Sat, Sept 13 - Ritesh's Birthday!

8.23am - a first sample of the birthday cake I'm making for Ritesh. I got to taste some as I was cutting out bits in order to create the shape of a 36 (which is, you guessed it, Ritesh's age as of today). This is a German cake called Donauwelle, which means 'wave of the Danube', due to the somewhat wavelike pattern created when cherries sink into two different layers of cake during the baking. There's some buttercreme on top, and after sufficient refrigeration...

9.12am - ...you top it with chocolate glaze. I melted lots of real chocolate for this, with just a bit of butter, hence the messy look. Doesn't spread all that well.

11.09am - and this is the first finished piece, w/ Ritesh - Happy Birthday, love!

12.24pm - today was also the day of Phinney's bridal shower, which was organized by Greg's mom and held at Greg's parents' house out in Diamond Bar. So I had to leave Ritesh home alone with the cake and trek out east.
This is a mimosa and an appetizer plate that Greg's mom put together for me once I got there. That is Korean sushi, btw, a potsticker, some cheese and some marcona almonds.

1.33pm - lunch at Phinney's bridal shower, with a bunch of her friends, her mom and sister, as well as Greg's mom's friends and sister. An all-female affair. This is some Korean noodle salad, home made by Phinney's mom, and some wrap, some ham-and-cheese croissant, some fruit salad, plus some iced tea. Out by the pool, enjoying an amazing view over the valley of Diamond Bar.

3.27pm - after a round of unwrapping gifts, it was time for cake...

5.18pm - ...but I took my piece home to share w/ Ritesh. Note how even the paper plate says 'bridal shower' on it. The American wedding industry is second to none.

5.19pm - also had some more Donauwelle with Ritesh

5.26pm - as well as some German sparkling wine...

5.26pm - ... with fresh berries - back in birthday mode.

Ritesh's favorite Indian dish is a South Indian soup called 'rasam' , basically a spicy, peppery soup w / tomato, chilies, garlic and something sour, either tamarind or lemon. It's a special thing for him, and he was hoping his mom would make him some for his birthday, as she has done before. But not only did she not feel like cooking this year, but the entire family get-together planned for tonight fell through as my sister-in-law's mother was visiting from Wisconsin. There was a short-lived substitute plan to celebrate w/ Greg tonight instead, but he had to cancel due to a sinus infection. So there we were, alone at home on a Saturday night, and I could tell that my love was not a happy camper. No cake and champagne in the world was going to make up for the missing rasam, and this birthday was just not going to be complete without it. So, to cut a long story short, we decided to make some. This was our first time, but we used the recipe from Ritesh's favorite online Indian chef, and before long had a huge pot going on the stove... 8.23pm - while Ritesh took care of the rasam and a side dish of potates, I made some cherry sorbet to use up the cherries and juice leftover from the cake. I added some of this vodka, and of course we tasted some. Ritesh's b-day flowers in the background.

9.02pm - Ritesh making 'vagar' - chilies, curry leaves, garlic, lots of black pepper fried in a mix of oil and butter in a special little dish. This mix is added to the soup towards the end.

9.06pm - the finished dinner - an amazing bowl of rasam, plus some potatoes masala that were without exaggeration the best potatoes I've had in my life. And I like my potatoes! If I could only eat one kind of potatoes for the rest of my life, this would be it. Birthday saved! Next year, I'll make this for him...

10.02pm - cherry-lychee-vodka sorbet, at home, with Ritesh