Last week we had our monthly get together with the Pidgiac. That's my Brangelina name for Donna and Sheryl...their last names are Pidgeon and Giacalone. Or should I do Giacageon....or Pidgelone? I'm kind of liking Pidgelone.
I hosted this time and fall was in the air so I decorated everything very Autumn crisp.
My menu consisted of homemade pizzas, the dough was purchased from Trader Joe's and if you haven't gotten this dough already, you should definitely try it. Usually I'm a Boboli pizza maker, I'm thinking not so much anymore.
I made 3 different pizzas, all with the plain T.J. dough. They also have an herb dough and a wheat which I have not tried yet but have the wheat that has been calling to me, I think I might do a bbq chicken, red onion and cilantro on that one tonight.
The first pizza was topped with prosciutto, red pepper, yellow pepper, yellow tomatoes from Sam's (I blogged about those here), red onion, arugala and three different cheeses. Goat, mozzarella, and a touch of fontina. I felt like if I did too much fontina on that pizza the saltiness of the cheese and the saltiness of the prosciutto would be too much salty. Only got before pictures of my pizzas, no after the oven when they are cheesy and gooey and delicious!
The second pizza was a Margarita. Thinly sliced pearl tomatoes, a few yellow tomatoes sliced in quarters, all three cheeses (mostly goat), and topped with fresh basil when it came out of the oven. No pictures of this one.
Third pizza was topped with Italian sausage, red pepper, yellow pepper, yellow tomatoes, red onion, arugala, and the 3 cheeses with mostly fontina cheese. YUM! This one was my favorite!
To prep the dough, my Mom stretched it out, then rubbed them with olive oil and seasoned with salt, freshly ground pepper, oregano, and basil. Then we minced some garlic and spread that around as well.
I also made a spring green salad with chopped walnuts, red onion, red/yellow peppers, thinly grated blue cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. This was a really great salad to pair with the pizzas, I was very pleased.
I almost forgot to mention the Italian Cream Sodas that I made. Some were spiked...some were not...I wanted to make something that could be virgin.
My Mom loved them...her's was spiked I think...as was mine! Don't you just love this picture of her?
This lady liked her's too, I so wish this picture was in focus!
We finished off our get together with pumpkin spice cupcakes (I had just the right amount left over from the batch I made for Riley's preschool - funny story about that really quick. I asked the teachers if pumpkin spice would be nice for the fall feast they were having for the kids. I didn't really think the kids would like that. The teacher then told me, "The kids just eat the frosting anyway, make the pumpkin spice, the teachers will be happy!!" So pumpkin spice it was!`
We had a great visit as always. I just love these two ladies. We have so much fun and the conversation never lags! Along the way a few of us got into trouble and had to sit in the corner and when someone came over to take a picture, the ham came out...
Is he not just the cutest thing? Thank you ladies for joining me for such a lovely evening/afternoon! Can't wait for Sheryl's house for Christmas!
And speaking of Christmas...I'm completely decorated, my halls are decked! Tree, banister, everything. Except for the front porch, that is still sporting fall wear, until Friday. It feels so good to be completely done! I'll be posting pictures of my decor soon! Stay tuned!
