Birthday Dinner

Romaine Salad with Parmesan Shavings
Spinach and Swiss Chard Lasagna with and Spicy Marinara
Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting




Spinach and Swiss Chard Lasagna with Spicy Marinara
This lasagna is rich, but not too rich, and may I say, very delicious. A traditional Béchamel sauce is used in the layers of the lasagna and a slightly spicy marinara sauce tops individual portions after the lasagna is baked. Along with the two sauces and fresh lasagna noodles, nutty Fontina cheese, bitter dark greens and sweet caramelized onions make up the balanced flavors in this dish.


Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
- 12 sheets fresh lasagna noodles (you may substitute boiled lasagna noodles)
- 1/2 pound Fontina cheese, grated
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Swiss Chard:
- 20 ounces fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
- 10 cups swiss chard (about 1 large bunch), washed, dried and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 small yellow onion
Béchamel Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Tomato Sauce:
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons diced carrots
- 2 tablespoons diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 fourteen ounce can diced tomatoes
- pinch red pepper flakes (or more, depending on personal taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Place the swiss chard and spinach in a large pot and cook on medium heat with a lid until wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove the spinach and chard from the pot and place in a colander to remove the excess water. Drain any water from the pot and then heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 30 minutes. Take off the heat once the onions are caramelized. Use your hands to squeeze some of the water out of the spinach/chard mixture and then add to the caramelized onions. Season with salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes.
To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter, in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and wisk together to create a thick paste. Slowly pour the milk into the pan and whisk together. Continue to stir or whisk the milk until it begins to thicken. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook on medium heat until the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes.
To assemble the lasagna, spoon about a 1/4 cup of the béchamel sauce into the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch casserole dish. Place down a layer of the lasagna noodles. Top the lasagna noodles with another 1/3 cup of the béchamel sauce and a third of the spinach/chard mixture. Top the spinach/chard mixture with a quarter of the fontina and parmesan cheeses. Then top with another layer of the lasagna noodles and repeat the same process; the béchamel, spinach/chard mixture, cheeses, noodles, béchamel, spinach/chard, cheese, and noodles. Bake the casserole at 400 on a lined baking sheet for about 40 minutes, or until the top is brown and the sides are bubbling. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the can of chopped tomatoes and its juice to the pot and stir together. Season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a simmer with a tight fitting lid. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste for more salt and pepper.
To serve the lasagna, slice the desired portion with a sharp knife and top with the tomato sauce.


Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These moist spice cupcakes are very straightforward (no applesauce or carrots getting in the way here). They are certainly denser than your typical birthday cupcake, but are considerably lighter than most spice cakes, which tend to be quite dense. The spices are subtle and not overwhelming- a perfect accompaniment for a generous mound of cream cheese frosting.


Makes 12

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
Frosting
- 6 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 12 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line standard size muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices three times.
Place the butter and brown sugar in a medium size bowl fitted for an electric mixer. Cream together on medium/high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with two additions of milk; beating until combined after each addition.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, the cupcakes, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the tins to wire racks and let cool for 3 minutes. Carefully remove the warm cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, butter, powder sugar and vanilla on medium/high speed until smooth and creamy. Store the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use. Take out of the fridge 5 minutes before frosting.
Use an off set spatula to frost each cupcake with the desired amount of frosting. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day they are frosted. Unfrosted cupcakes can keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container and should be frosted the day they are planned to be eaten.