June 26, 2011

sunday dinner: two favorites in one

tonight, i combined two favorite dinners - my friend kristen's lasagna toss and chicken parmesan meatloaf. i've never really been a fan of meatloaf but this recipe changed my opinion. i usually serve it with pasta but it also makes great subs. since i'd been wanting both the lasagna toss and chicken parm meatloaf, i figured why not mix them together? definitely a winner chez cheeky!

kristen's lasagna toss 
  • 1 pound of campanelle or farfalle 
  • 3 cups prepared tomato sauce (i usually use my amatriciana sauce)
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • salt & pepper
  • optional: parmigiano reggiano or grana padano

cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm. drain well.

heat up the sauce over medium high heat.

in a large serving bowl, combine the ricotta cheese & about 2/3 of the mozzarella cheese. add the pasta and pour the sauce on top. add the salt & pepper & toss well. sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, parm reggiano, and serve immediately. 

*i cut up just under half of the chicken parm meatloaf and added right before serving






















already looking forward to leftovers tomorrow!

date night for beer snobs

fanboy and i are pretty open about our beer snobbery, so brasserie beck was a rather perfect spot for a date. we started with happy hour at the bar - kasteel rouge for me, aventinus for the hub - both awesome. across from us, chef/owner robert wiedmaier was sampling beer with another chef. our dinner of braised lamb parpadelle, duck cassoulet, and steak frites was fantastic.







June 18, 2011

tabitha's 3rd birthday

happy birthday to our cutie pie niece, tabitha! 
thanks for sharing your "birthday watermelon" and cake with us.






 

June 16, 2011

congratulations boston!

i may live in DC but i still love the new england teams i grew up cheering for. last night, the boston bruins won the stanley cup for the first time in 39 years! 






June 12, 2011

more wine time

more snapshots from our favorite of the virginia winery, fabbioli cellars. how could a place that has a lego millennium falcon not be pretty awesome? we were also lucky enough to get an impromptu golf cart tour through the vines and to meet one of the vineyard's resident cats, warren.











cheers!

June 10, 2011

winery getaway

fanboy & i took a long overdue mini-break to virginia's wine country last weekend. though we were only an hour from home, the city felt very far away. of the seven wineries we visited, hiddencroft, chrysalis, and fabbioli were our favorites.

beautiful scenery + wine tastings = an absolutely perfect getaway