A Birthday Dinner and a New Cookbook

It's hard to believe this is the last day of August.  Where did summer go???

My sweet daughter, Lori, had a birthday last Friday, August 28th.  She and her hubby had dinner plans that evening, so we celebrated with her yesterday.  I got out the family birthday plate that I've had for many years.

When she lived at home her favorite birthday dinner was Chicken Parmesan, so that's what I made for her yesterday.  Only with a new twist...  I've heard about brining chicken on the Food Channel but I've never tried it.  My hubby and I mostly eat chicken and fish these days, and many times I've noticed baked chicken was dry and tough.  So I decided to give brining a try.  4 c. warm water to 1/4 c. Kosher salt, plus any other seasonings you want.  I added garlic powder and black pepper. I poured that over the boneless chicken breasts in a lidded container, and put it in the refrigerator. Directions said to brine up to six hours, so I put it in the frig just before we left for church.  I have to tell you it was fork tender and very moist.  I'll definitely be brining again!

We had cheesy potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh fruit salad, rolls and peach iced tea to go with the parmesan chicken.

[Lori and Dave]

When Lori was home [and many years afterwards] her favorite cake was the chocolate mound cake that I blogged about before.  But she also likes the Cassata Cake [or Cannoli cake as it's sometimes called] from our favorite local Italian bakery.  So I ordered that this year.  I made it one year for Christmas Eve, but the recipe wasn't nearly as good as Tringali's.

Happy Birthday, Lori!  Here's to many more years.  Our family is so grateful for your life and all the joy you bring us!

I love cookbooks.  Almost an entire wall in our spare bedroom has a bookshelf containing hundred of cookbooks I've collected over the years.  I definitely don't need anymore, especially with recipes readily available on the Internet, so I have curtailed my collecting considerably, but every once in a while a new cookbook calls my name!

My hubby and I really enjoy the music of the Collingsworth Family.  They're a dad, mom, and four grown children [three are married], who travel the country [and world] giving gospel music concerts.  They sing the hymns I grew up with which have been replaced by contemporary music. That's why I believe their family is in such great demand by people older than millennials and younger age groups.  Even though their children are millennials, they still appreciate hymns.  Kim, the mom, is a talented pianist, two of the girls play the violin, and Phil, the dad, plays the trumpet.  They're all incredibly talented and have performed at the White House.

I knew they had a new Family Favorites cookbook, so I decided to order it and it arrived last Saturday.  I haven't had a chance to make anything from it yet, but I'm looking forward to sitting down with it over a cup of tea to browse its pages.

Another thing that endeared them to my heart was a couple of weeks ago [Aug. 19th] Kim posted on their Facebook page Brooklyn's 31st birthday [their oldest daughter].  Know where they celebrated?  At a tearoom!  They're from West Milton, Ohio [about 70 miles from Cincinnati] so the tearoom is probably in that vicinity.  I had to share the pics Kim posted.

Kim's introducing her granddaughter, Emma, to the pleasures of tea at a young age.  I love it!  Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!  Thank you for blessing so many with your beautiful music ministry.  

Want to hear some great gospel music?  Google Collingsworth family and watch them on Youtube.  You'll be glad you did!

Will sign off now.  I'm going to reheat leftovers from Lori's birthday dinner for son, Steve, who's coming for lunch.  He wasn't available to come for dinner last night.

Enjoy this last day of August!