My Birthday Surprise

     This week, it was my birthday.  I am not going to say what day exactly, or how many candles should have been on my awesome cake.  What I am going to talk about today is how wonderful my birthday was.  My whole family of in laws, secretly conspired to organize a party without me knowing.  And let me tell you, what a surprise it was.  Everybody was there, and I my face tells it all.  My mother in law spent her whole day cooking for me!  And for that I am extremely grateful.  She is an excellent cook, and she has been my inspiration for this blog.

    
    But what surprised me best of all, was the array of food on the table, which they had to extend so every dish could fit.  My eyes would not believe how colorful the display was, and I felt guilty because my mother in law worked so hard to grant me this extraordinary birthday party.
    To make your mouth water, and maybe make you try some of my recipes in the comfort of your own house, I am going to tell you the menu:
Apetizers:

•  Insalata Capresse (Salad)
•  Grilled White Cheese with Cilantro Dressing
• Tomato Bruschetta (recipe in the blog)
• Endives with a special filling (I will give you this recipe as soon as I can get my hands on it, all I can tell you is that they were delicious.)
• Smoked Salmon (recipe in the blog)
• Savory Guacamole (recipe in the blog)

Main Course:

• Shrimp Enchilado (recipe in the blog) with white rice, tostones and a vinaigrette salad.  

        

       Needless to say that everything was stupendous.  We are a family who eats a lot, so in a matter of minutes all the food was rapidly devoured.  For a cook, this scene is the best way to say thank you, and we surely know how to please my mother in law.
      The meal was a true feast.  We had a great time and, along we discovered that tostones and guacamole go great together.

    
    So, the next time that you make Savory Guacamole, I recommend you to substitute the tortilla chips with good old fried tostones.  This is the wonderful thing about Miami that amazes me. The mix of cultures are the perfect melting pot for creativeness.  And this mix was represented at the table, since my whole family is made up of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans and of course, Spanish.

      At the end of this feast, what else can you ask for?  Dessert... of course.  And what a birthday party would be without a birthday cake? My best birthday party ever, came with a homemade cake included!   It was a chocolate bundt cake with guava frosting (This recipe will be also posted soon.)
      I have no words to thank my in laws.  They all were there for me, cheering me up since my husband could not share with us this special moment because he was away on a business trip.  Although, in a way he was there, through the amazing world of the internet.  Thank Skype for that.  Anyway, what I wanted to do today is to honor each and everyone of them for making this day unforgettable for me and my kids.  This is my best way to say thank you.  With all my love...