Because Joan was holidaying on her actual birthday, we had her birthday dinner last night. Sadly I was terribly disorganised and failed to locate suitable fabric for the festive birthday tablecloth – we had to make do with white linen instead. Next time for sure.

Joan was keen on Mexican food, so we started out with Don’s guacamole, salsa and corn chips to nibble on while the meal was being prepared.

[snacks unpictured because I was napping]

Main course was homesick texan’s sour cream chicken enchiladas – the version from the book is ever-so-slightly different. Both call for serrano chilies – we just subbed the small mystery chillies from the pot on the lower balcony with no ill-effects. Super-delicious – you should give it a whirl.

[enchiladas unpictured because they look kind of ghastly]

Joan agonised over what dessert to choose for quite some time and eventually settled on dulce de leche cheesecake from sbs food. I think this would definitely rate as one of the best desserts I’ve ever made – incredibly rich though and a little goes a very long way.

You should make this too, as it is quite fabulous!

xxx

context: We decided last year that we’d celebrate birthdays with dinner at home, rather than spending a small (or large) fortune going out – menu of the birthdayee’s choosing.