It started off with a special delivery to my office - a lovely bouquet of orchids from Alisha and Nick in Los Altos. What a nice way to start my day!

Nicki and Adam had organized a dinner party for my big night. Gradisca, a sweet little Italian restaurant, turned out to be the perfect venue for the party. The guests were friends from various parts of my life here in NYC: Bay, Michelle and Lisa from my restaurant club, which has been going strong for about 6 years now. Midori, who I’ve known since we were 14, and with whom I traveled to NYC for the very first time (for both of us) back in 1994, right after we graduated from college. Kate, a friend I worked with in SF around 2001, who has become my yoga buddy here. Heather, Nady, Nicole, Emily, Paige, Jessica, and Angela (who traveled from DC to be at my party!), my Camp Fern girls. Joe, who I worked with at DFCB last year (we bonded over a challenging account). Alan, a friend of Adam and Nicki’s, who I met that night, but wanted to join the party. And of course, Nicki and her husband Jeff, who celebrated his own birthday the day before. It was extra special to have all of these friends from different parts of my life together in one place, helping me celebrate a big milestone.

The servers started us off with glasses of champagne, and Adam announced that it was from Nikki Jong, who couldn’t be there, but really wanted to participate in the festivities from afar. Apparently she had called Adam and secretly coordinated that with him. What a fun, sweet surprise!

Dinner was a pre-set, 4-course menu, served family-style. Here’s what we had:

Antipasto:
Combination platter of piadina – romagna’s flatbread filled with arugula and soft cheese with fior di latte mozzarella, tomato, basil oil; seasonal salad, extra-virgin olive oil vinaigrette

Primi (Pasta):
Cavatelli con Pomodoro, Melanzane, Spolverata di Ricotta Salata – cavatelli pasta, tomato, eggplant, basil, grated ricotta salata

Trofiette al Pesto Genovese con Patate e Broccoli – trofie durum wheat pasta, basil pine nut pesto, potatoes and broccoli

Secondi (Meat/Fish):
Tagliata di Manzo all’Aceto Balsamico e Patate Arrosto – sliced grilled ribeye, modena balsamic reduction, roasted potatoes

Filetto di Branzino Spadellato e Caponatina di Verdure – pan-seared sea bass filet, greenmarket vegetable caponata

Dolci (Dessert):
tiramisu, tortino di cioccolato, panna cotta

All the food was great, and the restaurant did a fantastic job with service. My only regret is that we did take any photos to document this amazing party. Nicki did such a great job organizing and making all the arrangements, and between her and Adam, all the little details were perfect. It was such a great way to celebrate, surrounded by good friends and good food. And at the end of the evening, I got another great gift from Corin!

So now I’m 40, and life goes on…