Culinary Confession

Birthday

There was a time, not too long ago, when birthday’s freaked me out. The aging thing. My response was to spend my birthdays pretty much alone, at home, reflecting. I tended to partner these bouts of melancholy with vintage port. I could usually get through Godfather 1 and 2 and a good bottle of Warres or Fonseca and the dreaded day would be over.

Things have changed. I don’t mind birthday’s nearly as much. However, I do still indulge myself. But I think it’s time to come out of the closet. That is, it’s time to admit to my favorite birthday meal. I do this only to encourage others self-described "gourmands" to admit to their more pedestrian indulgences. If we, who occasionally really "eat down" don’t speak up, that pang of guilt we harbor will just stay with us.

So, here it is my birthday meal confession.

My family always gets me whatever I want on my birthday. And I tend to choose the same thing every year

1. Buffalo Wings: They have to be the kind that are fried where the skin gets a touch crispy, even after they have been dipped in their tomato and vinegar based sauce. No too spicy, but spicy enough to bring you to that point just before you break a sweat.

2. Safeway Chocolate Layer Cake. Yes, that stuff. The stuff where they make the frosting out of lard, sugar and some type of chocolaty flavoring. The kind where the icing gets hard i the fridge. The texture of the frosting on the outside needs to have just smallest bit of granularity to it.

3. Campbell’s NV Tokay. A great Aussie Sweety to wash it all down. Just enough acidity to carve a path down my throat for the cake.

Not the most inspired combination, I admit. But it is my birthday comfort food. And I’m proud to say I can admit it. Come on now…all you closeted comfort food junkies who also live in the gourmet world..it’s ok. You can admit it.

Posted In: Personal


4 Responses

  1. lovingwife - February 20, 2006

    Happy Birthday Baby! Wings, Tokay and granular-frosting-Safeway-cake it is! Plus more….

  2. Mike Duffy - February 20, 2006

    Happy Birthday, Tom (mine was the 12th).
    My birthday-request-dinner is always my wife’s homemade lasagna, and her from-scratch chocolate cake. This year, I think I opened a bottle of Murphy-Goode ’02 Liar’s Dice Zinfandel to go along with them.
    Of course, the night before, we had a fabulous meal at Mirepoix in Windsor. Highly recommended if you haven’t been.

  3. Lenn - February 20, 2006

    Happy birthday, Tom. Absolutely nothing wrong with that combo…I’m a huge wing eater myself…foodie in me be damned!
    And the great thing I’ve found with the Aussie stickies I’ve had…great bang for the buck…
    Hope you had a great day!

  4. Bradley - February 20, 2006

    Happy B-day, Tom. That’s one helluva debauched banquet you’ve got for yourself! I’ll keep my wife’s rack of lamb and the best cabsauv I’ve got on hand come this April.


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