Steaks

After writing about my birthday dinner which consisted of home cooked steaks I thought this would be a good time to discuss where to find good steaks when eating out.  My current favorite place to eat a steak is Buddies in Hammond.  They have an excellently seasoned steak that is reasonably priced.  I believe that they have a Thursday steak night with an great deal on a steak. 

http://www.buddieshammond.com/index.html

Before Buddies, I remember liking the steaks from the Caboose.  First in Independence and then their location in Hammond.  The first time I went to the Caboose in Independence was with the Sims family after a school board meeting where their son William was honored for being Key Club International President.  That was over ten years ago.  Now I think both the Independence and Hammond location are closed and they have opened a Caboose in McComb.  One day I will need to go up there and try it.  Other places in the area that have good steaks are Jacmel Inn, Don's, and Catfish Charlies.  If you have a favorite place to eat steaks, post it under comments. 

Birthday Dinner - Steaks and Hash Brown Casserole

In addition to trying to have 50 cakes, I wanted to a special dinner with family and close friends that consisted of some of my favorite foods.  My go to protein is steak.  I always enjoy a steak and they are easy to cook at home.  For my birthday dinner, I prepared the steaks two ways.  One was using a dry rub and letting the sit uncovered in the refrigerator all day.  Another method was using a marinade - similar to the one posted below from All-Recipes.  I tried one of the dry rub and it was good, but I put too much seasoning on the outside.  Later I tried one of the marinated steaks and it was very good.  My only problem with cooking steaks at home is that I tend to overcook them on my grill.  I think that because I like more medium well than rare that I err on the side of cooking too long.  I am still working on that part of cooking them at home.  I am also still looking for the perfect marinade.  Any suggestions are appreciated.  In addition to the steaks, a few friends made a hash brown casserole to go with the steaks.  That was the perfect accompaniment.  I found a recipe similar to what they made and posted it below.  Perhaps if one of them read this, they will post the recipe they used. 

Hash Brown Casserole I Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Hash Brown Casserole I Recipe - Allrecipes.com

The Best Steak Marinade Recipe - Allrecipes.com

The Best Steak Marinade Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Birthday Cake

Well, I celebrated my 50th birthday this week.  When you think about being 50 (when you are younger) you don't think of it as a time to celebrate, but when you get here you realize it really is.  I have been blessed with 50 wonderful and healthy years.  I have been able to go so many places and become friends with so many people.  It makes me excited to think about the next 50 years and what God has in store.  Anyway, to celebrate I thought it would be fun (funny) to have 50 cakes (including mostly cupcakes).  Since word got out and I have some generous family and friends, I began to receive cakes about a week before my birthday.  The first one was a milky way cake from my friend Annette (pictured) and the last (I hope) was a strawberry shortcake from the Cocoa Bean (pictured).  In between I had a chocolate cream cheese cake (thanks Linda), a German chocolate cake (thanks mom), a banana nut cake (thanks Cindy), a carrot cake,  red velvet cupcakes and German chocolate cupcakes.  In all, I had close to 50 cakes and of course some help eating them.  Although it was fun and funny I would not recommend that anyone else try this.  It is definitely not good for the waist line and will not help me get to 60.  For that birtday, I need to try to run or walk a long race and begin training for it now.  I will say that my favorite was my mother's German chocolate cake.  What kind of cake is your favorite?  Post your favorite cake under comments.