happy very belated birthday dad

my dad's birthday was last over two three   a lmost four weeks month ago! and yes, it's taken me that long to write this pathetic post. i think it's the leggings love that is really turning me into more of a lazy arse than usual. but i wasn't for dad's bday dinner! i swear! i planned an entire menu and made everything all by meself! of course i had to double caffeinate that day, in the form of a delicious starbucks doubleshot, but still i did it! 

the few times we've actually had people over for dinner and instead of just making one thing that nelzo and i scarf while catching up on our dvr, i wonder how in the hell my mother made dinner every night of my life? timing each item so perfectly that they were all done and hot at the exact same time. it still amazes me. and we all still found something to complain about. i don't like asparamush! ug, meatloaf again? i'm not hungry! what were we crazy? no wonder we so regularly bought the dishes. (for those of you not familiar with this concept, buying the dishes is when your sister acts like a giant ass hat for the entire meal, your mother calmly warns her to keep her bad attitude to herself, your sister then gets you in on the antics, your mother now warns both of you that you will buy the dishes if you don't eat your dinner and pipe down, of course, you both retaliate yet again, and you and your sister buy the dishes, thus washing (your sister always got to wash ) and  you dried while listening to push it on the kitchen radio.) seriously, how did she not sell us into white slavery? especially since meatloaf is one of the world's most perfect foods. who doesn't like meatloaf? besides vegans and vegetarians of course. and even then, there are some mean veggie-ladden meatloafs out there.

so back to the dinner. i decided to go with some classics with a few twists. a few food quirks, likes and dislikes about dad's eating habits: mostly traditional by nature, allergic to garlic (thank god that 'trait' was not passed on to me), anti-cheesy things, vehemently pro vegetable, the most adamant condiment topper i've ever seen (so much so that sometimes it's hard to see the actual food), gracious to a fault (i've seen him eat 2 helpings of something supremely garlic as not to offend the host) and excellent taste in wine (aka our wine taste is practically identical, he made me realize how much i could like red wine, as long as it has ice).

so you've got: mashed sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans with roasted almonds, arugula with warm beats and apple cider vinaigrette and meatloaf.

oh and a maple cake with caramel frosting.

i only really made up two of these recipes, the rest were courtesy of the good old internets with some tweaks. i'm trying to remember what i did before the internet. i mean i lived through this period, and all i can come up with is watching my-so-called life on rerecorded vhs tapes from the 80s, eating most of the chocolate bars i was supposed to be selling for some charity in high school and taking naps in my uniform after school to avoid doing homework. yep, super productive and interesting. and relevant segue right?

you know the best thing about making a big sunday dinner? leftovers.

i actually named this photo 'leftovergoodness.' because trust me, it is.
i'll even make this dinner for you, but be nice or you will buy the dishes. i only give one warning. i lack the infinite patience my mother has for ass hats.

Recipe: Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

6 smallish sweet potatoes

1/4 cup 2% greek yogurt

1/4 cup ff half and half

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

Peel and cube sweet potatoes

Add potatoes to a pot of cold water

Salt water

Bring up to a boil, let simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until fork tender

Add all remaining ingredients and whip for about 90 seconds

Recipe: Roasted Beets with Arugula and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 packs trader joes beets (definitely buy these pre-packaged beets. they're delicious. it also saves you hours of time and cleaning up your kitchen which will look like you murdered someone if you buy and prepare your own beets)

1 bag of arugula
3 tablespoons apple cider
4 tablespoons olive oil

Method:
Heat oven to 350
toss beets with one tablespoon olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper
roast 35-40 minutes
mix remaining olive oil and cider vinegar
toss hot beets with cider vinaigrette and arugula
beets will warm vinaigrette and wilt arugula leaving you with a delicious veggie dish

*sbux image from sbux site*