A Tapas Birthday Dinner, Part Two

During our tapas dinner, Nick played with his cars. Gigi (Nick's great-grandmother) was kind enough to let her legs be the road.

One of the tapas I served was Magdalena cakes, which are light, lemony cakes that melt in your mouth. They were actually pretty easy to make. You can find the recipe here.

Greg made several dishes to contribute to this fancy dinner. First, here are grilled plantains with a spicy sugar glaze.

On the grill, Greg made flank steak marinated in garlic and hot peppers. Yum!

Our dinner was not completely bereft of vegetables--Greg made a green bean and cabbage salad.

He also made lemon-thyme wild rice, which turned out pretty well. I thought it was delicious.

Oh, dessert? Of course we had dessert! My mom is a big fan of chocolate, so I chose a bittersweet chocolate tart on a hazelnut crust. It's one of the more challenging dessert recipes I have tried, and I had to carmelize the sugar twice. The first time it burned, and nearly set the house on fire. Then, I got chocolate all over my nose.

The recipe involved crushing hazelnuts and grinding them into a powder for the crust, carmelizing sugar (which is somewhat dangerous for absentminded people like me), and separating eggs. But it was worth the trouble. It was chocolatey and rich but not too sweet. I did, however, forget to buy birthday candles. So we improvised. . .

Yes, that's a scented candle. Hey, we had to have something for my mom to blow out after we sang. Here's what the tart looked like up close:

It was definitely a filling trip to Spain. By the end of the evening, everyone was sprawled out watching the Cars movie with Nick, barely awake. I think my mom had a good birthday, though, and that was the point. Maybe next year we'll go to Italy. . .

A Tapas Birthday Dinner, Part One

Last Saturday, we celebrated my mom's birthday with a special tapas dinner. Last year, we had a French-themed meal, and this year we "went" to Spain. My mom and stepdad went to Barcelona a few years ago, and I spent a month in Spain back in 2004, so it was nice to revisit those memories. I put out all of my pictures from Spain, and I even downloaded some Spanish music (titled ironically, "Tapas Bar Music.")

I'm thinking I'll talk about our dinner in two or three posts, because I have lots to tell and recipe links to share. By the way, my sister took all of the photos. I was way too busy cooking and drinking sangria.  :)

Yes, that's a Cordobes hat I put on Henry. I was trying to find a way to "put" the kids in traditional Spanish costumes. This is the best I could do. I used my poor photoshopping skills to dress Nicholas up as a matador. Yes, I know I'm not terribly good at this, but hey, I tried.

This meal was the culmination of weeks of preparations, at least four separate shopping trips, and hours of cleaning/decorating. I also spent a very long time on the menu, which was given to everyone but also served as a birthday card for my mom. It's kind of long, but I'm going to attach it here for you to see. (Click to enlarge) Oh, and by the way, I don't actually speak Spanish, at least not very much. I understand a decent amount, but I can't speak or write well, or at all, really. Google translate worked well, and if it didn't, well then, no one in my family would know any differently. Hopefully I'm not saying anything too naughty in Spanish.

Tapas, if you've never had them before, are basically small appetizer portions of both hot and cold foods.  In Spain, they're often combined to make a meal. I love this way of eating, because you just have a few bites of every food, try many new flavors, and spend hours eating and talking. Tapas meals are supposed to encourage conversation. In Spain, dinner is served late (think, 9 pm. at the earliest) and can easily drag on until midnight.

Greg made a homemade Pomegranate Sangria that was delightful but made everyone kind of drowsy.

My stepdad even fell asleep on the couch in between tapas courses.

So what did we eat, you ask? Well, we didn't sit at the table all night, that's for sure. We ate a little bit, then rested and talked, then ate some more. I served Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Potato Omelet) first. basically, it's a potato and onion omelet, served cold. It is delicious and was quite time-consuming to make. I was impressed, though, at how well it turned out. I loved the flavor of this dish. You can find the recipe here. I followed the directions exactly, except that I added a few more eggs into the mix.

I went to Whole Foods to get fancy Spanish cheeses, along with grapes and apples to serve with them. I think I liked the sheep's milk cheese the best. I also did a baked goat cheese, served with toast made on my homemade baguettes.



Henry, of course, did not get to sample any tapas. But he got plenty of formula and snuggling.

I will write more about our dinner tomorrow. In retrospect, it really was a ton of work. I think my mom enjoyed it, though.

Nick Sings "Happy Birthday" to Daddy!

Today was Greg's 37th birthday. We celebrated tonight with his mom and sister by going to Meson Sabika in Naperville. He was only marginally more well behaved today at the restaurant. He still has a minor case of the crabbies. Thankfully, though, the employees were kind enough to sit us in an empty section, so that we weren't quite as embarrassed by the throwing of crayons and the random loud noises that this toddler has been emitting lately.

Yes, that's Nick doing the finger trick thing with his plastic straw. Going out to dinner for birthdays is kind of a tradition in Greg's family. A tradition, I might add, that I really like. We were out really late, and I am exhausted. My tummy, however, is very satisfied. I think this baby loves tapas as much as I do. I think Greg enjoyed himself despite the misbehaving toddler, and that is the most important thing, since it is his birthday. He certainly devoured his cream puffs with ice cream and chocolate sauce.  :)

Here's a little clip I got of Nick singing "Happy Birthday" to his daddy. He kept singing, on and off, for a good half hour. Hey, at least he wasn't screaming.






