Now that we’re old country folk, doing something special means preparing a dinner party – a dinner party FEAST composed of recipes by professional chefs and my favorite blogs.! Today instead of posting my own recipe I want to share ALL the recipes I made for Calvin’s birthday dinner – every single one of which I have made on many occasions and are always a hit! If you follow me on Instagram (which if you don’t, you probably should) you know I make a lot of Asian-inspired meals and these are some of my favorite gringa-Asian (my own term) recipes. For the main course, I decided I would prepare the Momofuku style Bo Ssam pork butt that you may remember from one my very first blog posts (!) plus so many fixings. Below is the full menu with all the links and descriptions, in case your inclined to make them yourself! Plus, obvi, some photos!

Momofuku Bo Ssam Pork– is pork butt that has been dry brined in a salt/sugar/brown sugar rub over night, slow roasted until pull apart tender then served with white rice, bibb lettuce, a ridiculously tasty ginger-scallion sauce AND a spicy Korean vinegar hot sauce. Full disclosure – I am not the  biggest fan of the ssamjang soy bean paste the hot sauce calls for – it’s hard to find and use up- so I forgo-ed it this time and substituted a tablespoon of brown sugar to balance out the heat in the sauce. Once all your Bo Ssam fixings are ready you take your lettuce, fill with a spoonful of rice and a heap of pulled pork covered in both sauces – it’s sweet ,salty, spicy and fresh all at once. If you make this you’ll be sure to win the dinner party!

Jean-Gorge Ginger Fried Rice – I have not been lucky enough to dine at Jean Gorge and try this dish myself but Mark Bittman published this recipe almost a decade ago on NYTIMES and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. Super simple recipe, the only thing I change is when making for a crowd I’ll scramble 4 eggs into the rice instead of topping with a fried egg. I also add a dash or two more of sesame oil because I have a thing for sesame oil.

Sriracha Garlic Roasted Broccoli – this recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs, Food52, and is a staple in my kitchen. I make it for Asian inspired grain bowls or as a side for Korean fried chicken night. It’s super simple and crazy tasty. Plus you can make it spicier if you prefer just by adding extra sriracha.

Cold Rice Noodle Salad– another gem from Food52, I made this dish to help satisfy the vegetarian that joined us for dinner. You can use pad Thai style noodles as recommended in the recipe but it’s just as good with vermicelli rice noodles. I personally prefer using only cilantro in my salad but if you want to add all the herbs go for it! This is a great dish for a dinner party on it’s own!

Green Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing– the most important part of this salad is the dressing! The recipe comes from my fellow Fieldston alumna’s blog, Feed Me Pheobe, it tastes just like the carrot-ginger dressing you love at sushi restaurants and is actually super healthy! I make this dressing all the time and keep it in the fridge – it goes well with any green salad!

Kimchi – the ONLY thing on the table I didn’t make! I’ve heard it’s super easy to make yourself though *warning* it can stink up your fridge. It’s a necessary condiment when serving any Korean inspired meal – extra points if you serve more than one type! My favorite brand is Sunja’s Medium Spicy Kimchi– it’s not too hot so great for us gringos!

Funfetti Cake– yes that is right I made funfetti cake FROM SCRATCH! This recipe is from one of my favorite bloggers Molly Yeh  I’ve wanted to make it for years but just never found the right occasion to put in all the work. I mean, boxed funfetti cake is so delicious and easy but you know, pretty much processed food poison. I usually make Calvin his favorite strawberry short cake for his birthday but this year I decided to make both! Then got so wrapped up in the funfetti I never got around to the strawberry short cake… TG the funfetti was deliciousness enough to make up for it (though I still owe you a strawberry short cake, Calio). I made a naked cake (frosted on the top and middle but not the sides) because I do not have the proper cake decorating tools (offset spatula, cake stand, lazy susan, etc…) to execute a perfect full on frosting. I lightly colored the frosting pink and tried my hand and basic lettering with a $5 pastry bag from the IGA. I also trimmed off the edges of the cake once it was assembled to reveal the sprinkles inside. It wasn’t the prettiest cake ever but it was the yummiest and I’ll definitely be making this recipe again for all birthday occasions!

Plus, I finally got Calvin the chainsaw he’s been asking for and have room for now that we’re out of Brooklyn and at the farm! All in all it was a successful and delicious birthday! Pictures below!