The next big meal

Bill and I have a joke.
Q. What's is the most important meal of the day?
A. The next one.

You have to know my inner ursine nature to appreciate the humor fully. Once I've enjoyed a meal I tend to focus on the next one.

So new neighbor Wendy and I are planning to cook together this Saturday. Four courses, traditional Italian. Lasagne with noodles from scratch. Gelato. All kinds of good stuff. Then her family can walk across the street and join us in consuming it. It's their daughter's eighteenth birthday too, so a nice celebration.

Wendy is a total foodie, like me. This should be fun.

--the BB

The ongoing pizza festival of 2011

Saturday night I made a couple more pizzas that a friend and I enjoyed with some old vine zinfandel.

Here is one of them before baking.



I went for a "Greek" theme: wilted spinach, sauteed mushrooms, grape tomatoes, feta cheese (along with the usual tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, a sprinkling of basil, and a drizzle of olive oil). Here are the remnants of the second pizza.


So far my favorites are (1) sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions and (2) pepperoni.

I came home from work tonight thinking I might bake bread. I had picked up some items at the store. Watered the garden. Sat in my rocking chair (actually it is a "glider") with some cookbooks, reading about ciabatta and other Italian breads. I fell asleep in the chair for a bit of a nap and decided I did not have the energy for bread tonight. I did, however cook some chicken and herb tortellini (from the store) and sent them swimming in vodka sauce that my neighbor had made. Yum.

I cannot stop thinking about food these days.

--the BB