33!

First of all, I have to throw in a little cuteness.

This was Sophie while I made dinner tonight.  She makes her way around the kitchen while I cook if I have to get started before Daniel gets home.  And speaking of Daniel...notice the number!  Daniel turned 33 today!  We aren't celebrating for real until the weekend, so this was an ordinary meal.  The dessert wasn't ordinary though, because you just can't have a completely ordinary meal on your birthday.

Tonight we had Corn Fritters with Lime Aioli, Minty Roasted Potatoes, and a green salad.

The first time I made corn fritters was when Daniel's brother David and his wife Rebecca were over for dinner.  I think I made up the recipe.  They. tasted. like. dirt.  They were so gross and everyone was like, "These are really good," as they choked them down.  Well, not anymore!  Now they are yummy little savory pancakes!  I love to make them really crispy on the outside by putting a little canola oil on the skillet before I drop them in.  I've never used the aioli before, but tonight I decided to since I'm blogging about it and all and it was NOT a great addition to the meal.

The potatoes are THE VERY BEST POTATOES YOU WILL EVER EAT.  That is no exaggeration.  I first made them on Christmas Eve and I have since made them every chance I can.  They are super easy and very flavorful.

I do a vegetable share with a friend and each week we split up a bag of vegetables that are delivered to us from a local farm.  This week we had all kinds of salad greens.  So this salad has arugula, spinach, swiss chard and black seeded head lettuce.  To that I added strawberries, blueberries and chopped almonds.  Fruit on salad is so yummy, but I have to credit my friend Kelly who suggested this salad minus the arugula.  The arugula wasn't great in it.  I usually just make it with spinach.  The dressing was just juice from one lemon, a little olive oil and agave nectar to sweeten it.

And now for dessert.  Since it was Daniel's birthday and I am NOT a baker, I picked up two pieces of cake from Brick Street Cafe.  Daniel chose the Sweet Potato Cake (left) and I chose the Patty Cake (right).  They are just two not-so-little pieces of heaven right here on our plates.  Yum!

Now, to go catch up on The Office that I missed last night while blogging.  (Daniel just asked me how long this blog post was going to be.  Hee hee!)

Here are the recipes for the fritters and potatoes:
  
Corn Fritters

8 new potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse (kosher) salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1.  Preheat the oven to 350.
2.  Prick the potatoes with the tines of a fork and arrange them on a baking sheet.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
3.  Cut the potatoes into quarters and place them in a serving bowl.  While they are still hot, toss them with the oil, coarse salt, pepper, and garlic.
4.  Gently toss in the mint.  Serve hot or at room temperature.
Makes 4 portions