise. I used a small aluminum pot to melt the butter for the seafood; I usually use a stainless steel pan. I used the aluminum one because the other one was dirty from the second batch of ganache in the dishwasher.
I put the butter into the small pot and put the heat on to the lowest setting like I always do. Scientifically, aluminum is a better conductor of heat; in other words, I burnt the damn butter! Think Ralphie’s dad again, this time ten minutes before the rest of the meal was going to be ready. I had to get the pot I usually use out of the dishwasher and wash it quickly by hand; what I should have done in the first place.
I forgot about all of my flub-ups when we sat down to eat. When we finished dessert, I asked Noah what he wanted for his birthday dinner in December. “I really want that Korean beef and noodles with those kimchi arancini balls you made a few months ago. That meal was one of the best bites of food I’ve had this year!” Yay, this night couldn’t get any better for me as a cook.
I gotta tell you that this made my heart happy again; I can’t wait to make this meal for him again. Shit, I wish I wrote it down when I made it! It’s a good thing my palate can remember flavors so I can duplicate things.
Birthdays are low-key for our family without big fancy gifts or cards given just for the sake of it. We enjoy each other’s company while chowing down on the birthday person’s dinner of choice, which apparently turned out to be perfect!
I love how you tell like it is, Julz! The birthday dinner was a hit in every way.