Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Bethany! I am one day late on posting this, but wanted the whole internet world to know that I think that being married to you is absolutely wonderful.

For Bethany's birthday this year, we did not go with an assortment of cheeses like last year. Instead, I decided that I would cook dinner for her. Not too long ago, I also got her the 8th edition of The Professional Chef. So far, we have had mixed feelings about this book. It is definitely an incredibly detailed technical book, and it has great pictures. It seems to be better for teaching core skills and fundamental recipes rather than for specific dishes. And so, for her birthday dinner, I was to make a braised lamb. But... Bethany helped by making the Mirepoix, as recommended in The Professional Chef.



Also for dinner, I made a Chinese dish: 汤圆 (tang yuan). But, Cantonese style (or, at least, kind of like the way my mom makes it). In a savory soup with white radish, mushrooms, dried shrimp, and a little bit of meat (here, we use lamb, not Chinese sausage). And then, of course, the 汤圆, or in English, the soup rice dumplings (made from rice flour). The soup came out pretty well.



All in all, a quiet evening at home. Very nice. Happy Birthday, wife!

Oh yes, we also thought today would be a good day to tell the world...