Big Birthday Month, April. Vivian (3rd), John (18th), my aunt Marge (19th), John's bro Tom (20th), my friend Michelle (23rd), my cousin Michael and Nathan (29th). Wild! What with the Bat Mitzvah weekend, we haven't done much birthday planning around here. Time to snap to it!

Happily had ribs, cabbage salad, and cherry tart for lunch. Inside this time, however; chillin' on the deck isn't nearly as much fun when there's a chill - and rain - in the air. April weather, such a tease, hot one day, cold the next. Bitch. Just kidding. It's not even cold today, it's just not warm enough to eat comfortably outside. And I'm complaining. Who's the bitch?

Nathan and I are planning on an early dinner with Rishia and Noah Zimmern, burgers at the Convention Grill, mmmm... Think I'll have to go for the fried onions, think it's a must do...

Oh god, I did the grilled onions, on my burger, with a hot fudge malt, and fries. Urgh. Not moderate, Stephanie. Uh, I'm a tad on the full side. Good eats, though, and great to see Rishia and Noah and Andrew, who was able to come along too. Andrew was saving his appetite, however, for leftover gefilte fish and chopped liver from the Seder he and Rishia hosted last night. You gotta love a guy who will pass on a burger for chopped liver and gefilte fish! Mmmmm, chopped liver. Haven't sampled gefilte fish, I have to say. Someday, I'm sure. I forgot to ask if they had leftover matzo balls - those are my hands down fav. Cold, right out of the fridge. I should have been born a Jew; instead, I married one. John, who would rather eat dirt than chopped liver, gefilte fish, or matzo balls. Oy.

Nathan killed two birds with one stone by dipping smoking-hot fries into his malt - cooled the fries and melted the malt, just the way he likes both. Noah Blue Eyes decided rootbeer is yummy and was not pleased to be allowed only a couple of sips (how adorable is the pout, above? Fabulous...). He ate half of his mommy's burger and sucked the salt and ketchup off several fries - he knows the best parts, ha.

Back here in plenty of time to catch the setting sun from out on the patio and enjoy this 84-degree - I repeat, 84-degree - evening. What am I doing? I'm going outside! 'Night!

Saw Noah! Saw Cooper! Cute little kid day - woo hoo! I met Rishia and Noah Zimmern, and as a bonus also got to see Carol Mack, at lunch at D'Amico & Sons on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. I'm kicking myself that I didn't bring my camera to take pictures (this is a pic I snapped a month ago), especially of Noah's unbelievable blue eyes - they're truly stunning. He did an amazing job for a 1-year old, sitting and "chatting" with us, trying various tasties from our lunches, taking it all in. Sigh. He's a little slice of baby heaven, dimples and all.

As is Super Duper Cooper, as his mom calls him, a little mini-bundle of snuggly cuteness. He had his first pediatrician appointment today and has gained 1/2 lb. since his birth - on my calculation, that's like a 100 lb. person gaining more than 8 lbs. in one week. Go Coop! I got to sneak in a little visit, since I was in St. Paul, and hold him for a bit. LOVE IT! He squeaks while he sleeps, sigh. More baby heaven. And I also delivered to Stace a batch of homemade iced sugar cookies from Suz, who arranged them all on a brand-spankin'-new potty training seat. Hilarious, and delicious.

Nailed down episode 5 of Feminine Hijinx last night - our usual laughfest! Susie baked up an incredible bread pudding for us as a treat when we were done, OMG, mmmm....(recipe posted in comments, below). Wish I had a piece right now...warm, caramel-y, yumminess.

But what I have now is instead a quick pasta I whipped up for dinner. It's a busy night, since I have to prepare for Picture Person at school tomorrow morning. I had leftover veggies from the other night and decided to turn them into a sort of pasta primavera. Sauteed a little sliced garlic in a bit of butter, added the veggies, chicken broth, a few tablespoons of cream, some chopped fresh herbs, pinch of nutmeg and heated until warmed through. Tossed with Colavita fettucine, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper, voila, dinner. Nathan LOVED it, so much so that I made a little bit more sauce to toss with the plain pasta I'd set aside for him - that's lunch for tomorrow. S-weet!

Rishia Zimmern sent me this picture today of Noah, titled, Takes After His Dad. Indeed! I laughed out loud, it's so damn cute. Andrew doesn't wear diapers though... Especially while he's away in Spain and Morocco filming the first segment of his new Travel Channel series, Bizarre Foods. You may have caught the pilot, shot in Asia, which has been running on the Travel Channel for more than a year now. He just took off last week, not sure of his return date, but he's sending update emails logging the various "tasties" he consumes. I put tasties in quotes because his last entry he signed off in search of bull's balls. Ack. He's sampling plenty of more appetizing foods as well, in fact, it all sounds pretty incredible. I'll keep you posted when he sends his next...

