Birthday Party

You want to invite family & friends over to celebrate a birthday, graduation, engagement or any other special event. You want it to be festive and not only serve good food but great food, but you feel that your choices are limited. What do you serve when the foods expected at a party include soda, punch and cake? This is the dilemma I faced while planning a birthday celebration for my son recently. I wanted to make his party special, but I also wanted to serve good food which to me doesn't include sugar laden "treats". Here was the menu:

Pear Ginger Iced Tea
Tzatziki Dip and Pita Chips
Chicken Sausage (Pineapple, Italian and Sundried Tomato)
Elotes (Mexican Corn)
Greek Salad
Honey Cheesecake (mango/pineapple & plain)


I found the Pear Ginger Tea Bags at Trader Joe's, my daughter sweetened the brewed tea with honey.

Tzatziki Dip:
1 seedless cucumber (the long one with the ridges that is sometimes individually wrapped in a plastic sleeve)
1 16 oz. container Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped or sieved through a garlic press)
1 TBSP of Dill
1 TBSP of finely chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1 large lemon (add more if you like it really tangy)

Grate the cucumber and place in a large bowl, add all of the other ingredients and whisk together. Cover and place it refrigerator for an hour to allow the flavors to blend.


Pita Chips
Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Olive Oil
Garlic powder
sea salt

Brush each pita with olive oil on both sides, sprinkle very lightly with garlic powder and crushed sea salt on one side, cut pitas into 8 wedges.  Toast in a 450 degree oven until crisp. Keep an eye on the pitas, you have to be careful with the whole wheat ones because they are already brown. You want toast them not burn them.

I purchased the Chicken Sausages from BJ's, they have a variety of flavors. I had never had the Pineapple before but it turned out to be my favorite.

Elote
These things were so good, stinky, but so good.

Fresh corn on the cob
mayonnaise
lime juice
butter

Cotija cheese (my husband found this at the Mexican market, your supermarket might carry it).
Chipotle chili powder
Skewers 

Roast the corn on the grill, while corn is roasting mix 1/2 cup of mayo with the juice of 1 lime. When corn is done push a skewer into 1 end and rub butter on the entire cob (I leave the stick of butter in the wrapper and just open one side of it to rub on the corn). Brush the corn with the mayo/lime mixture and roll in the Cotija cheese and finally sprinkle with a little of the chili powder. Everyone who tried it loved it (I had one guest who wouldn't touch it!).

Greek Salad
8 Marinated Artichoke hearts, quartered
2 yellow bell peppers, sliced
4 small tomatoes, quartered
1 can of large black olives, pitted
1 large cucumber, sliced
 4 TBSP vinegar (I used red-wine vinegar)
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
baby lettuce mix

Mix the first 5 ingredients together, mix the oil and vinegar and pour over vegetables and toss. Top the salad with the feta. When serving place a portion of baby lettuce mix on the plate and top with the Greek Salad.


Honey Cheesecake

16 oz Cream cheese  
1/3 C. Honey 
2 eggs 
2 egg yolks 
1 C. Sour cream 
1 TBSP grated lemon peel 
2 TBSP cornstarch

Crust  
1 1/4 C. Almond flour 
1/2  C. Ground walnuts 
1 TSP. Ground cinnamon
1/3 C. Honey
1/4 C. Butter, softened

Place crust ingredients into a mixer and mix well. Using a spring form pan press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Take your time it will be really soft and kind of sticky. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. While the crust is baking, mix the cream cheese and honey together and then add the next 4 ingredients, after everything is blended add the cornstarch and mix well. Pour onto the crust and bake for 50 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Chill for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight). 


I topped one of the cheese cakes with a fresh pineapple, mango and lime mixture. I chopped 1/4 of a fresh pineapple, the flesh of 1 mango and mixed in the juice of 1 lime.