It's been so long since I've posted, that our household has seen not one, but two birthdays: Nikita's and Igor's. Nikita finally went through one birthday celebration without getting sick. It may have helped that we celebrated his birthday nearly a week after the event.
Igor and I invited my parents, Liz, Lisa (Liz's partner), and Kyle (Lisa's 5-year old son) over for dinner. Again, unlike last year, dinner came off well: garlic soup (A Mediterranean Harvest by Scaravelli & Cohen - woefully out of print), followed by paella (Cook's Illustrated) and assorted Russian salads. Washed down with a cheap but lovely grenache wine from Spain. Dessert was sweet cream & coffee ice-cream cake with Hydrox cookies from Herrell's.
Nikita had a great time; he loved blowing out the candles (see photo). Of course, he barely ate because he was too fascinated with all the toys he got. Of particular interest was a toy laptop and a wooden train set, which trumped the Lego train set Igor and I got for him. Kyle was the perfect guest. Not only did he eat, but he played nicely with Nikita.
Igor's birthday dinner consisted of roast chicken, ratatouille (both from The Way to Cook), a wider assortment of Russian salads and coldcuts - all washed down with a lovely yet cheap Voignier wine from California. Dessert was a yummy poppyseed strudel that Igor baked for the first time from The Pie and Pastry Bible.
None of us have any memory of Igor's birthday last year (I'll have to check my blog archives), but I vividly remember Igor's birthday from two years ago, when Nikita was only a few weeks old. Igor turned 40, and I obviously had no energy to cook, so I ordered food from the Blue Room. I barely remember eating it, however, because Nikita could not sleep in the bassinet - he had to be held. In stark contrast, Igor's birthday this year was a breeze. Not only did we get to cook, but eat as well.