I had the loveliest salad for lunch - chopped endive, chicory, arugula, spinach, scallion, basil, tossed with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. And topped with an over-easy egg, of course. Damn, it was good. I'm making the salad again tonight, but with warm bacon balsamic dressing. To go with roasted chicken drummies (John and I had a misunderstanding this weekend about what drumsticks are - he thought I meant the winglet/drummies, so I made a whole batch of the real deal sorta for nothing, oh well). And a crispy baguette (which I have to admit I stole a bit of to make a few yummy croutons for my lunch salad) that I think I'll brush with oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, and throw on the grill. Perhaps I'll give that strawberry shortcake another try as well (after our disastrous Memorial Day). It sure is a strawberry shortcake kind of day - warm, dry, sunny, fragrant. Boooootiful. We'll try eating, instead of fighting, on the deck tonight...

And Happy 48th Anniversary to my fabulous in-laws, John and Dot (pictured here, a few years ago, in EH)!!

It struck me how young, and trim, Fugaise Chef Don Saunders was last night (here with Ana and Rudy). How does he do it, working so hard, with all that fabulous food? Man, I do not feel young and trim this morning, whew. I am t..i..r..e..d. Oh it was worth it, definitely, I had such a blast last night. But I stayed up until 2 a.m. documenting it all for the blog. Two a.m.? I can't do that! I am WAY too old for such behavior. And it takes its toll on me, I just can't bounce back from a late night the way I used to be able to. Sigh. My feet are back on the ground today. Along with the bags under my eyes...

I'm thinking a nice piece of fish for dinner tonight. I have to haul Siggy Roo over to the groomer anyhow, makes it pretty simple to bop into Coastal Seafoods and pick up something nutritious. Oh, I know, fish soup. That sounds delicious. Slightly involved, but I can do the broth portion ahead. It's a Gourmet Cookbook recipe and it rocks (I'll post it below, in comments)! A movie, and home for fish soup, that'll get me back on track. Little walk. Little bath. Oh yeah, I'll be good as new.

Oh my, I am tired this afternoon, whew. Getting through, however, got Sigs to the groomer, visited Coastal Seafoods and picked up some halibut and grouper, whipped through Byerly's to pick up a few staples, then made my way back here to start the soup. And to think through a little brunch for tomorrow - Rishia Zimmern and baby Noah are coming to visit us, yay!

So this soup, Fish Soup with Bread and Rouille. I've made it several times, and it is truly delicious, a big favorite in this household. From Gourmet Cookbook: This is one of the best fish soups we've ever had. It's not at all aggressive; rather, it's light and brothy, and it takes a faintly smoky turn from the grilled bread used to make its croutes. The secret to the croutes, by the way, is a simple one. After the bread is grilled (use a good sourdough), tear it into rough pieces, leaving them craggy, like a coastline. When you bake them, the edges get beautifully crisp, and they are absolutely delicious in the soup. The rusty red sauce called rouille, which is both stirred into the soup and served as a condiment, makes the soup come alive. This recipe is from Melissa Kelly, the chef-owner of Primo, in Rockland, Maine. There are basically three recipes within this one, none of them complicated - the broth, the croute, and the rouille. The broth and rouille can be made the day ahead to save some time. Nathan actually loves this soup, even though he's not a big fish eater, because the broth is so good, especially with the bread. Make this on a weekend day, active time is listed at 1.75 hours, start to finish 3.5 hours. It's definitely worth it.

I bowed out of the movie, so John's going without me. When he gets back we'll have the soup, and in the interim, once I have the broth finished, I may slide into the bedroom for a little nap. Or not. Now that I see what time it is, that would be pretty stupid. Guess I'll hold out for an early bedtime...

Soup = lovely. Bed = now.

Didn't even come close to posting again yesterday, ah well. Even an exhibitionist like me has to hole up for a bit! Not to mention, it's been a mite crazy around here these days, what with being away and having house guests and such. And Nathan and I are outta here again on Wednesday, this time to San Francisco, just the two of us. Way to over-schedule?! But what the heck, it's been a long winter, spring is coming, and we can't wait to fly the coop - yet again!

