Sneaky friends Matt and Susanne wanted to plan something special for the birthdays of their spouses, Linda and Rob. So they joined forces and hired me to help them throw a cooking class birthday bonanza. It was pretty easy to fool their other halves since they’re all part of a little group of friends who always meet up for dinner anyways. So they told them to get in the car and made their way to their friend Jamie’s lovely house.
BUT… dun dun dun…little did they know that I was waiting for them there with knives, aprons, and a night of work planned out for them! The guests of honor were the last to arrive, as is generally the fashion when planning a surprise party. Since everything was set up well in advance, Joe and I had time to chillax with the rest of the party attenders and even have a little sip of wine.
Then the birthday guy and gal came in and they were seriously surprised. Before they knew what was going on, I had thrown them aprons to wear and told them to go wash their hands!
I also told the group that if they didn’t want to cook, anyone was more than welcome to wander off, watch the game or do what they wanted. That seemed to work out nicely and add to the ambiance of a fun and relaxed night.
We started out by making easy ravioli out of wonton wrappers and then gourmet-ing them up with a browned butter sage sauce. They were a hit and a great first course to get them going.
We moved onto my rice paper wrapped salmon with hoisin lime sauce. Everyone had a turn to wrap, stuff and roll.
The cooking ended with a simply marinated flank steak that was served on top of Parmesan mashed potatoes surprisingly made with no butter, milk or cream. Of course this steak had to have a final touch of my now “famous” balsamic glaze.
The group decided to dine formally at the table and enjoy the rest of their evening chit-chatting and catching up while Joe and I cleaned up and set up to serve them a simple seasonal pear crepe with chocolate and fresh whipped cream. I think everyone enjoyed everything and they were truly the nicest bunch of people you could ever meet.
It ended up being a fantastic night and I know Rob and Linda truly enjoyed themselves. Props to their spouses who went all out to be sneaky and shady in order to make their birthdays a delicious night to remember.
