My Round Birthday

I recently had a birthday that ended in zero.  My dear friend B says that the Scandinavians refer to this as a Round birthday, and don’t focus so much on the number as we do in the US.

My birthday was inauguration day, and I was blessed not only with the new president, but several lovely gifts from friends and family.  One of these, from my husband, is worthy of a blog photo.  It’s an All Clad skillet, which I’ve been wanting for a long time.  I’m still not in the league with the Barrie/Thompson family, but hey, I can still dream.

The Skillet of Skillets

And this would be the BIG one… it’s a 13″ diameter. Plenty of surface area for developing fond.  And yes, I have had it for more than four days, and I’ve not yet cooked with it. Still a little star-struck.  Boy, do I have a fabulous husband. Between this and the Thermapen I got for Christmas last year, I can say that he does understand my love of quality equipment.

Of course, it was also lovely to have Mum and her husband L here to celebrate with us.  Here’s Mum modeling with the Semolina/Whole Wheat loaf we made one evening for dinner.

Mum with our Artisan In Five Semolina-Whole Wheat

Yes, folks, she’s the one to thank for my love of cooking and sewing, and a lot of my skills. Thanks to her, I can barely remember not being able to cook or to sew.

And did I mention that she gave me a bag with 40 Lindor balls as part of my gift?

Yes, this was a great birthday.