Treat of the Week: A Beautiful Birthday Feast

Yesterday marked the thirty-seventh anniversary of my birth. To mark the occasion, my mother and father gifted me with a lovely day. I’d like to point out that it’s always quite miraculous to me that they have the time to do everything that they do. They’re both quite busy, yet, they always make the time to properly celebrate as well.


We began with a fantastic dinner of homemade pizza. And, when I say homemade, I mean—truly homemade. From the crust to the sauce, everything was from scratch. And, it was delightful. Four cheeses, pancetta, mushrooms, olives and gorgeous eggplant topped this magnificent pizza. I should say, “pizzas.” Though we only ate the one, they made several. So, I had the honor of taking two home with me. Accompanied by a delicate salad which included avocado and sundried tomatoes, it was the perfect dinner for my birthday.

Then, came the cake. The glorious cake. I’ve never been shy of my love of cake. This one is truly fantastic. Decorated in a Victorian color scheme in a harlequin-esque Commedia dell Arte pattern fit for Mr. Punch himself, the cake was a rhapsody of emerald, cerulean blue and violet. The icing itself is a delicate mocha. A deliciously dense marble cake lay beneath with a layer of incredibly thick, fudgy ganache. I enjoyed two extra-large pieces (though several hours apart). What a glorious confection—all made from scratch. I’m one fortunate birthday boy.

Now, I should point out, that all last week, my mother has been baking dozens of Christmas cookies with dozens more to go. We’ll be featuring those scrumptious cookies on Stalking the Belle Époque throughout the next couple of weeks. But, how she managed to do all of that AND bake this exquisite cake is beyond me.

Later, I was surprised by some very special gifts. I’ll be showing you those later in the week. And, most importantly, everyone had a good time. It was a wonderful day and a brilliant start to my thirty-seventh year. With a beginning like that, I know it’ll be a grand 365 days.