how fascinating.
i've been trying to really save money, so i invited a good friend over for dinner.
woke up this morning and the first thought in my head.
baked ziti.
i've been wanting to make this recently, so i thought tonight would be the perfect opportunity. i've become a real naturalist since i moved to nyc. i blame my friends. so of course i grated all the cheese myself. well. i did actually get tomato paste. i wasn't about to make my own tomato paste. that's a bit extreme. for me.
i ventured to get the ingredients to Bravo International Supermarket, a mere 5.5 blocks from my apartment.
this is a fairly new supermarket, and i just fell in love. it's a bit pricey [nothing like meijer], but it has great produce and a nice selection of organic and international foods.on the menu.
appetizers
green pears and apples
cheeses, including gouda, fontina, parmesan
crackers
dinner
fresh romaine greens w/ dried cranberries, bleu cheese and a honey mustard vinaigrette [which i made!!!!]
baked ziti
dessertbrownies w/ vanilla ice cream [these i did not make from scratch...some naturalist!]
now you must know this is quite a feat for me. [she says in her owl pajamas]i made my dreams a reality. and in this case, it was baked ziti.
14 comments:
Awwww. You are one very special and clever lady, Ms. Lesley! And I sure do hope your good friend loved every bit of it!
I am totally loving your new blog. :)
Oh, you are my daughter! It's almost as much fun to read about your meal as it must have been to eat it. It looks and sounds so yummy. Are those big hunks of cheese in the baked ziti? The salad ingredients sound perfect, and I love those round brownies. Is there anything you would change about the recipes? It's so cool that you made your own salad dressing. Homemade is so much better IMHO.
I wonder how your friends liked it? Karen and Rachel were lucky to share a meal with you. Serving food is such a creative and loving act, and there is an intimacy about it too that is very meaningful to me.
Dad just read me a list of foodie movies from the paper that I added to our Blockbuster queue! I'll send it do you if you want it. One is Ang Lee's "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." You know how we are, we get excited by the Food Network.
That int'l store sounds so nice! I don't think you've told me about it. Too bad it's expensive. But Trader Joe's is just too far away!
How delightful that Bootsie, Rauf and even Mystic Rose came to visit! And Sam! Wow, you are an up and coming blogger, my dear. And see how popular your creations are all over the world.
Baked Ziti! Round Brownies, Gouda! Bleu Cheese! Mom said you were making baked ziti and I in all of my superior intelligence asked: "is that some kind of fish?" I hope you had as much fun with your friends as I had reading your blog!
Lesley, I typed this comment on mom's blog, what i like and what I don't like, I find that I typed it on yours
Lesley ! for me taste is secondary, What is important to me is food prepared with love. Children love to cook for me. It always tastes wondrful to me.
Its so great to be a human Lesley.
Nature gives the ingredients and you make an art out of it. Nature gives you an apple which is a delight. but you make an ecstasy out of it by making an apple pie.
Art of cooking is nothing less than Renoire or a Constable or Bethoven Bach or Mozart. No wonder you are very serious about it.
Bonjour Lesley!
I found your blog via Rauf's (but I am also familiar with Ruth's blog) - hope you don't mind me crashing this intimate party ;-)
I'm amazed at this special mom-daughter relationship you have. So much love, respect and admiration for each other...
You seem like a bright, talented and very grounded young lady.
Wishing you all the best in pursuing your dreams in New York.
Bonne chance!
auntie bootsie! welcome to my blog! i'm so glad you are loving it...i'm loving doing it! it's really the best way for me to show the ones i love what i'm doing over here in the wig bicked city.
mommy!! anything i would change....definitely more sauce in the ziti. i followed the recipe exactly and there was not enough. and Rachel wouldn't stop talking about it! it was nice. two single women, enjoying life and not talking about men...too much. very enjoyable indeed. those movies sound so great! you'll have to tell me how they are. i love trying new things...i can add them to my 400 movies on my queue....how many do you have now??
pappa!!!! it makes me so happy that you visited my blog. smiling from ear to ear.
Rauf! i was wondering about that comment! but it makes sense now. :) cooking is such an art. and you're right, i do enjoy any kind of food made with love. it's something i've just recently started experimenting with, so i'm excited to dive into this new world! it is amazing to be a human Rauf. it really is.
Bienvenue Isabelle!! you are very welcome here! thank you for your kind words, i am so grateful for my family. my mother, my father, my brother. they are such amazing people. i hope you have been as blessed. my best wishes to you!
Now Isabella from Naples, FL, visited! My, my. She's a sweet lady. Isabella is one of the winners of my quiz who got one of those pins, remember?
We watched "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" last night and really enjoyed it. It looks like it's from the '80s or '90s, and is Chinese. Three daughters live with their single chef father (mom died). He shows his love by cooking AMAZING meals for them every Sunday, but they don't appreciate it. It's a touching film.
I had to leave another comment on yesterday's post since there wasn't a new one. ;) No pressure though!
Dear Lesley would you please allow me to delete the comment from here ?
I am sorry that could bave been quite shocking.
so simple and yet so..appetizing..am reading this first thing int he mroning and its making me quite hungry already.
baked ziti..i love it. in fact anything italian i think. although im not quite sure the italians would accept this as food..:) ive heard a few of them cribbing about american italian. had a couple of guests form italy..these were nice though they loved everythign i made..indian, anyhtign else, i just called it internationsl cuisine..:)
but very good, leselyanne! and os healthy too.
rauf..
so shocking!!
oops! forgot to tell you i tagged you with ameme. hope youodnt mind..but its fun. i enjoyed it.
please check out http://frothywaters.blogspot.com
the post at the very top.
you may delete comments Rauf, yes that is quite alright. please, no worries. :)
mommy! yes yes yes, i know, i had nothing to say yesterday! i will post something today, just you watch. that movie sounds so good! i'm glad you're enjoying your blockbuster TOTAL ACCESS. and you must know, it's only because you are such a prestigious blogger that i'm getting attention. :)
love.
MysticRose! yes, i can't imagine that baked ziti is a real gourmet italian dish....but it's delicious all the same. thank you! a meme how fun!
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