The Hubby's Birthday Dinner - The Side Dishes

Today  I bring to a close the series on the hubby's big birthday dinner. It was an all day cooking event here at the Broken Teepee household but it was worth it in the end. To recap I threw caution to the wind and started with dessert - Mini Vanilla Cakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting.

Then came the main dish - Mahi-Mahi with Fresh Citrus Salsa.

For the side dishes I knew I needed a starch and I wanted a vegetable. When I went shopping I saw asparagus. His favorite vegetable and ironically one we don't grow here on the farm so I made an executive decision and bought a bunch. It was his birthday after all! 


I used to cook him asparagus all the time but once we started growing all our own food....well, let's just say he hasn't had it in several years so it REALLY was a treat. He loves it roasted so that is how I prepared it. I washed it, trimmed the bottoms and put a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish. I had the oven set at 350°.


sI added some Spike Seasonings Lemon Pepper Magic and  some orange zest. I mixed it well and then I topped it with frozen orange juice concentrate.

I popped the pan into the oven to let the asparagus roast.
It took about half an hour. It went in just before I put the mahi -mahi in to steam.

When it came out it was cooked just the way the hubby likes it and it had a lovely orange glaze.


I gave the hubby a choice for his starch since it was his birthday; rice or homemade fettuccine. heh. What would YOU have picked?


I used my stand by recipe from my Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine from the French Culinary Institute Cookbook.


You will need:


7oz of flour; either 100% all purpose or a mix of all purpose and semolina (I used the mix)
2 large eggs
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt

You place the flour on your clean countertop and make a well in the center to which you add your eggs, oil and salt. Semolina flour requires fewer eggs so if you are using 100% all purpose flour you might need three eggs.

Mix the eggs, oil and salt and slowly incorporate the flour into the egg mixture with a fork.

After you get all of the flour incorporated you will then knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is elastic. It then needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.


When you are ready to make your pasta, cut the dough into thirds. I have a pasta attachment for my KitchenAid so that is how I make my fettuccine. I must admit that I adore my KitchenAid and its attachment and therefore we have homemade pasta quite frequently.

First you knead the dough a bit more with the roller.

Then you choose either the spaghetti or fettuccine cutter. 

I let my pasta dry a bit before cooking. I dust it with flour to help the drying along.


To cook the fettuccine I brought my out my 4quart pot out and filled it almost to the top. I added lots of salt and brought it to a boil.

As the water was heating I put 1/2 a cup of heavy cream, 1 TBSP of lemon zest, a pinch of salt and lots of fresh ground pepper in a pot and let it warm over low heat.


When the water came to a boil I dropped the noodles in and as soon as they rose to the top they were done. With fresh pasta it's quick - I don't think it was a minute. I saved about 1/2 a cup of the pasta water for later use.

After I drained them I put them back into the pot. I added the warmed lemon cream mixture. Then I took an egg, beat it with a fork and mixed it into the pasta and cream.

This would make a lovely sauce. It did need a bit more moisture so I added 1/4 cup of the pasta water. I added some more freshly ground pepper and it was ready to go.

I won't say this was the easiest meal to plate as it all had to come together at the same time or I would have over cooked fish and mushy pasta but it was well worth it. The fettuccine with lemon cream sauce was DIVINE. The hubby loved every component of the meal. The richness of the pasta was offset by the citrus on the fish. The orange glaze on the asparagus pulled it all together. I love it when my hubby enjoys his meal.

And enjoy it he did. Can you tell?


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Disclosure: I paid for the fish from Anderson Seafoods. I received Spike Seasonings Magic gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free product. I received no monetary compensation for this post.