31 flavors

I recently celebrated my 31st birthday with a weekend getaway in Murphys. It’s a charming little town in Calaveras County, CA packed with great wineries.

Chris and I hit the road after work Friday night and friends Lucy, Brett, Kimmy and Ramsey met up with us Saturday morning. Our celebratory crew of six (seven if you count Brett and Lucy’s loveable English bulldog GOB) took over the main drag, visiting quite a few tasting rooms in the span of a beautiful fall Saturday— Milliaire Winery, Twisted Oak and Newsome-Harlow were some of the favorites.

We worked up quite an appetite during our wine-tasting adventure and therefore gorged on a fantastic dinner at Grounds. I thoroughly enjoyed the filet mignon with shrimp, potatoes, baby carrots and bordelaise sauce.

I kicked off my actual birthday Sunday with a delicious breakfast casserole before we packed up and headed home. Once back in Sacramento, Chris and I enjoyed a mellow feast at Lucca, starting with this wonderful spicy shrimp bruschetta

before moving on to a heavenly main course of ricotta gnocchi with Aleppo chili tomato sauce and spicy sausage.

Thirty was a great year for me – running two marathons and starting a new job were some of the highlights. I can’t wait to make the most out of 31, and am grateful I got to kick it off by sharing a delicious weekend of laughter with some of my favorite people.

Birthday bonanza in the back yard

I think the at-home birthday dinner, done right, can blow any restaurant experience out of the water. That said, here’s what Chris and I feasted upon the other night on the back patio to celebrate his big day.

First course
Prosciutto e Melone with goat cheese.

The steak
I picked up prime fillet and dry aged rib eye from Roseville Meat Company. Just a little bit of pre-grill salt and olive oil made both of these cuts shine.

The sides
Sautéed mushrooms and oven-roasted Yukon Gold potatoes (tossed with olive oil, salt and rosemary from the back yard).

The wine
Luna Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner, and 1997 Van Der Heyden Napa Valley Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon after dinner.

Dessert
Double-chocolate and strawberry cupcakes from Icing on the Cupcake in Rocklin. Find the delicious photo here.

Why limit the birthday celebration to just one wonderful meal?

I know it's not quite Turkey Day, but here's what I'm thankful for right now: an awesome birthday.

I've spent past few days celebrating my birthday with some of my favorite people. A lot of that celebrating has involved delicious food.

First up was a wonderful dinner with my boyfriend Chris, who took me to Grange, a restaurant in Downtown Sacramento the two of us have been drooling over for months. The entire meal was heavenly, from the marinated olives with olive oil and goat cheese to the entrees -- I chose a New York steak served with potatoes and brussels sprouts, while Chris killed it with ordering in the form of a duck breast with sweet potatoes and plums.

My second celebratory feast was dinner with the family at Mas Cocina Mexicana, a sort of sister restaurant to one of my favorite Sacramento spots, Ernesto's. Any place that serves bean dip with its chips and salsa is OK by me, and these guys make a mean shrimp chimichanga.

I spent this past weekend in the Bay Area with some of my girlfriends, and gorged on gooey cheese at Matterhorn, a place I've wanted to try for years, ever since I spotted their "Fondue Festival" banner while cruising down Van Ness. Step into the Matterhorn and you'll feel like you've been transported to the Swiss Alps.

Lucy, Kimmy, Colleen and I opted for the "Oh La La" (a blend of French raclette and Camembert) and the "Highlander," a melty mess of cheddar, gruyere, and a "wee dramm" of whiskey. We all scarfed the fondue with help of bread, apples and sausage. Dessert, a dark-chocolate fondue served with marshmallows and fresh fruit, put us all in serious food coma.

I feel so lucky to have shared my birthday, and some seriously delicious meals, with such wonderful people.

My kitchen could use some birthday presents

My birthday wish list is extremely Betty Crocker this year.

Not too sexy, but it’s true.

My family firmly believes in wish lists, so with lucky number 29 right around the corner, and Christmas not too far behind, I found myself drafting up something to send to my parents the other day. The majority of the ideas I came up with center around the kitchen, and cooking.

I already got a great roasting pan from my boyfriend — it’s been used once (see photo, above), and now I need to find space in an already-crammed kitchen for my newest piece of lovin’ for the oven. While I’m at it, perhaps I should find room for the following items, just in case:

Potato peeler
The broken one currently taking up precious space in the utensil drawer is a prime example of getting what I paid for.

9-by-13 baking dish
My Pyrex collection is pretty extensive, but somehow I don’t own what seems to be THE most common size of baking dish.

Storage set
Another Pyrex gimme-gimme, these glass dishes (with blue lids, no less) would be a classier, longer-lasting swap-out for some of the nasty Tupperware we’re using now.

Cookbooks
I think I’d get a lot of use from “The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh.” I’d also like “Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life” because I love the recipes in “The Naked Chef” and think Jamie Oliver is quite pukka, to poach one of his phrases.

Subscription to Food & Wine
Bon Appetit, I love you, but I feel it’s time to diversify my food porn. Just a little.

A couple items that didn’t make the birthday list, but that I might ask Santa for, include a Belgian waffle maker — pancakes don’t always cut it — and KitchenAid Stand Mixer pasta roller and cutter attachments, because I would love to try making my own pasta.