…there are many great things about sara going to georgia tech, but when it’s her birthday, the best thing is that she’s just 45 minutes away and can come home for dinner (and stay the weekend because tech has a bye this week!)

she loves to cook and I love to cook with her – so we enjoyed fixing dinner together. I bought the chicken at costco (seriously, I know ina has a tried-and-true recipe, but this one is way easier, and less expensive – and delicious!) and we added salad with roasted cherry tomatoes and a red wine vinaigrette, roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash macaroni and cheese (I’d been wanting to try this myself since sara posted the recipe a few weeks ago…but a big pan of mac and cheese is too much for me to eat by myself!)

the table does look much more inviting covered with food than with yarn and knitting!

we joked about this being good practice for the thanksgiving meal we’ll be preparing in a few weeks. again, for just three. it’s kind of hard to cook a really good meal for just three people. so it’s a good thing we all like leftovers!

sara didn’t request anything special for dessert, and while I suspect she was secretly hoping for cheesecake, I decided to recreate our favorite bistro vg dessert. by ordering three browned butter tarts from the bakery that makes their desserts. I requested three different flavors, one with figs if possible.

and oh my, they did not disappoint.

fig, cranberry and blackberry browned butter tarts

make a wish!

and enjoy….happy birthday, dear sara, happy birthday to you!!!

couldn’t resist the close-up shot – and yes, it tastes just as good as it looks!