Wow! The last two weeks have flown by! I have so much to share -- so let's start at the beginning!!
Firstly, I must say that I had a FANTASTIC time at our dinner party at Katie and Heather's apartment. It was so fun to meet with friends and sit around and talk and eat. I mean, those are pretty much my favorite activities to do with friends.. preferably while holding a glass of wine. Anywho.. let's get back to the food.. because it was awesome! Everyone was instructed to bring a side dish or dessert as Heather and Katie shared the duty of hosts and made the main dish (with the help of Katye): Bruschetta Chicken. Yum. That's about how you sum it up. It was covered in tomatoes and veggies and was just delish. We also shared parmesan risotto, cornbread casserole and lots of yummy appetizers of homemade hummus, Caprese salad, veggies with dip, and a homemade Southwestern cheese ball! Lastly, we finished off dinner with my homemade pumpkin pie and Mary-Kate C.'s ice cream sandwich casserole! Y'all it was so much fun and man oh man was I stuffed! I am so excited to do it again in December! Randan and I have volunteered to host next month's dinner party at our apartment! It's going to coincide with LOTS of birthdays, so it wil definitely be a blast! Plus our new roommate Courtney will be all moved in and ready to celebrate! Wahoo!
Firstly, I must say that I had a FANTASTIC time at our dinner party at Katie and Heather's apartment. It was so fun to meet with friends and sit around and talk and eat. I mean, those are pretty much my favorite activities to do with friends.. preferably while holding a glass of wine. Anywho.. let's get back to the food.. because it was awesome! Everyone was instructed to bring a side dish or dessert as Heather and Katie shared the duty of hosts and made the main dish (with the help of Katye): Bruschetta Chicken. Yum. That's about how you sum it up. It was covered in tomatoes and veggies and was just delish. We also shared parmesan risotto, cornbread casserole and lots of yummy appetizers of homemade hummus, Caprese salad, veggies with dip, and a homemade Southwestern cheese ball! Lastly, we finished off dinner with my homemade pumpkin pie and Mary-Kate C.'s ice cream sandwich casserole! Y'all it was so much fun and man oh man was I stuffed! I am so excited to do it again in December! Randan and I have volunteered to host next month's dinner party at our apartment! It's going to coincide with LOTS of birthdays, so it wil definitely be a blast! Plus our new roommate Courtney will be all moved in and ready to celebrate! Wahoo!
Here is a picture of my pumpkin pie! Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before it was half-eaten. :)
And here is the recipe!* Trust me, it is soooo good. But beware, it packs some serious calories.. not that I care because I love pie and I love the holidays for which we bake them!
Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, plus 2 yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 stick butter, melted then cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 piece pre-made pie dough (I just go to the freezer section of the grocery store and get one that's ready to bake, although I am going to try to make my own.. I just need a rolling pin.)**
Whipped cream for topping
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half and melted, cooled butter and beat until combined. Finally add the cinnamon, ginger and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 50 minutes or until the center is set. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top!
So aside from the wonderful dinner party on Veteran's Day, my birthday was this past Monday! I am now officially 23! And I am so happy to have been surrounded by so many wonderful friends all weekend! We started the celebration on Saturday by going to dinner at Liberty Tavern in Clarendon. We also went to happy hour at Kelly's Irish Times on Monday and had fun as well, but let's not skip the best part and get back to talkin' about Saturday's meal!
That dinner was A-M-AAAAAA-ZING!! It was such a great atmosphere and was definitely moderately priced! I had the filet with this extremely yummy raspberry and red wine sauce on top with fingerling potatoes and braised oxtail stuffed cabbage. Oh my Lord! Y'all it was to-die-for. I ate the whole thing. Not kidding. Definitely one of my most fave meals I have ever had! It rivals my most favorite meal at Hennessey's in Columbia.. and that's hard to beat!*** I think everyone had a great meal as well. Randan had the rabbit confit with egg noodles, which I tasted and loved! Adam had a delish Italian fennel sausage pizza, and a few others the hand-made Gnocchi! I was so thankful to get to have a great meal in DC and spend time with great friends!
Here are some pictures from the fun that was had that night:
Not to mention that I also got flowers sent me at work from sweet Adam on Monday :)
Overall it was a great birthday weekend! I got lots of fun gifts and have many memories that I will always remember! And hey, 23 isn't so bad!
Y'all have a good rest of your week!
PS: I want to give a shout-out to the Hampden-Sydney Tigers football team for a perfect 10-0 season and congratulations on making it to NCAA Division III playoffs! I'll be at the first round home game on Saturday cheering you on!! Wahoo!!
PSS: If only the USC Gamecocks would win on Thanksgiving weekend against Clemson, I would be a happy camper for sure!
*I did borrow this recipe from Paula Deen. How could you not? Her pies are to die-for. For reals.
**Yeah, that was a shameless plug for "if you wanna get me a gift, a rolling pin would be perfect."
***Y'all if you have never heard of Hennessey's on Main Street in Columbia, SC, get there now. The food and the atmosphere are terrific and the ingredients are all local. Can't beat that!
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