First, I'll start with last Wednesday. My mom hosted bunco at our house, which is a dice game she participates in every month with neighbors. March is her month every year to host. While most people go out to Costco and buy pre-made appetizers and dessert, we strayed from the norm and made some great stuff. First, is buffalo chicken meatballs with a sour cream/yogurt blue cheese dipping sauce.
Next, is spicy sausage cheese dip. I think I ate at least 1/3 of this stuff myself, it's the tastiest dip ever. Needless to say, every bit of it was gone by the end of the night.
We also had artichoke dip:
And baked brie, with brown sugar, almonds, and dried cranberries. Very easy to make!
Dessert was a blast from the past, a fruit cocktail cake my mom used to have when she was a kid. The taste is similar to a pineapple upside down cake. The recipe we made uses a cake mix, but there are plenty of recipes online that are made from scratch.
Thursday, I went to nyc to see the Rachael Ray show. Standing out in the cold for almost 3 hours is usually worth it if there's good guests or free stuff, but there was neither. It was the episode that aired today, with Heather Locklear, a pet trainer to the stars, and this host from "Bert the Conquerer." The recipes she made looked good. She made a tuna melt and a pasta carbonara (yet again!).
Nicole was going to come with me to the show, but she had to work, so I met her at Bouchon Bakery, in the Time Warner Center, afterwards. It had an amazing view of Columbus Circle and the buildings beyond. I wasn't too hungry, so I ordered a lentil soup. It was delicious, other than the dried veggie garnish, which was not so tasty.
Nicole had a dinner to go to later, so she got a giant Nutter Butter cookie with ice cream. I tasted it, and it was very good! The prices were steep, but for the view and the quality of food, it was worth it.
Now for the weekend. I visited a friend who lives in Bridgeport, CT. It's not the greatest town in CT. In fact, it's pretty run down. But that didn't stop us from having tons of fun and eating some great food! I got there around 10:30 and was starving, so we decided to have brunch. Vinti had been hearing good things about a restaurant called Bloodroot Cafe, so we decided to check it out. The cafe calls itself "a feminist restaurant", interestingly enough. The restaurant was very quaint, with mismatched furniture, plates, and cool old photographs on the wall, and cute kittens roaming around outside.
It's a vegetarian restaurant, which I didn't know at first. For lunch, they had omelets, sandwiches, and soups. I got a potato kale soup with bread on the side, and pineapple coconut juice. Everything was very good, and I also ordered a brown rice pudding for dessert, though I forgot to take a picture.
After that, we participated in a 90 minute Zumba charity event, to raise money for the American Heart Association. I had never done Zumba before, so I didn't know what to expect. I absolutely loved it! Everyone was so energetic, and the trainers leading it were really great. There was even an 8-month-pregnant woman leading for a while!
We were exhausted afterward and decided that we deserve milk shakes and burgers. We went to Moe's Burgers in Bridgeport. They have customized burgers, and they were cheap and just delicious! I don't think I had a burger that good in a while. Alongside, I had a black and white shake.
Sunday was a rainy day, so we caught a movie, then went to Trader Joe's for some cheese. We got three kinds: A brie log (convienent for slicing and tastes the same), apricot stilton (the apricot flavor was way too strong), and the best cheese I've ever eaten in my life. It was an Italian truffle cheese. It had a mild garlic flavor, and I could have eaten the whole thing myself. We paired the cheese with a Portugese white wine, a brand called Gatao. The wine was called Vinho Verde, and was light and refreshing. What a great end to the weekend.
Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and since living in Louisiana years ago, I celebrate it every year. I'll be making Jambalaya!
Have a nice week everyone!
~Sarah
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