A Birthday Menu

In our family each birthday person gets to pick their favorite meal on their special day. And everyone has their usual favorite which I know will be asked for every year...with the exception of Hannah.

As her birthday approaches, she peruses recipes and cookbooks to find something we've never prepared before--something different and out-of-the-ordinary; and some years the choice has been rather exotic...but it's always tasty and a big hit!

Tonight's birthday menu (recipes follow):

Peppery Chicken in Homemade Pitas

Mustard Coleslaw (for pita filling)

Steamed Carrots and Rosemary Black-eyed Peas

Cheesecake with cherry or strawberry topping

Sarah and I were busy this afternoon preparing the main dish--Sarah made the pitas; they were delicious and puffed up perfectly! I made the peppery chicken and slaw. Sarah, of course, made the dessert.

After our meal we opened gifts and played games...and that's how we celebrated Hannah's 27th birthday!

By the way, this post was mainly written for Granny who is in South Carolina with my sister for the next few months and missing out on what's happening around here. I hope these pictures make her feel like she's right here celebrating with us!

~Deb

Recipes on continuation page.

Peppery Chicken in Pita (taken from Southern Living)

• 6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs)

• 1/4 cup commercial teriyaki sauce

• 1 tsp dried whole thyme

• 1 tsp white pepper

• 1 tsp black pepper (I used 2 tsps black pepper in place of white)

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp ground red pepper

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish

    (we used mustard coleslaw in place of the above two items for the dressing)

• 2 cups shredded lettuce

Cut chicken lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide strips, and place in a shallow dish. Pour teriyaki sauce over chicken; cover and chill 2 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade. Combine thyme and next 4 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken 5 - 7 minutes, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Repeat this procedure to cook remaining chicken.

*Combine mayonnaise and horseradish and spread each pita round with about 1 tbsp mayonnaise mixture; sprinkle evenly with lettuce, and top with chicken. Fold two sides over chicken, and secure with a wooden pick. Yield: 6 servings

*we omitted spreading the pita with the mayo mixture and instead spread it with the mustard coleslaw.

 

Mustard Slaw (taken from Southern Living)

• 2 cups firmly packed shredded green cabbage (1/2 lb)
• 1 cup firmly packed shredded carrots (2 large)
• 1 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp yellow or brown prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, pepper, and green onions.

For the dressing, in medium-size bowl, combine oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, and mustard seeds. Fold in sour cream.

Pour dressing over vegetables; toss to mix well. Cover and refrigerate slaw 1 hour before serving.

Comments

[Julie Trent]

What a great tradition! Happy Birthday Hannah! May the Lord bless you this year~Mrs. Trent

[Granny]

Hannah, the meal looked delicious. Leave it up to Sarah and Mom and it's always the best! Wish I could be there, but we are SNOWED IN! Very pretty though. Happy Birthday! Love, Granny.

[Aunt Bet]

Looks great! I can't believe those pitas, Sarah... they really did puff up beautifully. I've never tried to make those. Everything looks good actually. I'd like to try all of those.

Glad you had a good birthday, Hannah.

[victoria]

Happy Birthday to Hannah. What a delicious sounding dinner. We have the same tradition of a special meal for each person on their birthdays. Everyone usually picks the same thing excecpt for our second eldest son. The year he picked stuffed crabs was the worst. He was the ONLY one that liked them. The rest of us were glad when that dinner was over. :) Hannah's choices sounded much better.

Victoria

[Rose]

Happy birthday Hannah! What a delicious looking treat for your special day.

[vicki Boster]

Happy Happy Birthday dear sweet Hannah! What a wonderful birthday dinner you had! You guys are cooks like none I have ever seen - that meal looks fabulous!

If I come to visit will you cook a wonderful dinner for me?

Loved seeing these great family photos!

Vicki

[Bobbi Hudson]

Happy Birthday, Hannah! What a blessing to be able to spend it with your family. I know you missed not having Granny there. Were the pita's hard to make? I've never tried to make them.

[hannah]

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!

Mom and Sarah did a great job of fixing my "out-of-the-ordinary" birthday meal, and I enjoyed spending the day with my family.

Vicki, if you came to visit, you bet we will fix something good for you. :)

Bobbi, the pitas were not too hard, just different because of cooking them on racks in batches and keeping them covered with damp towels. They turned out really soft and good. I'm sure we will make them again.

[Anna]

Happy Birthday, Hannah! We think you are a sweetie!