Birthday Feast

For this feast, we did a sort-of Moroccan-style kebabs, tabbouleh salad, and cooked mixed rice. Our awesome family brought two fabulous fruit salads to round it out.

Tabbouleh
Prepare one package bulgur wheat according to the directions (omiting the seasoning packet). Chill in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, chop:
3 bunches parsley
8 or more mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons red onion
2 tomatoes, seeds removed
1 cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
Combine with bulgur in a large bowl. Dress with:
Juice from 2 lemons
a little olive oil

Kebabs
Put 60 bamboo skewers in a container full of water to soak.
To prepare the beef, cut ninety bite-sized chunks of
4 lbs petite sirloin steak
Marinate at room temperature for an hour or two before cooking in:
1 medium onion, pureed in the blender
2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional, but I used)
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I left out)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint (optional, but I used)
Make sure to stir everything very well (I used my washed hands) to coat the meat thoroughly.

To prepare the chicken, cut ninety bite-sized chunks of:
4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Marinate at room temperature for an hour or two before cooking in:
zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons salad oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika (I accidentally left this out!)
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
some saffron threads (optional, but I used)
Make sure to stir everything very well (I used my washed hands) to coat the meat thoroughly.

To prepare the vegetables, chop the following:
5 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and 1/2-inch slices
4 red peppers, cut in 1-inch squares
4 yellow peppers, cut in 1-inch squares
4 yellow onions, cut in 8th wedges
30 or more cherry tomatoes
30 or more large mushrooms, halved

To assemble, drain the water off the skewers, and alternate vegetables with three chunks of marinated meat on each skewer until done. Cook on the grill, covered, over medium heat, turning at least once, for about ten minutes. We had to do several batches to cook all 60 skewers, but it gave us lots of time to chat.

Dillon's Birthday Cake

For his 17th birthday, he wanted an ice-cream cake with Phish Food ice-cream and chocolate cake. With the help of WinnCo pricing, we added our own labor to produce the tall ice-cream cake for about $25, and had fun doing it.

First, bake up a Double Fudge cake mix in two nine-inch round pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Then carefully cut off the lopsided tops of both cakes. We wrapped them up and put both cakes and also the two cut-off tops in the freezer.

Meanwhile, wash and dry the cake pans, line with an oversized piece of wax paper, and fill each one with a carton of Breyer's All Natural chocolate ice-cream. Cover with more wax paper and freeze over night. I had a nine-inch springform pan, which I used exactly as above, filling with four pints of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. Parts of the Phish Food layer will just never freeze as hard, because of the marshmellow and caramel.

To assemble: Get a large plate or platter ready, take out all the cake and ice-cream parts from the freezer and quickly remove the wax paper and wrapping. Layer cake, chocolate ice-cream, cake, Phish Food, the two tops from the cake, more chocolate ice-cream on the plate in a tall stack. Return to the freezer.

For the frosting: Soak 2 teaspoons gelatin in one third cup of water. Heat over boiling water just until dissolved. Cool. Whip 3 cups whipping cream until it starts to thicken. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, about a cup of powdered sugar, and while beating, slowly pour in the cooled gelatin mixture. Chill in the refigerator for half an hour, then whip again until peaks form. Remove the frozen cake from the freezer and frost with the stabilized whipped cream. Return to freezer. When it is all frozen, remove again and decorate by pushing m&m candies into the frozen whipped cream. Return to freezer until ready to serve.

We were afraid to let it sit out of the freezer for too long, in case of a landslide type disaster, so this cake was extrememly hard to cut. But it was a spectacularly large and yummy cake, once Bill wrestled you a slice!