Birthday Breads & Spreads

When making a birthday spread, I really try to make it as healthy as possible.  This doesn't always work (Joshua's birthday was hot dogs), but with a little planning, I can usually pull it off without too much stress.  For Emma G's party, I managed to pull off the menu but didn't manage to come up with any games.  Thankfully, the kids entertained themselves quite nicely while the adults could have conversation!  Over food!  The birthday menu included...

fruit and veggie trays

chex party mix

hummus

tuna

jalapeno artichoke dip

and ciabatta bread!

The ciabatta was made from my new bread cookbook I have been talking about.  It's seriously amazing.  I used to buy ciabatta bread when we lived in the northeast.  I can't believe I've found a recipe that tastes even better!

For birthday morning breakfast, I actually made something for breakfast, the biscuit recipe from said cookbook.  Actually I made these biscuits while Jeremy was gone (we had breakfast for dinner multiple times!).  It made so many that I froze most of them (unbaked).  The book calls these the best biscuits ever and I think they are right!  They are so flaky!  Love them!

To end this carb overload, I made the 100% whole grain pizza dough, also from said cookbook.  Homemade pizza is what the birthday duo wanted, so homemade pizza is what they got!  I even made the sauce from scratch.  The sauce, by the way, christened by new cookbook, making it look like the most used cookbook I currently have.  I do believe it actually is!