So in this temporary break from the Eurotrip series, here's a summary of our activities in the second half of October:
Birthday month, part 2
Our good pals B&K have birthdays 10 days apart. Each of them coordinate the other's birthday plans, so for K's birthday, B rounded up the Gang of Six for a homemade dinner.
Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself by showing you dessert first, but isn't she adorable?! |
Garlic bread and Caesar salad rounded out the Italian birthday meal. |
I think he might have scored some points with the birthday girl.
While B slaved over a hot stove and I took photos (pretty much getting in his way), N harassed Walter.
At least someone is happy in the next shot:
As a birthday treat, SD made Deep Dish Cookies. I love anything in a ramekin, and these were truly of the melt-in-your-mouth variety.
Once again, we non-chefs crowded in for a closer look, all in the name of "helping":
As the lovely ADP put it: N is helping...himself. |
Happy birthday, KK! Glad we got to feed you more than popcorn this year!
Cooking al fresco
A while ago, my long-time pal AJD sent me a recipe for a super fresh pasta dinner. I finally got around to making it recently, and I loved the bright, fresh colors created by the fresh ingredients.
Basically, it uses fresh tomatoes, red peppers, olive oil, and red wine vinegar to make a "sauce" for the pasta, and it's garnished with basil and ricotta cheese.
This captures the meal before ricotta, salt, and pepper were added. |
Craft night
Most of my close friends have absolutely fallen deeply in love with the Pinterest phenomenon. For those of you not already hooked, it's basically like having a ton of online bulletin boards, where you post images of your favorite things. It can be inspiration overload, if you ask me, but it's super great for finding a new recipe, or a new hair style, or even a new craft project.
My Cayman friends are as hooked as anyone else, and recently SD hosted a craft night based on a project she found while Pinterest browsing.
The evening started with an autumn-inspired snack (courtesy of - you guessed it - Pinterest):
Acorns! I don't even think we have oak trees in Cayman, so these were pleasant to see. |
Honestly, most of craft night was spent picking out paper and lettering. Well, at least for some of us.
This one got right down to business.
So did our resident master crafter, AK. Unbelievably, she was able to design seven small menu boards (one for each day) in the time that the rest of us designed one!
Ohh, a pretty color palette. It's like looking at a box of 64 Crayolas.
While I was still making decisions about fonts and color schemes, SM completed her board. She was quick to add Thursday's permanent menu item to her finished product:
Might as well write "Grand Old House" in permanent marker. |
Photo taken by KK |
Finally, finished products by KK and SD:
Sounds fun!!! A ramekin is on my Christmas list :)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun!
ReplyDeleteOh! I Want to see your menu board!
ReplyDeleteLK
yay for the craft night christmas edition! i'm so excited! thanks for featuring my b-day party too. so many fun memories.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally making it to a cayman craft night. Just try to stop me.
ReplyDelete