I loved all of your guesses in my last post. I promise you that I will share what Polish dish I made soon, but right now, there is a very special announcement I need to make.

My baby brother, Eric, turned 18 years young yesterday (June 17)!

Look at that blonde hair! I’m here in Arizona for his special weekend and have enjoyed going through old photos with my family. It is amazing to see how much my brother has grown, from the cutest baby to the most adorable toddler and now, to the 6’2″ hunk he is today!

It seems like just yesterday he was turning 16. We celebrated in similar style this year: golf, sunshine, Papa Bender dinner and Cold Stone cake!

But more on that delicious cake later.

We woke up early for our 7:30 tee time and Eric was delighted to find that he beat the entire family. We think this may have been the first time ever, since my mom usually blows all of us out of the water. Call it birthday fate, but we all agreed it was Eric’s sheer talent that put him ahead of the pack! We came home to celebrate with a delicious lunch of grass-fed beef burgers.

These were amazing! Topped with Muenster cheese, pickles, grilled onions and ketchup.

I also enjoyed this new beer (for me, at least) from Samuel Adams: Cherry Wheat.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the movie theater. Eric and I had a brother-sister outing to see X-Men: First Class. I had seen it once the week before with Bobby and LOVED it, so I knew he would, too. If you are a fan of other X-Men movies, I highly recommend going.

We came back to a delicious dinner on the table from Papa Bender: baby back ribs!

These were organic, antibiotic-free pork ribs and they were fall-off-the-bone good.

Spinach and salad were served on the side.

Along with a glass of Stag’s Leap 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. So smooth. So delicious.

We chatted for a while and then it was time to dig in to that yummy cake! Cookies ‘n’ Creamery is a long-adored favorite in our household. We’ve been enjoying it at birthday celebrations since I was in high school. The Oreo topping is the best part.

Three cheers for the birthday boy! I know the next 18 years are going to be even more amazing.

But wait…there’s more. 🙂 On the eve of my brother’s birthday, an incredible thing happened.

MAMA BENDER DOMINATED THE KITCHEN!! 🙂 Yes, this delicious creation was designed by her. She really pulled out all the stops, too. There was barbecue chicken (recipe here)…

…orange-infused roasted green beans and red peppers (seriously, make these ASAP)…

…and au gratin potatoes.

Now that Mama Bender has had her turn in the kitchen, I see some sort of Iron Chef competition in our family’s future. Who will be crowned victorious? 😉 Only time will tell.

Have I ever told you how much I love home? A couple times, you say? Well, it’s still true!

Hope your weekend is off to a delicious start!

Abrazos,