My Sister’s 40th Birthday Party 2021

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister! We had so much fun cooking, styling, photographing & eating all the food for my sister’s birthday party dinner with family. There were 12 of us & it was supposed to start at 3pm but we took slightly longer getting the grazing board & countless photos done!! The most important thing was that my sister absolutely loved her birthday & her party was exactly just how she had imagined it would be. I made the birthday cake which was the Carrot Layer Cake recipe by Christina Tosi (which is also included in the In the Mix 2 Cookbook & on the Dani Valent website) My sister wanted all the food to team with the theme of neutrals & greens. The dessert was homemade ice creams with toppings, nibbles & sauces to compliment the ice cream.

Japanese Style 21st Celebration

Our son just turned 21!! I can’t believe it!! He would have loved to go to Japan this year however that is not possible so I cooked a Japanese style feast for the family at home instead.

Japanese Cheesecake
Black Sesame Ice Cream & Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream
Hokkaido Milk Loaf
Katsu Sando
Okonomiyaki
Japanese Style Salads with Sesame Dressing!!
Miso Soup
I borrowed my friend’s Hibachi
Tsukune with Homemade Togarashi
Chawanmushi
Karaage Chicken
Umeboshi Martini
Nasu Dengaku – Miso Glazed Aubergine (and I used my homemade miso too)
Tempura Veggies