My friend and the neighborhood’s reigning matriarch had a birthday today. She didn’t want a big party this year, but next year, one of those zeroes, definitely a party because her son will be here from abroad come Hell or high water. (Ha! Literally.) We agreed to a small sit-down dinner instead of balancing plates on our laps here and there, and that’s what we did.
Her favorite cake? German Chocolate. When somebody requests that cake, they’ve had the homemade version based on the little green box and that’s precisely the cake they want. I long ago clipped the recipe on the box, only I substitute a better chocolate.
The star of dinner was a huge potato and cauliflower and 4 cheese gratin, some fixed up green beans and orange chicken. Sylvia said that she will always remember this birthday for a special reason. Whilst the chicken and gratin made it safely to the table, I twice dropped a pan onto the floor on its way to a bowl for the vegetable. Yep, I spilled the beans. She’s 89.
We made up for the lack of beans, though. I also made a surprise with the cake’s crumbs. We had fresh Caramel and Cake Crumb ice cream.
Sylvia’s birthday is the 20th, WordPress.
