This daycation post is going to be different from my others. I didn’t actually go anywhere for this daycation. Instead, I stayed at home (so, I guess it’s a staycation) and gave myself permission to take a little break from the craziness of my usual life.
“Usual life” means what you would probably expect — errands to run, meal planning, cooking, cleaning up, laundry and other chores around the house, as well as browsing literary agencies and querying agents, and working on the Tart. Not to mention working my “day job” in the city and its oh-so-relaxing commute.
I love my life, but sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. I’m sure you know the feeling.
So, a staycation-daycation was definitely in order for the one day a year that it’s all about me: my birthday.
I’m not a huge fan of my birthday, and I prefer to avoid acknowledging it if I can. But, Husband is tireless in telling me I deserve a special day for myself, and while he respects my wishes not to make a big fuss, he does insist on celebrating it with me in my favorite way – with food.
I’ve been with my husband for seven years, and he’s cooked me a gigantic birthday feast every year that we’ve been together. Now, you must have figured out by now that I love cooking for others. However, I really love it when others cook for me.
I love it even more when others cook for me and I don’t have to clean up afterward! Because there’s not much worse than eating a delicious meal and then facing down a pile of dirty dishes, dishwasher or no.
The very first birthday meal Husband cooked for me was my favorite dish – penne vodka with shrimp. He also made some garlic bread , and he topped off the meal with an amazing homemade ice cream cake using one of my favorite flavors of ice cream, black raspberry (Friendly’s black raspberry ice cream, to be exact. It’s the best).
I was overwhelmed with the effort he had put into the meal, especially since we had only been dating a few weeks at that point. Little did I know, it was just the tip of the iceberg. Husband’s CJ Birthday Feasts have only gotten more elaborate and scrumptious over time. The one-course meals have graduated to three- and four-course meals, and sometimes there are two desserts *swoon*. Just to name-drop a little bit, over the past few years he’s made me Beef Wellington, brie-and-pear crostini, sticky toffee pudding, and a hummingbird cake complete with a hummingbird made out of colored sanding sugar.
Husband and I sometimes have very different palates, but he selflessly makes my birthday dishes with ingredients that I absolutely love but he absolutely detests. This is including but not limited to mushrooms, brie, shellfish, and goat cheese. It very often turns out that he has to make a second meal for himself to eat along with me since he won’t touch most of what he cooks for my birthday meal.
This year, he really outdid himself. He tries to keep the birthday meal menu a surprise each year, but since I’m an anxious sort who prefers to knows what’s coming, he decided to clue me in early this year. When he told me what he had planned, I was totes excited and, for once, couldn’t wait for my birthday to arrive.
Since my birthday fell on a Monday, we celebrated together on the Sunday before. In keeping with my daycation efforts, I treated myself to a massage in the morning. I took advantage of a great deal at Hand and Stone and spent an hour relaxing in a dimly lit room with scented oils while my husband slaved away in the kitchen at home.
After my massage, I came home and watched a scary movie on Netflix. Interestingly, watching a scary movie is my favorite way to unwind (I usually fall asleep during them). I rarely have time to watch them these days because I’m so busy between work and writing, so it was nice to take another few hours to indulge in a pastime.
Soon after the movie ended, my husband said my three favorite words: “Dinner is ready!” I had been forbidden to enter the kitchen all day, so I finally made my way in there to see what he had been up to all morning, all afternoon, and a small portion of the evening.
A true feast awaited me. You’ll have to excuse the quality of the photos on this. I wanted to document everything because I was so impressed by the spread, but I was also so excited to start eating everything that was in front of me.
I love Chinese take-out, so Husband decided to make one of my favorite dishes at home — fried rice. He loves any excuse to bust out the wok we received as a wedding present a few years ago, and he used it to make Pineapple Cashew Fried Rice. This recipe uses coconut milk to cook the rice, and that tropical flavor infuses the dish. The sauteed pineapple adds caramelized sweetness that pairs well with the sesame oil and soy sauce that is used to fry up the rice. I could eat bowful after bowlful of this stuff.
Next up was some sautéed green beans. He used a bit of olive oil and some fresh orange juice to give the veggies a refreshing zing. I never really used to eat vegetables before I met Husband, but he always finds a way to prepare them so that I now crave fresh veggies with every meal.
With this in mind, he also grilled up some fresh corn on the cob that we had in the fridge. I love that smoky char on the corn.
Then, the pièce de résistance – a GIGANTIC lobster tail.
When I say gigantic, I mean it. I don’t know if you can tell from the pictures, but this sucker was roughly the size and length of my forearm. It’s certainly the biggest lobster tail I’ve ever seen, and I protested greatly when I saw the price. (Not the size, mind you. Just the price. The size I was totally okay with.)
(That’s what she said).
(Sorry. Kinda. Not really.)
However, Husband insisted on getting it for me, and my relatively feeble protests were drowned in the puddle of drool that was forming as I dreamed about how yummy that tail would taste.
I’ve heard that the larger lobsters are, the tougher the meat is. Well, let me tell you, if you cook it right, that’s just not true. Husband found a recipe for Grilled Lobster Tails with Herb Butter, and he followed it exactly. This was the first time he’s ever cooked lobster, so I was incredibly impressed when it turned out so amazingly tender and flavorful. I told you he was a Grillmaster.
Husband also had gotten me a few large sea scallops to throw on the grill, and he basted them in the same herb butter as he used for the lobster tail. They turned out delicious, as well.
Since Husband doesn’t like scallops, lobster, or fried rice, he made himself shrimp kabobs and turkey burgers to eat while I basically re-enacted the scene in Splash as I ripped through my seafood dinner at our dining table.
I was so incredibly full after my birthday meal…but there was still dessert! Sometimes Husband will keep the dessert a surprise even if I know what will be in the rest of the meal ahead of time. This year, though, he asked what treat I would like. I responded immediately with my favorite dessert – Duncan Hines yellow layer cake with Duncan Hines chocolate frosting and rainbow dot sprinkles.
I know there are a million fancy desserts out there — and between Husband and I, we’ve made quite a few — but, to me, nothing says HAPPY BIRTHDAY like a DH layer cake.
My birthday daycation ended with me beached on the couch like the overstuffed whale I was, completely and happily full of delicious food. I was also grateful that I had the foresight to extend my daycation by taking off the following day for my actual birthday. I had planned to use the day off to write, which I did, but I also used it to digest…and possibly eat more cake for breakfast. 🙂
Have you ever done a birthday daycation? Do you have a favorite birthday meal that you make for yourself, or that someone makes for you? Share below!
