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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