Speaking of Coop...my nephew Cooper's 2nd birthday party yesterday was hilarious. Cooperstar, in his bow-tie, preppy J. Crew pants, and red Chuck Taylors, completely stole the show. He was the calmest, chillest kid in a group of, well, utter wildness. Screaming, jumping, laughing, crying kids, all under the age of 5, having the time of their lives...as my sister Etta said, Teenage Birth Control, oh yeah. Great to watch Cooper Coolness handle it all with aplomb, have my family all in one spot, eat killer chocolate birthday cake with buttercream icing, and watch Coop's face while everyone sang Happy Birthday. Awwww, Cooper...priceless! And great job Mommy Stace and Daddy Bowen!

Speaking of cute, beyond-hip kids - check out this YouTube video of my friend Maud's nephews getting their first skateboards. (Their dad is having a pretty sweet time too...) Beautifully shot, it's the essence of "kid" and will leave you smiling. And wishing you lived in California, sigh.

So...Mexico! Playa del Carmen, at the Fairmont Mayakoba, absolutely spectacular. Michelle and I had smooth-like-buttah flights (she from NYC), arriving at the same time. Since this was a work award trip for her, we had cocktail parties to attend most nights, but they were lovely and fun. Beyond that, we were totally on our own. Of course we hit the guacamole and margaritas immediamente - every bit as fabulous as I had anticipated, if not better, especially while over-looking white sand and the turquoise-blue Caribbean, ahhh. As we kept saying, This Does Not Suck!

Our first full day, Thursday, we actually motivated for an activity - riding ATVs! What a dorky BLAST. We rode through the jungle, and alongside the beach, with stops to explore a cave, dip our toes into a crystal clear, freshwater oasis-pond, and splash in the ocean a bit. It was a pretty physical experience - we bumped and jerked over rocks and roots, and through twisty-turny brush. I've never been on an ATV before and I've concluded it's not something I need to do every day, ha - they are hot, very loud, and scarily powerful. But for a one-day adventure, I loved it.

After that, we were all spa and beach, baby. Lunches beachside every day - to me, my very favorite part of the trip. We couldn't get enough of the tomatillo gazpacho, spicy shrimp cocktail, or crab tostadas, rarrr... In fact, the food and scenery on the resort were so excellent and varied that we hardly needed to leave! But we did venture into Playa del Carmen for dinner Friday night. Strolling the festive cobblestone downtown and enjoying an incredible Maya-cuisine meal at Yaxche were definitely highlights, lovely. We shared several plates including shrimp, turkey, vegetable, and black bean dishes, seasoned with achiote, epazote, banana leaves, and bitter orange, among other Mexican/Caribbean flavors. Beyond delicious (and filling)! Definitely check out the restaurant's website, they post simple, lovely recipes.

Saturday night, our last night, we had dinner on the resort, at the seaside Las Brisas. We opted for the tasting menu, paired with Mexican wines, and it was truly spectacular. Michelle and I giggled like school girls through pillowy goat cheese gnocchi in a pool of English pea cream, as well as bites of butter-tender braised short rib, served with adobo sauce, baby vegetables, and a teeny-tiny plantain gratin. With such beautiful food and gracious service, we felt like HRHs Michelle and Stephanie, Princesses of the Caribbean.

Just in time to head back to winter, sigh. Although I have to say, as usual, I'm really glad to be home. The heat + humidity + salty food + margaritas = Swollen Stephanie, seriously, I swelled up like a balloon. I've never experienced anything like it, even while pregnant! Ugh, it felt awful, awful. In my first two days home, I shed more than 10 pounds of water weight, despite entertaining and eating far afield of my usual diet. Turns out I'm not very well cut out for the Caribbean - I can't take the sun, heat, or humidity. But I had an amazing time anyhow, seeing color, smelling flowers and salty air, feeling warmth. It was just what I needed to cure my winter blues and take the edge off my inner-bitch. (Although, like Michelle, it's never too far away - we raised many toasts to the pleasures and benefits of being Occasional Bitches - cheers!) Ah, thank you so very, very much, my dear Mich!

And oh! Speaking of travel, one more YouTube video to check out, our friend Rudy Maxa waxing eloquent on his years of travel adventures and his recent work filming his new TV series, Rudy Maxa's World. (And check out how gorgeous and chic Ana is looking in St. Petersburg!)

And oh again! Speaking of friends and their TV series (I'm starting to feel like everyone we know has a TV series! Who's next, Suz?), John and I will be appearing on Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods - Minnesota episode next Tuesday, March 25, 10 pm ET (9 pm CST). Filmed this past September, in part at Chef Lenny Russo's Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, we're pretty excited to see how it all turned out! Did John and I make nothing but the cutting room floor? You (and we!) will have to tune in to find out... If nothing else, it will be hilarious to see Zim hold court at the State Fair (with his adorable three-year-old son, Noah?!) and sample lutefisk "up north" (check out some preview photos, here).