Monday, December 7, 2009

a little more thanks

i am pretty sure i was able to personally thank every last one of you tramps who blogged your ever lovin' heart out about me. i am still on cloud nine (even if its a mucous-y feverish cloud and i think my left lung might collapse) about it. and to those of you who came over to the coolness via one of those blogs i thank you too for all of your birthday wishes. i am so humbled by all of it, honestly. so as most of you all know my husband is a rock star supreme. in fact his new name is mike anderjesus. well his efforts to make my birthday spectacular didn't stop with the blog party heard round the world...nope. he had been trying in vain for 3 weeks or more to get us a table at woodfire grill aka kevin gillespie of top chef aka yukon cornelius's restaurant. on the day of our pending dinner (saturday) they called with a cancellation. mike was number one on a wait list. he had charmed a few people (as he is ever so good at doing) and we ended up with a private room. yukon was so gracious and sweet, he even created a special dish just for me b/c i am a vegan now and don't eat the meat or the dairy. and it was delicious. of course. he also created a special dessert of pears poached in red wine with some kind of cardamom sorbet. it was also delicious.
although i left hungry. BALLS!!!!! it's ok though, it's hard to make a filling vegan dish on the fly. you need some beans and shit to do that and that shit takes time..i don't blame the red monk at all. what he did make for me was heavenly. all of kevin's food is local, organic and sustainable. he made for me a trio of woodsmoked vegetables; brussels sprouts, carrots and beets all bathing in a cranberry smear of something delicious:


the meateaters really had it good though...seared loin of beef with some roasted romaine and turnips and a smear of something delicious...


also there was duck with bacon roasted lentils:


and more luscious beets. srsly i could eat a pound of beets every day. just like dwight schrute

ok..so as if that weren't enough..mike also contacted my most best friend ever anna (who lives in LA and i see maybe once a year if i am lucky) and made (yes made) her come to town to surprise me. and she showed up at the commercial shoot i did on friday. that was the best present he could ever give me. if any of you have a best friend who lives far from you then you understand just how awesome this gift really is.
she and her husband loren went to dinner with us (they are also major top chef fans) and i had such a great time that i never wanted it to end...

she's got huge boobs too. in fact we were doing our best padma lakshmi and gail simmons impersonations. in fact i told kevin if my little vegan quickfire challenge wasn't up to par he would have to pack his knives and go.

there's mike anderjesus floating in the back there like a virgin mary sighting:



that's anna's awesome husband loren:

it was such an awesome birthday celebration. i am the luckiest girl in the world. and from now until the beets no longer make my poop red i will be gently reminded of my glorious dinner with yukon conrnelius and my best friend and best guy.
the next day we went to get a christmas tree which is pretty much a tradition on my birthday.
it was colder than donkey balls:
this is our special tree:
we got it home and couldn't start decorating b/c all of our lights were broken. that never goes over well with the under 5 crowd. you might just as well have told her there was no santa claus.
but we all went over to nana and poppa's house (my parents) for a vegan birthday dinner just for me. so lucky so lucky so lucky to have these people.


there was a delicious celery root soup with diced apples and chive oil:

there was also a pepper crusted portabello mushroom with mashed potatoes and a roasted tomato bearnaise sauce that was also delicious and i have no picture. but moms made a vegan banana cheesecake:



supermike was not so into it...frankly none of us were. it was kinda gross.

but there was also vegan chocolate cupcakes that were yummy. thank you mom for all that effort to make me happy. i love you so much!!!

again, so many thanks to everyone who made this the most special birthday ever. i will never forget it.

*update...celery root soup recipe from mom here

36 comments:

SGM said...

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! NO WAY did your man get you an audience with Kevin!!!!! Holy shitburgers!!!! I'm not even going to show Frank this post, he will weep at the bar that has been set so high.
xo

court. said...

ok, naturally, I'm dying over your dead-on callout of Yukon Cornelius. However, what's with the rabbit food? I love you and all but this vegan shit is kinda ridic.

Your husband should be the host of a more civilized version of MTV's Tool Academy. Maybe it should help avg joes up their game....perhaps, How to Treat Your Lady Like a Queen Academy? You're better off at naming things so go to town with that.

I'm so glad you had a fab day and thank you for the kind msg on my blog today. :) xo

mb said...

Jenny,
You had a wonderful birthday. I love, love the food pics...here I am reading your blog right before I embark on preparing dinner and I am hungry now. Really hungry.
The soup your mama made you for your birthday dinner is beyond delish looking. How did it taste??

OK> Broken Christmas lights? Change out the fuse. You know the little bags that are attached to the strand or stapled to the box with extra lights and fuses? Go find one and open the little slider thing on the light plug... you can do this. I promise, I have made more light strands come to life. Or go to Target.

Off to make dinner.

Visual Vamp said...

You deserve every minute of this and more for all the joy (sniff sniff - now you have me crying) you spread in blog land and beyond...
I think I'll call my bestie who I lost because her house was destroyed by that bitch Katrina so she moved far away from New Orleans and me...
xo xo

micah said...

Holy crap, I love yukon, I mean kevin, from top chef! I hope he beats those voltaggio brothers (the cocky one anyway)!! what a fun b-day!

alia said...

From all your unknown, devoted "snatches" in blogland, happy belated birthday!

anita said...

so glad your birthday was totally rockin'. you deserve every bit of it! xo

Dayka Robinson said...

The photos were great and I'm glad you enjoyed your day, because there is truly nothing worse than a wack birthday! Trust me, I know. :)

Kristin said...

