My Mom’s Birthday Meal

We celebrated my mom’s birthday on Sunday night with a big meal at our house! For the past few years, my brother and I have cooked dinner for my mom, but this year he couldn’t make it. I was bummed to not have my sidekick in the kitchen. I managed to get the meal done…with a little help from the birthday girl. I tend to bite off more than I can chew – anyone else? My mom’s birthday meal included grilled cedar plank salmon, grilled cedar plank trout with aioli, roasted smashed potatoes with prosciutto and chili lime aioli, and an arugula and wild rice salad with apples, prosciutto and goat cheese. We also had gluten free dairy free berry tarts for dessert!

I gushed about my mom on instagram last week. She is amazing and certainly deserves to be celebrated!

Haha, I promise she wasn’t mad in this picture! Just trying to have a conversation with a very opinionated 2 year old! She was trying to teach him the colors of that lemon and lime on the counter. And even though he usually says everything is the color “yeyyo” he decided that now he would call the lemon, which was actually yellow, brown. He’s determined to do things his own way. 😉 Now moving on to the food!

Menu for My Mom’s Birthday:

• Arugula and Wild Rice Salad with Honeycrisp Apples, Pecans, Crispy Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Fig Dressing
• Cedar Plank Lemon Herb Trout with Rosemary Garlic Aioli
• Cedar Plank Dijon Soy Salmon
• Roasted Smashed Red Potatoes with Chili Lime Aioli and Prosciutto
• Gluten Free Blackberry Blueberry Tarts

Arugula and Wild Rice Salad with Honeycrisp Apples, Toasted Pecans, Crispy Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Fig Dressing

This salad does not need an exact recipe, but you will need:

• arugula
• wild rice (Look for this at Trader Joe’s!). Follow package directions and 1-2 cups, cooked, will be plenty for 4 people, with enough for leftovers.
• 1 honeycrisp apple, diced
• 4 slices of prosciutto, crisped in a pan (takes less time than bacon, and it will get crispier after it comes out of the pan)
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• plain goat cheese, crumbled
• Trader Joe’s balsamic fig dressing

Add a few handfuls of arugula to a platter. Spoon on about 1/2 cup of wild rice and toss gently (I used my hands for this). You’ll want the arugula and wild rice to be mixed. If you think you want a heartier salad, add more rice. Toss in some of the apples, then lay the rest on top. Add the crumbled prosciutto, pecans, and goat cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and add more as needed. I have to say that this salad was delicious! Todd and I have been eating it for leftovers, and I would make it again in a heartbeat! It will definitely be one of my go-tos for entertaining.

One tip for grilling fish: Use a digital meat thermometer like this one. I use mine ALL the time!

Grilled Cedar Plank Lemon Herb Rainbow Trout with Rosemary Garlic Aioli

I saw that our grocery store had great looking trout, and decided to buy that as an option for those in my family who do not prefer salmon. I bought one trout filet and it was about 3 servings. We soaked the cedar planks, according to the directions, for at least 30 minutes. During the last 15 minutes of soaking, I lightly marinated the trout. (You can leave the skin on the fish, because it is easily removed after cooking). I simply drizzled it with a little olive oil, squeezed half of a large lemon over it, and added a teaspoon of herbs de provence. Italian seasoning would also work. If your herb mixture does not have salt and pepper, add some of both of those as well.

Heat the grill. Once it reaches at least 350 degrees, dry off your cedar plank and place on the grill, with the side down that the trout will be placed. Let that sit on the hot grill for about 2 minutes. Turn it over, and place the trout on top. Let it cook until the fish is more firm, and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. I used tongs to remove the cedar planks onto a large rimmed baking sheet so that it was easier to carry.

Serve the trout with aioli. I used this recipe, but cut the salt in half after I made one batch that was much too salty. After finishing the base, I blended in 2 chopped cloves of garlic and 2 chopped stems of rosemary leaves. Next time I will use a much lighter olive oil, or avocado oil. 

Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon with Dijon Soy Glaze

This salmon was a favorite for sure!! My 6 year old even loved it and asked for seconds! It is a perfect dish to prepare when company is coming, but simple enough to have on a weeknight. I followed the directions, but used gluten free soy sauce, and I didn’t leave the cedar plank on the grill for as long as she did before adding the salmon. I highly recommend this one! I made extra and it was delicious as leftovers.

Cook the salmon until it is at least 130 degrees internally. For well done, the internal temperature should be 145 degrees, but I prefer salmon to be slightly underdone.

Skin can be left on the fish, as the meat can easily be removed after cooking.

I wanted you to see what they looked like after grilling.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Prosciutto and Chili Lime Aioli

I used a recipe from Paleo Paparazzi for these, and they were great. The red potatoes I found were a little larger, so they took longer to boil than the recipe recommends. My mom worked on these with me, and ended up cutting them in half before smashing, which helped. For the aioli, I made extra of the aioli base from the trout, then seasoned with some lime juice, the chili lime seasoning from TJs, and a pinch of each of chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. I also cooked extra prosciutto in a pan when I was prepping that for the salad, versus cooking it in the oven.

Gluten Free Blackberry Blueberry Crisp Tart

This is an older recipe from my blog, but it is another go-to for entertaining. It is also gluten free and dairy free! Any berries can work, and the blackberries have been decent lately, so I tried this combination. I followed the original recipe, but I used equal parts blackberries and blueberries, and I made 1 1/2 x the recipe to make 6 tarts. They seemed to take longer to cook this time, which may have been because the blackberries were large. I ordered these tart pans a few years ago, and have used them so many times sense! They make a beautiful dessert, and also work well for individual quiche.

We served these tarts with 2 options of ice cream: Talenti Southern Butter Pecan for those that could have dairy, and Halo Top dairy free Toasted Coconut ice cream for those that are dairy free.

Also, you may not need 1 tart per person! Some of us only had half of one, and the boys had about 1/4 of one.

 

We had a great time celebrating my mom! The night ended with NFL playoffs, and the boys running around like crazy. We always love having cozy, homey nights in!