Pizza and Cake - Happy Birthday Jeff

So this post is so super mondo (real words?) late that it is not even funny. Happy Birthday to Jeff whose birthday these photos are from was actually on January 24th...2011. I decided to plan the surprise party of the century...which really became the not such a surprise party of the....we'll say year not century. The surprise was blow by a little cat named Max. Alright! It was me. I told Jeff we were going to have a quiet night in and sorry that there were not going to be any bells and whistles for his birthday but I just want to cook a nice meal. Later in the day, I sat there next to Jeff on the couch, having a conversation with my cat Max. He doesn't really understand, but I like to think he does when I said, "Max, will you please not run away with all of the people coming over tonight?" Jeff looks at me..."people?" Most people can come up with a quick lie and move on from the bean spilling but I am a TERRIBLE liar (which I suppose is a good thing). I just sat there with a stupid look on my face, my mouth wide open and the tears starting. That's right! I have no shame, I buried my head in a pillow and cried, for I had ruined the big surprise hours before it was too occur. So Jeff said he would play along with the whole thing. I get everybody ready when he is supposed to arrive, I had told him specifically to come in the front door so I could catch the whole charade on my new video camera. We are all waiting, ready to yell surprise at any moment. I then hear some say surprise in a very confused voice behind me. Jeff slipped in the back! He surprised his own surprise party! Then we all ate, drank and were merry....so it all turned out.

I made a very lovely Chocolate Genoise Cake with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Granache for the birthday boy - who ended up blowing the wax all over my arm. Recipe can be found here.

I then hosted a pizza bar. Whole foods sells ready pizza dough. Then we had sauces; marinara, pesto, garlic sauce. Toppings; peppers, tomatoes, bacon, mushrooms, sausage, herbs, olives etc. And cheese; mozzarella, cheddar, and feta. It was so fun to let everyone get in groups and create delicious pizza.

Meatball Sandwhiches

One of my favorites! This recipe is very easy and great to make for groups and families. My good friend Amanda came over for a visit (she also wanted to drop off some birthday presents for me, which I adore!) I made the meatball sammys for the two of us and both of us were full, happy campers. Since I had so many leftovers, Jeff and I got a round two of this dish on Friday night.

Meatball Sandwich
•Frozen meatballs (four per sandwich)
•Spaghetti Sauce
•Provolone cheese slices
•French Bread
•Olive Oil
Cook the frozen meatballs in a saucepan with enough sauce to lightly cover the meatballs. Cook until warm throughout. Slice French bread in half and coat with olive oil. Broil bread until the olive oil slightly crisps. Add meatballs and top with provolone, broil until cheese melts.

My wonderful presents from Amanda: Sleepytime tea, a lantern with candles to go with, and a fishy. The fishy is technically for resting chopsticks upon, but he will live in my desk.