want to hear about my birthday dinner? good. because i wanted to tell you. the evening of my birthday i had dinner with sandi (my mother), neil, eric and pop. we went to aroma osteria in wappingers falls. you may remember my fantastic meal there during restaurant week . when we arrived sandi ordered a bottle of prosecco (you know i love it) as well as appetizers for the table. fried calamari, two orders of the burrata special (as you may recall i absolutely love burrata - the mozzarella-like cheese with a creamy center), a sausage and lentil dish, mussels for pop and salad of beets, arugula, pignoli and ricotta salata for me. i've had this salad here before. it is just such a simple,perfectcombination. the beets with the peppery arugula. the ricotta is salty and the pignoli add a great crunch. it's lightly dressed with just a little lemon and olive oil. simple and perfect. for my entrée i had homemade cavatelli with a pork ragu. few things in the world make me as happy as a pork rag