Happy Birthday, Kent!

From this...

...to this!

Yup!  It's the big 40!  The only real change I see is that he had so much hair before! ☺
So, what did the man request for his birthday dinner?  BBQ baby back ribs (ala this recipe), corn casserole and vinegret.  I'm thinking of a good surprise for dessert, though, so I'm not going to give that away just yet!  I'm going to leave you with the vinegret recipe.  I beg of you to try it!  I'm sure your first reaction won't be favorable, BUT if you give it a chance, you might find you REALLY like it!

Vinegret 
1 large beet, with its skin, but stemmed, washed, and dried, or 1 can (16 oz.) beets, drained and cut into ½" dice.
3 medium boiling potatoes, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
¾ c. chopped onion
3 medium dill pickles, cut into ½" dice
1 can (8½ oz.) peas, drained
¼ c. chopped scallions
¼ c. finely chopped fresh dill
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Dressing
1 tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. sugar
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

If you use a fresh beet, preheat oven to 375º.  Wrap the beet in foil and bake until tender, about 1¼ hours.  When the beet is cool enough to handle, peel it, and cut into ½" dice.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water for 10 minutes.  Add the carrots and cook until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, about 10 minutes more.  Let cool until manageable, then cut the vegetables into ½" dice.
In a large salad bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, pickles, peas, beet, scallions, and dill.  Season with salt and pepper and toss gently, taking care not to crush the vegetables.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dry mustard, sugar, and vinegar.  Whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the salad with the dressing; taste and correct the seasoning.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.