Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza

One of my favorite memories of Texas was a wine tasting shower I threw for some friends.  We had 6 bottles of wine, and food pairings to go with each course.  One of my favorite new recipes from that day was a pizza I haven't made since.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pizza with Manchego, Feta, and Chicken
1 Boboli Crust
1/4 Cup Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
1/4 Cup Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Manchego
1/2 Cup Rotisserie Chicken

Preheat oven to 350.  Put pesto all over the boboli crust.

Top with the manchego and feta.  Add the chicken scattered around, and bake for 25 minutes.

Slice and serve!  Yummm.....

Sometimes I Really Hate Men...

I should preface this post by saying it is in no way, shape, or form about Gimpy.  He's an amazing boyfriend, and I wake up every morning wondering how I ever managed to be so lucky as to end up with him.  This post is about another guy entirely...

So I have a friend from grad school at TCU, a sweet little girl named B.  We met in our first grad school class a few years ago, and became fast friends and running buddies (while I lived in Texas).  She was there for me all the time when my ex and I broke up, and she was always on the look-out for her Prince Charming.  In January 2009, she called me excitedly because she thought she'd met him.  The Hamburgler was everything she had ever dreamed of (with the exception of his family being huge OU fans).  I met him that February when MM and I went into town early for another friend's wedding, and he seemed like a really, really good match for her. 

Cue to the next December, when I had this feeling deep down in my stomach, I just needed to call B.  I was wandering through Target, and she picked up right away - she was beyond estatic - the Hamburgler had just proposed!  That was followed by a weekend trip to Texas in March to pick out her dress, our bridesmaid dresses, and to meet her other girls. 

Last night I was laying in bed with Gimpy after yet another eventful weekend full of parties, puppy sitting, and fun, and my phone starts to vibrate with a text. 

"Just wanted you to know, I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but The Hamburgler called off our engagement tonight."

It makes me furious.  I hate it, I hate him, and I am so mad I am 2000 miles away and can't be there for her right now. 

Thanks for letting me vent. 

An Afternoon Down the Connecticut Wine Trail

For the past two years that I've lived back home in CT, my friends and I have been talking about renting a minibus and going for a tour of the Connecticut Wine Trail.  Shockingly, there are 23 vineyards in our little state, and they have a convenient way that you can plan your trip from one to the next.

So after waiting for two years for one of my friends to do something, I finally sat down with B at the beginning of August and we mapped out our schedules for the rest of the year.  We had a free weekend in October, so I made some calls, found a mini-coach that seats 24, have 22 solid committments so far, and we are going wine tasting! 

The plan is to hit five vineyards, and then come back to my place for a wine and cheese party.  I'm super excited because my newly married cousin and her husband, and my sister and her husband are all coming down!  Now if only my girls V and M could fly in from Chicago and Alaska... but there's always next year!

My Next Food Challenge

My cousin Aly got married last Friday, at a beautiful wedding with amazing food.  The salad course was scrumptious, and my brother in law asked me if I could replicate it at some point.

The apple was stuffed with chicken sausage, and then baked with a cinnamon stick stuck in it.  It sat on a field of baby greens, with candied walnuts, craisins, and gorgonzola.  

Stay tuned... I will see if I can make a yummy recipe to give you all!  

A Million Dresses, and Nothing to Wear

Last Friday, my friends Zack and Marisa got married.  It was a beautiful outdoor wedding on the water at The Inn at Longshore - stunning setting.  I wore a super cute blue dress with a scalloped top, it was the perfect dress for the occasion.

This Friday night, my cousin Aly is getting married at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT, and I have a super cute coral-pink dress with one shoulder and roses on the left sleeve.  So excited.  Blue last Friday, coral-pink this Friday, and now the big issue.

This Friday, after leaving Aly's wedding, Gimpy and I will be driving the 9 hours to Virginia for a wedding that he is in.  We'll sleep about 2 hours, shower, and get ready for a Saturday 2pm wedding that's at an outdoor gazebo.  Trouble is, I am out of colorful dresses with the exception of the one I am loaning my sister... so I don't know what to wear!  Right now I am leaning toward borrowing B's dress (far right above)...

No, a 9" Round Cake is Not Big Enough for a Smirnoff Ice...

This past weekend, Gimpy's old roommate celebrated his 30th birthday, and so Gimpy and I threw him a party at his place for Greg.  I prepared a bunch of food, but the crowning glory of the weekend was the chocolate cake with an Icy Surprise.

If you don't have a group of immature guy friends, you may not know about Bros Icing Bros, but it's been a huge thing around Stamford this year.  Basically what happens is that you are supposed to come up with a creative and unique way to "Ice" your bro.  You give him a Smirnoff Ice, and he has to get on one knee and chug it.  If they have another Smirnoff Ice, they can block you, and you have to drink two.  Needless to say, I have drank more Smirnoff Ice this year than ever before.

So!  I asked Gimpy, "Hunny, do you want me to make a cake and put a Smirnoff Ice inside it?"  Obviously the answer was yes.

I made 4- 9" round cakes, and tried to go out the Ice in, only to discover that it wasn't long enough!  So I had to get a little creative.

It wasn't my ideal, but I carved two of the cakes into a rectangle, and put the Raspberry Smirnoff Ice into the middle of it.  I had originally planned to put posts in to the bottom three layers of cake, carve the space, and then put a very, very thin layer of the cake on top.

So anyway, I put the cake in the center, and carved out a piece of the top section.  I figured I would put it toward the top, and start to bury the bottle.

So!  The next few steps included some serious frosting action to bury the bottle fully.  I didn't want him to have any clue what the "raspberry filling" was in his chocolate cake.  Little did I know that by the time we got there, Greg would be so wasted he would have no idea what to expect!


So, the cake came to the party, and people kept asking what kind it was.  Chocolate with Raspberry filling was our standard response.  When the time came, one of our friends hit the lights, we grabbed a lighter, lit the candles, and started to sing happy birthday.  Greg blew out the candles, made a wish, Betsey handed him a knife, and he went to slice.  When he started to slice... there was a bottle of Smirnoff Ice!

My Best Icing Ever!

That Time We Had a Jewelry Party....

So our friend lost her job about a month and a half ago, and decided to start selling jewelry for Lia Sophia. To date, B and I have been invited to 5 or 6 of these in the last year or so, and have always resisted throwing one.  Now we didn't have a choice, you have to help a friend!

We invited about 40 girls over on a Wednesday night, and had about 5 show up, ah well!  Summer is busy.    I put B in charge of wine, and made a very nice food spread.

I fixed some artichoke dip with tortilla chips, buffalo chicken meatballs, spring rolls, cheese plate with crackers and rosemary bread, and a fruit platter with my key lime yogurt dip!  

Key Lime Yogurt Dip

8 oz package of cream cheese 

6 oz container of french vanilla yogurt

3 oz of key lime yogurt 

1 Tbsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp confectioners sugar 

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.  

Serve with fruit, cookies, cake, or other sweets.

We had a good time, shopped for some sparkly pieces, and drank a bunch of wine.  All in all a success!