Happy Birthday Greg!

Tapas for a Nearly Two Year Old

Yup, we went to Meson Sabika again last weekend. Here's the breakdown:

-Two sangrias and one milk
-Crayons and paper for Nick to color
-Platter of Spanish cheeses and grapes (Nick loved them!)
-Pork, beef, and seafood tapas

and. . .





































. . . one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had in my life. It was two frozen dark chocolate truffles, lightly infused with creme de menth and served with a berry compote and fresh whipped cream. We all shared it because it was so rich, but this dessert was so memorable I do believe I'll remember it for the rest of my life. Perhaps Nick will remember it as well.  :)

This was truly a memorable evening, and not just because of the dessert. Greg and I were celebrating, because he recently was promoted to supervisor at his work. Also, we've been so busy lately that it was nice to just go out as a family. I love when it's nice enough outside to sit on the patio. There was a breeze, good company, and delightful food. I'm not sure if it was the sangria, the company, or the good food, but that was the most relaxed I've been in a long time.

This is my all-time favorite restaurant, both because of the beautiful grounds, the amazing food, and the tasty sangria. Nick seems to like it, too, although he sure made a mess of his shirt.

And finally. . . the fountain was truly a wonder to Nick. He loves to point at it and say, (wait for it) "Water!" Only now, his language has developed to the point where he can say: "Water in there!" (and then, after touching the water) "Water cold!"

My Little Mall Rat

Nick is such a good sport. Today he was out all day and was an absolute doll. I dragged him hither and yon and then back to hither, but he kept in a decent mood anyway. Greg and I do this funny thing on days that I tutor--I go up and tutor from 8-10 and then Greg delivers Nick and all of his paraphernalia to me in a parking lot. Then I go to my school and do some volunteer tutoring. Yes, I'm a little bit crazy. But if I didn't love teaching, I certainly wouldn't be in this line of work.

It is pretty cool to see some of my ELL students coming in voluntarily to read with me. It's almost as if they like school, which I think is awesome. I like that I'm making a difference, so I feel good about what I'm doing even though it's not paid work. I am rather attached to my students, and I'm excited to see them working so hard over the summer. We give the kids these paper books that they can take home and keep. What's great is that some of the kids are reading the books over and over again. These books are sometimes the only ones in their houses. After tutoring, a few of them stay and play with Nick. One of my fourth graders was carrying him all around the room, talking to him and listening to him babble. I think Nick really got a kick out of listening to the big kids read. It was pretty cute because he kept babbling. "What is he saying?," one of my students asked. As if I know. :)

Today I had plans to meet an old friend at Meson Sabika for dinner at 5, so I had three hours to kill and a baby to entertain. Hmmm, what to do? I decided to walk around the mall, hoping that Nick would take a nap. He did, at least for an hour or so, and I got the opportunity to shop clearance racks a little bit and get some exercise. So long as the stroller kept moving, he kept sleeping. I walked the entire mall (both levels) twice. But then he decided that he didn't want to stay in the stroller anymore. I know he's a little bit small, but I took him to the kids play area with the soft floor. I figured he could at least sit on the floor for awhile and stretch his legs. At first, he wasn't sure what to do.

He just sat on the floor and watched the big kids run around. I was sitting right next to him so he wouldn't get run over. He liked watching the big kids, and this little girl kept looking at him and smiling. Nick smiled back, as he already knows how to flirt effectively at 8 months. How come I didn't master flirting until my post-graduate years? Although I guess he doesn't have to worry about pimples or whether his pants make him look fat. He's not wearing any pants, so it doesn't matter.

The soft gushy floor was pretty cool. I need to get some of that stuff to put under Nick's baby cage so that he stops bonking his head. Then he discovered the little tunnel. He really liked that. He kept trying to touch the walls, and he flapped his arms and bounced up and down. I ended up staying in the children's play area for 45 minutes--far longer than planned. But Nick was having fun watching all the kids playing. I think he is jealous of the ones who can crawl and climb and walk. Below is a short video of him happily playing in the tunnel.

I still had time to kill, and Nick and I arrived early at the restaurant. But Mr. Nicholas did NOT want to sit in his car seat anymore, so I let him sit in the driver's seat, which he loved. He bounced up and down on the seat and tried to grab the steering wheel. I told him, "Not for another sixteen years or so, buddy."

As I'm sure you can imagine, Nick once again loved the tapas. Today he ate duck for the first time, and seemed to like it just fine. Meson Sabika serves it with apples and mushrooms in this divine sauce. Nick kept grabbing for my fork, and he ate some tilapia as well as a bite of sauteed vegetables. Here you can see him trying a tiny bite of a chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce.



Here he is with raspberry sauce all over his face. Nick was pretty pleased with himself. For a baby, he does a great job in restaurants. My friend said she enjoyed meeting him. It was funny, because she watched him when I ran to the bathroom, and that's when he caused trouble. While I was gone (all of two minutes), he dumped over my water glass, dropped his cookie, and screamed. I guess this little man knows when to seize his opportunities.