Little Kid Birthday, Grown Up

I'm not even going to say it (I love a theme!). So when a friend asked me to create a menu with healthy, sophisticated twists on her favorite childhood foods, for her 30th birthday party, I was thrilled. Her list included the usual suspects: cheeseburgers, pizzas, pb & j's, bean burritos and ice cream sundaes. And because she loves French food and small plates, the menu was rich and served family style. I made her NYC bacon, egg and cheese sandwich into a frisse, lardon and blue brie salad. Enntemann's chocolate cake became flourless and sweetened with stevia. And cheese blintzes lost their crepes and baked ricotta accompanied her adult favorite: grilled rib-eyes. Amy created a whimsical table to match the spirit of the nostalgic menu. Preppy fuschia and green exploded via fabric streamers, bright carnations, party hats and a stunning cake topper. My favorite element of her updated little-kid party decor were adult paper fortune tellers, stamped with predictions for all of the guests. So many memories revolve around food, so an evening themed around past cravings was the perfect celebration of thirty years.

The Menu

family style. small plates

curried deviled quail eggs

goat brie, marmalade and mint stuffed breasola

grilled open face pb and j's

date, marcona almond, parmesan, arugula, blood orange salad

english pea, prosciutto, burrata and mint salad

grilled lamb meatballs with minted greek yogurt and pickled cucumber

frisee, apple smoked bacon, blue fried and fried egg

brocolli soup

grilled cheese with sweet potato chips

roasted carrots

grilled rib-eye with baked ricotta, kale and pine nut-currant relish

braised short ribs with horseradish creme

flourless chocolate cake

mint chip ice cream

orange doughnuts with vanilla pastry cream