I had a great weekend!

I would tell you all about it, but you were there. So, thanks for the great time!

I'll be back.

On October 7, 2003, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, the most populous state in the nation with the world's fifth-largest economy. Despite his inexperience, Schwarzenegger came out on top in the 11-week campaign to replace Gray Davis, who had earlier become the first United States governor to be recalled by the people since 1921. Schwarzenegger was one of 135 candidates on the ballot, which included career politicians, other actors, and one adult-film star.

AND, on October 7, 1981, my bro was born: Happy birthday, brother!

Springsteen

Yesterday was his birthday! I meant to tell all (3) of you yesterday, but I was so busy celebrating, there was simply not enough time! I even brought the ToastPod to work and forced my volunteers to listen to Bruce all day. It was great.

Brick House

Mom, brother and sis in law visited last weekend! Yay! It was for a not-really-but-sort of-family wedding. We did some daytime drinking and we were the only guests cool enough to dance. ANYway: we also did a lot of great eating:

Friday afternoon, Mom and I went to Gaetano’s and shared a Beacon Point. It wasn't on the menu, but I ordered it anyway! I like to live dangerously. Chicken cutlet, balsamic, Portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, lettuce and fresh mozz. Sure, the fresh mozz is not safe, but it really makes the sandi, so I risked it. We drove down to the seawall to gaze at the water while we ate. Nerd alert!

On Friday night, Mom, the manfriend and I went to Biagio’s. I had an incredibly amazing dish: Piccata alla Biagio: veal sautéed with spinach, grape tomatoes topped with fresh buffalo (safe for me!) mozzarella and glazed in a sherry wine vermouth blend. My mouth was thrilled! I am not even a huge tomato fan, but this made me J in my P! Mom had L’Aragosta di ravioli- lobster ravioli- also A.mazing- the lobster tasted to fresh and delish and the sauce was nice and light. The manfriend had Orrechiette Alla Biagio: hand made rolled orrechiette pasta tossed with roasted garlic and broccoli rabe finished with a light chardonnay and olive oil sauce topped with parmesan cheese. He loved it, but I thought it was a little weird. I basically want to eat there every night, even though I would have to roll myself home. Whatev.

Good news: I got myself to Zuppardi’s. It was incredible. We had the perfect pizza(s): mozzarella (for my bro) and the other was eggplant and mushroom- no cheeser- for the sis in law, mom, and me. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It RULED! I love you, Zuppardi’s. Please see bro’s thoughts here.

TTFN!

Chicken B'stila

The BFF had all the ingredients for the Moroccan dish chicken b'stila, so we decided to make it for dinner on Sunday night. It was so amazing that we also had it for brunch on Monday! Oh, and I had it for dinner Tuesday night, too.


We followed a recipe from Cooking at the Kasbah, but the BFF made a number of modifications with the spices, like adding garlic, using boneless chicken, and adding more confectioners sugar and almonds than the recipe called for. The end result is a delish pie with layers of phyllo dough - brushed in butter - with the shredded chicken mixture in between, and a layer of a mixture of finely chopped almonds, cinnamon and confectioners sugar (and I added butter for good measure!). More butter is always the right choice! And, best of all, this was a no cheese dish! So, enjoy, you lactards!

A gastropub

 Things are going swimmingly in Salem!  I have been eating tons of delish fare, courtesy of my BFF.  She work as the sous chef at a presh restaurant in town, Sonoma, where I sampled some patatas bravas and shared some brick oven flatcrust pizzas with manchego cheese. Manchego cheese is dairy free! Yay!  

The patatas bravas were topped with a lime black pepper sour cream and delighted my palate. The patatas were crispy, yet soft and the sour cream was the perfect companion.  Yes, the sour cream was unsafe for my lactose intolerant body, but it was only a little and I was willing to risk it.  So on to the pizzas: the first one was covered in homemade blue cheese dressing, manchego cheese and tasty buffalo chicken bits.  It was nice and tangy, but balanced by the mild manchego cheese and hint of blue cheese flavor.  Yum.  The other pizza was spicy chorizo, manchego cheese and a light tomato salsa. I loved it.  The crust was light and crispy and just the right size for snacking with my peeps.  So, my readers, you must get yourselves to Sonoma. Stat.  

Labor Day

I am happy to have Monday off. I bet you are, too.

I have wild plans to attend a party in Manchester, CT (which will involve Bogner's burgers, tons of wings and a deep fried turkey?!) and then continue on to Salem, MA to see my BFF. I am sure the BFF will be preparing many delish no cheeser items for us to enjoy, so I will be sure to report back.

Apizza pie!

Let’s jump right in:

Growing up, courtesy of my dad, our favorite pizza was Zuppardi’s in West Haven, CT. I have fond memories of pitchers of Foxon Park white birch beer and yummy pizzas. Sadly, I am lactose intolererant, so pizza is not the best choice for me, but I can’t help it. A life without pizza is really no life at all!

Anyhoo- last weekend we tried another New Haven institution: Modern Apizza. I had the clams casino (red sauce, no mozzarella, bacon and peppers), sis-in-law had eggplant (red sauce, no mozarella) and brother had a mozzarella pie, ½ pepperoni. Well, readers, it was no Zuppardi’s! Brother’s was the most delish- the cheese really made the pizza taste good. Sis in law and I were disappointed with our no cheese choices, which is too bad, because usually with a good crust and sauce, the lack of cheese doesn’t take away too much (I know it sounds crazy, but it is true!). So, as a no cheeser, I will not be returning to Modern.

P.S. The good news is that the no cheese eggplant and mushroom pizza I had at Zuppardi’s (in Wilmington, VT) was AMAZING! I oohed and aahed when it arrived at the table and it pretty much blew my mind. So, there is delish no cheese pizza out there, Modern just doesn’t do it for me.