Andrew's birthday.

Andrew's birthday happened to fall the day before I was leaving for Madison to take the bar, but I was definitely not going to let that get in the way of our celebrating his day. You only turn 26 once, right!? 

For his birthday present, I bought this chalkboard that's now hanging in our kitchen (we've wanted one for a long time...and surprisingly, it's really hard to find one that's not "school-room green" in the middle!). He doesn't get to have his real birthday present until April, though, when we'll go to Chicago for dinner at Girl and the Goat (see it on the chalkboard?? Girl + Goat? I was really proud of this, by the way...)! I had been trying to get reservations since November, and finally, before Christmas, I was able to get us in...at the end of April. That was the first Saturday night opening they had! Needless to say, we're really excited, and are so looking forward to a sunny and warm night out in Chicago in about a month. 

And what kind of birthday would it be without a cake? Andrew had requested something special from the Milk cookbook - filled with desserts and baked loveliness from the Momofuku Milk Bar bakeries in New York. These recipes are quite involved - most everything requires several components - but OH MY WORD, these are absolutely the best cakes I've ever had. We made one at Christmastime for my birthday, so we knew that the recipe wouldn't disappoint. Andrew's birthday cake was (are you ready?!?) a pistachio layer cake, made with homemade lemon curd, pistachio frosting, and milk crumbs. Unreal. 

Perfectly nutty (but not overpowering at all) and with just the right hint of  citrus from the lemon curd, this cake was amazing. Apparently it's one of the favorites at Milk Bar, and I'm not surprised. My favorite components of it are the pistachio cake and milk crumbs (powdered milk, sugar, flour, cornstarch, butter and salt baked, then broken up and sprinkled with melted white chocolate). Seriously. Not healthy AT ALL, but who cares. It was worth every calorie. And it looked so pretty, too! 

It complemented our dinner of smoked roast chicken, macaroni and cheese, and green beans perfectly! We FaceTimed with our families and wished they were able to join us, but getting to "see" everyone we love was the next best thing. I hated leaving the next day...but at least there was cake for Andrew to eat while I was gone! 

I love you, Driy!! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!