A Little Birthday-Beast Dinner Party

Aging is never fun, especially when it's happening to you. Luckily it's happening to my plus-one and not me. I won't say how old he's turning today, but I will say it's older than me. Birthdays are the one day of the year each person (unless you're a Jehovah's Witness) has all to themselves. To quote everyone else, "treat yourself!" I like to spend the day reflecting, maybe browsing my favorite shops with newly acquired Birthday loot and I always get my haircut. I'll never understand the people who want to spend their special day getting trashed in a bar wearing a tiara or drinking out of a penis straw at Roscoe's, for instance. You get one of those in your life and that is the year you turn 21. In this edition of Little Dinner Party, I'll be showing you how to host the perfect grown-up Birthday dinner for your plus-one and friends. I'll even show you how to make a festive gift for less than the I-forgot-today-was-your-Birthday dirty magazine and lottery tickets you were going to pick up on your way home.

When hosting a dinner party in honor of someone else, it's always best to serve their favorite dish. Incidentally this is also one of my cat's favorites. This little number I stole from my mom and tweaked a bit. I decided it does not photograph as great as it tastes. Instead, here's an intimate look inside my recipe box. 

Yesterday's Catch Tuna Casserole

2 cans tuna (in water)

1/2 box macaroni (boiled and drained)

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 stick butter

1 small can of peas and carrots

A splash of milk 

salt & pepper

1 can French's onion rings

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Top with French's onions. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Making a Gift

Let's make a gift because we just had Christmas and I'm still broke. This little add-on to the predictable DVDs or slippers you've once again gotten your loved one makes a unique and practical addition to any home. If you're anything like me, you're an alcoholic. And again speaking of the holidays, you may still have a bunch of old bottles hanging around. Instead of waiting until after dark to tote out your empties, make gifts out of them!

Wine Bottle Hurricane Candle Lantern

You Will Need the Following: 

A wine bottle (dark bottles provide better light)

A glass cutter 

A cake pan

tape

a candle plate ($1 at Pier 1 Imports)

sandpaper 

a candle (votives work best)

Step 1: Tape glass cutter (teeth down) into cake pan. Line up wine bottle with cutter. Mark on the bottle where you began scoring, don't go past this line again (you can only score once). Begin forcibly turning the bottle against the cutter.    

Step 2: Pour a kettle of scalding hot water over the score line. Quickly put bottle under running cold water and the bottom of the bottle will fall off. Discard bottom, and sand the rough edges. (Safety: use protective eye and hand wear as this part involves broken glass and scalding water). 

Place over the candle plate and light it up! Voila! 

Birthdays Are About Cake

That wine bottle thing was kinda hard right? Well let's take it easy and make a boxed cake, a boxed cake with a twist. I'll be honest, this is my favorite Birthday cake, but it seems to be pretty popular with everyone else too. The best part is that it all costs less than $7.00, assuming you accidently toss the orange extract into your bag at self-checkout. 

Quarter-Life Crisis Birthday Cake

1 box dark chocolate cake mix (any brand will do)

1 container dark chocolate frosting

1.5 t-spoons orange extract (added into frosting)

2 t-spoons orange extract (added into mixed batter)

1 can drained mandarin oranges

eggs, oil and water, as necessary

Bake and frost cake as directed. (For a smaller layer cake, use all of batter in one round pan and cut with floss.)

Snow Day Lunch 'n Craft

Another year has come and gone and a new year has just begun. I'm almost certain I didn't make that up. The week or two after the holidays always seems like the most depressing, but why dwell on the mistakes you made in 2011? Nothing can be done about it now. I'm not ordinarily one who puts much stock in resolutions, but for the sake of Little Dinner Party, we'll say that I am. Welcome to the new look and feel of Little Dinner Party. My 2012 resolution was to keep this up and running and to update more frequently. Due to overwhelming and slightly embarrassing responses from friends and family during the holidays, I invite you to an express edition of the blog; one cheap and easy dish and one simple craft idea. Enjoy! 

Manicotti Per Due, For One

What twenty three year old guy doesn't ask for bakeware for Christmas? Good thing my mom knows my taste exactly: interesting dishes that serve only one. (This cuts down on obligatory sharing).  When I unwrapped this on Christmas morning, I spilled my bloody mary, because I was drunk. While trying to soak the vodka and tomato juice from mom's white carpet, it occurred to me that this orange dish would be perfect for a single serving of manicotti. Having never made manicotti, I invented this "semi-homemade"-version for your delight. 

You will Need the Following: 

6 manicotti shells

7 oz whole milk Ricotta Cheese

1 Egg

1.5 c shredded Italian cheese blend

1/2 pack frozen spinach (drained and thawed)

1 t-spoon dried basil

1/2 jar store-bought pasta sauce

Salt and Pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Boil and drain manicotti shells. Set aside to cool slightly.

Step 2: Mix together ricotta cheese with 1 cup shredded cheese, spinach, basil and egg (slightly beaten). Begin heating sauce.  

Step 3: Pour half of sauce into baking dish. With a small spoon, fill manicotti shells with cheese mixture. Arrange manicottis in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. 

Step 4: Cover top of manicotti with left over shredded cheese and return to the oven uncovered for 5-10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Reused Basket Wine Rack

I'm always so impressed by a person's self-control when I see that they have a wine rack in their apartment holding unopened bottles. I myself can't keep booze or sweets around without fiendish temptation. Wine racks are an excellent way of telling the world, you have class. A great reason for making a wine rack is that now the cheap wine you somehow acquired during the holidays can become a lovely home accent. 

You Will Need the Following: 

Any basket of any sort

Wine bottles (full or empty)

Take this. 

And these. 

And do this.