DIY Birthday Dinner

My birthday was the 27th. Sam surprised me and we went out to dinner here. Since I had already planned out my own dinner, we had it last night. To start, we had steamed artichokes with Meyer lemon-thyme butter sauce for dipping. I made lobster bisque loosely based on this recipe and guilded the lily by serving it with seared sea scallops. With it we had a bottle of de Lorimier 2001 Spectrum which is predominantly sauvignon blanc with a little semillon and viognier. We had rolls to sop up the soup and I had planned a salad course but we were pretty full. Not too full for dessert, of course. I made Sableuse with my apricot preserves (from Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber). To drink with dessert, we had Moscato d'Asti. The pairing was sublime.
Sableuse from Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef by Jean Georges Vongerichten- This is what butter would taste like if it came in the form of cake. It melts in your mouth.

9 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 egg
14 Tbsp. sugar
2 sticks butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cornstarch

Combine eggs in a mixer with sugar. Beat on medium for 20 mins. Melt butter and let it cool a bit. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom. Brush with butter or coat with spray oil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When eggs are done, add flour and cornstarch on low until just combined. Add butter and beat for 10 seconds on high. With a spatula, make sure the batter is completely mixed. Pour mixture into pan and wrap competely with tinfoil. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Immediately invert cake onto a plate and unwrap. Cover and cool.

Not a bad birthday, if I do say so myself!