Dinner Party...

Well this Saturday we had our dinner party with some friends of ours. It was a lot of fun. I made Ina's Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette and fresh Mozzarella. I'm telling you, there is nothing like fresh mozzarella. It was very delicious I must say. The thing I was most impressed with was the recipe for the Devil's Food Cake from our 30 year old cookbook. I have to say that I've never once been dissapointed with a recipe from there. Sometimes the greatest recipes are the oldest ones.

I really love to entertain. I just wish I was a little more creative with things like the table set up and all. I'm thoroughly enjoying this cooking blog. It's something to update and a lot of learning as well. I had to whisk egg whites with sugar til they made soft peaks. I started out the old fashioned way with a whisk but man, that was hard! My dad has these antique style beaters and I must say that helped. It didn't quite make it to the soft peaks but it was close enough. I should have gradually added the sugar so maybe that would have made a difference, who knows?

I'm very excited about an adventure I'm going to take this upcoming fall. I'm going by myself to the Hamptons where this blog is inspired from. I'm quite nervous I must say, but I was able to find my way through the London Heathrow Airport while traveling back (alone) from Somerset West, South Africa successfully . I've been to the city numerous times and actually going there over the summer but being by yourself is always scary. It's definitely going to be a little expensive but I figured, I better do it now. Since I started this blog I figured that would be a nice thing to look forward to and hopefully I'll have most of the recipes from this one cookbook finished. There are only 43 recipes in there surprisingly.

I have to tell you... throughout the day at work today I was daydreaming about visiting there. I would dream that I'd be walking by the old Barefoot Contessa shop (it's now a clothing store) and would just happen to run into Ina Garten. I would be shocked and tell her about my blog and she woudl say "Oh, well I'd love to have you over for dinner" HAHA  I know, it's pretty silly. But I figure everyone reading this knows how much I love her and they know my personality pretty well. I'm ok with sharing that kind of thing LOL I'm also excited because a friend of mine from SUNNY Cobleskill lives on Long Island. She was living in FL for a while but I was pleasantly surprised to find out she's back on the Island so I'm hoping to catch up with her while I'm there.

East Hampton is the very farthest end of the Hamptons so it will definitely be an adventure. But it's an adventure that is worth taking. I would definitely appreciate prayers for travel safety though when it gets closer. I'm going in September ( I know a little early in posting about it ) but I think it will be a great way to see where Ina lives and to see for myself what it's like there.