Usually I make people take me out for a great steak or something on my birthday. This year I decided I would cook dinner for a few friends instead. (I am, however, being taken out for an afternoon “foodie” tour on The Strip later this week.)
Dinner was a Wagyu chuck roast done for just over 26 hours with my sous vide machine. $8.98 a pound, more than a regular chuck roast would have been, but way, way less than the tenderloin I was originally considering. Oh my, was it ever delicious!
Also had baked potatoes. I tried a new technique: you roll the potatoes around in heavily salted water before you put them in the oven (2 tablespoons of salt in 1/2 cup of water). Otherwise cooked them up pretty much as usual. The salt adds just enough flavor to the skins to make them extra delicious.
As for the vegetable, mom swears she doesn’t like Brussel Sprouts. Then whenever I fix them, she decides that mine are ok. Last night they went way beyond ok; they were the best I’ve ever made and mom took seconds!
Here’s how to do them, courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen:
Skillet-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mustard and Brown Sugar
1 pound small (1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter) Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Pepper (I used a little Aleppo) to taste
Salt
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Look for Brussels sprouts that are similar in size, with small, tight heads that are no more than 1 1/2 inches in diameter, as they’re likely to be sweeter and more tender than larger sprouts.
INSTRUCTIONS
Arrange Brussels sprouts in single layer, cut sides down, in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Drizzle oil evenly over sprouts. Cover skillet, place over medium-high heat, and cook until sprouts are bright green and cut sides have started to brown, about 5 minutes.
Uncover and continue to cook until cut sides of sprouts are deeply and evenly browned and paring knife slides in with little to no resistance, 2 to 3 minutes longer, adjusting heat and moving sprouts as necessary to prevent them from overbrowning. While sprouts cook, combine remaining ingredients except salt in small bowl.
Off heat, add mustard mixture to skillet and stir to evenly coat sprouts. Season with salt to taste. Transfer sprouts to large plate. I added a few pomegranate seeds to mine just to add some color.
You could use lots of other combinations of sauces and seasonings, of course, but I have never used a more fool proof or delicious cooking method.
As for desert: I usually make a yellow cake with fudge frosting for my birthday. Last year, however, I made a chocolate caramel cake for a friend and it was decadently delicious. It is called “Gooey Chocolate Caramel Cake” and it is hard for me to decide whether it is more cake or brownie or pudding or what. It is a layer of cake, covered with chocolate chips, covered with the best caramel I’ve ever made, and topped with more cake. To say that it is “gooey” does not begin to describe its lusciousness.
Hope the new year is starting off for all of you as well as it is for me!
Tuples and Attributes 
Happy birthday, Kate! How lucky you are to be able to “make” people take you out for dinner!
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Yummy. Would u post the recipe for the cake?
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