I KNEW he looked like someone, I just couldn't put my finger on it, strange since we watch Rudolf about every day of the year at this house. My brother calls him Pigman and he will be aghast that you had him cook vegan for you! Doesn't the man have a tattoo of a pig on his arm? You have some balls girl and I love it.

LindsB said...

Aw, I'm so glad the awesome birthday went above any beyond the love fest that was going on here in blogland. Your husband is seriously the BEST husband ever and your parents, for making you a special vegan dinner, amazing!! Your whole family gets a slap on the ass from me, you know like after a good game, haha.

Anyways, happy 40th hottie!

PS- if you had not told your age there is not WAY IN HELL, I would have guessed 40, I would have lost LOTS and LOTS of money in a bet.

beachvintage.com said...

Oh Jenny, looks like you had a great birthday celebration with lots of laughs. So happy to part of the well wished for you honey. xx

alison giese Interiors said...

Holy freakers - I just realized how totally amazing your skin is! Is that weird to say? I don't care - 40 looks gooood on you!

Looks like an awesome time was had by all - rockin'!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I am so happy for you... You've got it all, and its so refreshing that you know it and appreciate it!

benson said...

did he spill the beans (that were not available for your dinner) did he win?!

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

okay, so much to say here, but let me begin with the most important - Y-O-U! Are you sure your 40? Because your skin is freakin' amazing! No wrinkles on-site, and it is creamy and baby-soft like! WOW! Now, the food. My mouth is watering, but mostly it is watering for the celery root soup - thanks MFAMB mom for sharing with us! Fiona is a cute little tree-picker (probably a rad nose-picker too, but that's another story!).
And Mike, well, there are no words except AWESOME! It wasn't even my birthday, but your day and all the lovelies who helped celebrate it made it feel so special and I haven't stopped thinking about the goodness of people around the globe. I'm lit up like a Christmas tree....beaming with happiness for you and goodwill!

###### said...

fizzzzun and fiiizzzood!

Sarah B. said...

Awww...love the poses and the girls making them! xoxo, sb

Sarah B. said...

p.s. Kevin is totes my fave--I can't believe you met him and ate his food! I hope he wins!! Especially now that it's down to him and the Volmeanio brothers.

FROM THE RIGHT BANK said...

I'm so happy you had such an awesome birthday! I LOVE Kevin and Woodfire Grill. We went there when we were visiting a couple of months back. From the first episode of this season's Top Chef, I said that guy is GOOD. Not only that, I thought he was totally adorable. He is SO Yukon Cornelius! I was really happy to see him actually there cooking. He's got mad skills. I'm rootin' for him to go all the way.

Fargerike Dagny said...

Looks like you had a fabulous day! And your hubby is a total keeper, talk about arranging the most amazing virtual bdayparty!!!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing birthday! Your husband is pretty awesome. I kind of hate you because your skin looks fabulous. Jesus. Are you rubbing placenta all over your face? What's the secret?

Bailey @ peppermintbliss said...

1. You and Anna are doing my girlfriends and my signature "no double chin" pose which made me laugh
2. You smug sexy bitch, Kevin? Really? Really? It is a blizzard here in Chicago and all I wanna do is snuggle up with him and eat crumbs out of his fluffy red beard.
Gross? I don't think so. SO, did he give you any hints as to who won? Did he appear freshly monied??

Kara said...

DUDE - Top Chef Kevin is my fav. Freakin awesome!!

MFAMB said...

sgm- if frank shows his butt in your next post (and a good one, where he is sticking it out in anticipation of my penetration)it is even steven.

benson-he did not spill the beans.

skin comments...thanks. i HATE hearing that!! ;) good genes + no sun = peaches and cream.

Kyle Lynn said...

Hilarious, I just told Brad last week that he looked like Yukon Cornelius!

Unknown said...

DUDE.

don't tell me if he wins.

i want him to

but it will prob be a vataglio ho.

Sarah Klassen said...

Happy Happy Happy birthday to you! Your celebrations looks like so much fun :)

Rachel said...

Looks like you had a blast this weekend! The pictures of you guys at the restaurant are hilarious.

How cool that your husband did all of that for you!! You are right - he is awesome!

Dumbwit Tellher said...

Thanks for the play bye play of your special dinner & day. So much fun to see the goofy pics & cyberally meet your Anna & Loren.
Your love of life is just so damn infectious you know?! Sloppy kisses xx

Haven and Home said...

That sounds like an amazing day for someone who totally deserves it! I know exactly what you mean about the bff across the country.

deliciously organized said...

what a wonderful birthday. love kevin! he seems like he would be really cool in person. all the vegan food looked so delcious...i go vegan every once in a while and feel amazing! looks like you had a blast!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

WOW, that is one helluva a bday. Kevin is a fan fave in our house. Although, truthfully, Kevin is the hubs pick and Michael is mine!

chateaudelu said...

Thank god you have pegged Kevin as Yukon. I am usually quite good with my look alikes, but I was caught between a lumberjack and a leprechaun with Kevy. You nailed it, many thanks.

Rebekah said...

First of all, You are so not 40. Completely jealous of your birthday, Yukon, love it. and he got robbed btw. You are hilarious, please write a book before you turn 35.

beauty meets budget said...

I enjoy your blog regularly, and was also tickled to discover that there's another vegan out there who's not a total gash! Of course, I could be giving myself too much credit...

Anyhoo, congrats on the b-day and the plant-based diet! Cheers.

GreySky72 said...

Just started reading your blog and holy crap you make me giggle... a lot. Happy Belated Birthday and I have to ask where your mother got those dishes in the celery soup picture! They are gorgeous and I need them

need