In honor of Katie’s birthday, we slaved away in the kitchen for hours, making a birthday meal, just for her. No, not really, but it was fun that her birthday landed on Wednesday so we had an excuse to use pyrotechnics!
Appetizer: Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese and Pear. These were so delicious, we all had to fight to get to the plate. You had a combination of flavors, it was sweet, salty and savory, all in one delectable bite.
Entree: Panko-Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing. First note, the recipe is only for two servings so if you are serving more people, you have to increase accordingly. Second note, it’s a keeper! Panko is wonderful, it gives such a nice crisp to the pork chops. There was good seasoning in the flour mixture and the creamy herb dressing was likened to the Melting Pot’s Green Goddess. I thought the pork chops went well naked or dipped in the dressing.
Side Dishes: Two-Apple Salad and Three-Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole. I enjoyed the two side dishes. The salad was light and complemented the pork chops, I mean, who can go wrong with apples and pork chops? One slight modification: Kate used apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar and it worked out well. The mashed potato casserole was excellent, creamy, cheesy, flavorful. I’m sure it had lots to do with the massive amounts of cheese in the casserole, but it is so good! I’ll work it off at the gym later.
Dessert (Birthday cupcake): Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. There was a request by the birthday girl that she wanted chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and Monika did not disappoint. Well, she did by not showing up because she was ill, but she did pass on the recipe for me to make so Katie could have her birthday cupcakes. The cupcakes were amazing, moist and light, it was like eating chocolate air. Now, when I made the buttercream frosting, I halved the recipe, even then it was still a little too much.
So, happy birthday, Katie, I hope you had a great day!