Birthday Weekend Round-Up

Friday was my birthday and I am, unfortunately, a year older. UGH! Forty is creeping up way too fast... Is there any way to stop it?

Ah, well...

Friday, Justin and I spent the day together, most of it consisted of running errands and preparing for my friend Jeremy's wedding, but in the midst, hubby took me to Panera Bread (Mmm... my favorite) for lunch. I managed to enjoy a low-cal turkey sandwich, bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup, baguette and a Diet Pepsi (could have done without the baguette, but oh well, sh** happens). When we got home, I took on the torturous task of giving myself a mani/pedi and painting both a Champagne color (oooh... purdy!) and straitened my hair. Someone please explain to my why being a woman has to be so difficult. After that, I had to contributory assignments that were due that evening (which I hadn't even started), I only had about 90 minutes to complete them. Don't worry, I finished, I work really good under pressure.

Here is the address, for those interested in reading some of my content: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1024636/marian_r_canzoniero.html.

About 5 o'clock, Justin and I left the kiddos with respite (I love Easter Seals and the Navy for making this service available to families with children with Special Needs! Just sayin'!) and drove (about an hour) to Vienna, VA for Jeremy and Melina's wedding. Had a really great time, hung out with my friend, Christine and her friend, Ken (with the quirky sense of humor).

Saturday morning I took on the painstaking task of cleaning up the house, finishing laundry and packing for four (five, if you count the dog). Grrr... Not fun when you have three children that don't want to help you get out the door quicker. Needless to say, we didn't get on the road until after 1 p.m. GRRR! It was a very long, wet four hour (plus) drive into New York City.

Once we got here, Justin's family took over the care of the kids so I could take a shower and prepare for my night on the town with my sis-in-law, Jen and her friends to celebrate mine and Renata's (Jen's friend) birthday's. We drove down to Dos Caminos in Midtown (Manhattan). I started the evening with a Prickly Pear Margarita (note to self: Don't drink on an empty stomach while drinking potent drinks), which is definitely worth the $11. Once seated, our waitress convinced us to try the spicy guacamole (which wound up costing us $50 for two bowls, it was good, but wow, who knew). For dinner, I ate Carne Parrillada (grilled sirloin, smoked bacon, poblano chilis, guacamole and cotija cheese), which was yummy, but I managed to continue filling up on margarita's (two, I think) and chips and guac, so I was full before I started. For dessert (I had to, after all we were there to celebrate our birthdays), Renata and I enjoyed White & Dark Chocolate Fondue (served with churros, cocadas, passion fruit, marshmallows and a selection of fruit for dipping). Good thing Jen, Renata and I decided to come back to da Bronx to a bar (with a dance floor) because I needed to work off everything I ate and drank, although, I did continue to drink. We had a blast at the bar, wasn't too crowded and we were able to get our dance on. I think the only pitfall, was this sloppy drunk who wouldn't leave us alone. When Jen and I finally got home, everyone was sleeping, except Dad (GO FIGURE! Nothing new. LOL!), we proceeded to enjoy leftover Chinese food and pizza). When I finally hit the pillow, around 3:30, I WAS DONE!

For those who are interested and want a good Mexican restaurant to visit when they make it to Manhattan, go to: http://www.doscaminos.com/.

Yesterday, I woke around 10:30... The day proceeded to drag, of course and I was in the mood for nothing... Once I was finally functional again, it was time to prepare to head down to the "West Side" to go to Pasha, which just happens to be the restaurant my sis-in-law Kathleen's boyfriend works at. WOW! What food, what service. For appetizers, we had: Sigara Boregi (Pan fried crispy phyllo dough filled with feta cheese, parsley and dill), Yaprak Sarmasi (Grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, currants, fresh dill and mint), Soslu Patlican (Cubes of spicy eggplant tossed with fresh chopped tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil), Kalamar Tava (Crispy calamari served with a garlic walnut sauce), Manti (Tender steamed dumplings filled with ground lamb and fresh mint, drizzled with a light garlic yogurt sauce), Ahtapot Salatasi (Tender octopus tossed with red onion, diced tomatoes, green olives, fresh dill, parsley and balsamic dressing) and Coban Salata (Shepherds salad) (Chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, tender long green peppers, red onions and parsley tossed with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar). Of course we shared everything amongst the eight of us that went... For dinner we had: Tavuk Sis (Marinated cubes of chicken grilled on a skewer with peppers and onions served with rice), Tavuk Gogsu Sarmasi1 )Marinated chicken breast stuffed with rice, pistachios and currants, served on a bed of sauted spinach with white wine tarragon sauce), Kuzu Pirzola (Grilled baby lamb chops sprinkled with oregano, served with grilled tomatoes and peppers) and Alabalik Tava (Boneless brook trout dusted with cornmeal, pan seared, served with rice and vegetables). For dessert, we enjoyed, OMG! everything: Kaymakli Kayisi (Poached apricots filled with creme fraiche, sprinkled with pistachios), Baklava (Phyllo pastry filled with walnuts with light honey syrup), Cikolatali Kek (Two chocolate sponge layers separated with a light mousse of bittersweet chocolate and finished with a rich chocolate glaze), and Firinda Sutlac (Oven baked traditional Turkish rice pudding). Maddie enjoyed sorbet and some Toblerone chocolate from the bartender. I also tried some Turkish Coffee, which was yummy and then attempted to have the grinds read. I will say, Oguz tried. I did my absolute best to try everything on the menu, except the obvious... SEAFOOD. WOW! It was good. I am hoping to take Justin at some point.

Thank you to all those who made my birthday weekend... NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING!!!

For those of you who find yourself on the "West Side" and would like to try some Turkish Cuisine, go to: http://www.pashanewyork.com/.