Score!

Sunday a church member gave my girlfriend and I over ten restaurant.com gift certificates for various restaurants here in St. Louis.

"Now paging Excited, party of two!!!!"

A special weekend

A couple of weekends ago my best friend came to visit me from Chicago.  This particular visit was extra special because it was her birthday weekend.  The weekend was full of fun-filled activities and of course, a ton of cooking!  During that weekend I invited a few people over and I prepared a Mediterranean inspired meal. 

The dishes included: Grilled Lamb Burgers w/ sauteed red pepper, Tandoori Chicken,  Watermelon Salad w/ green tomatoes, feta, and mint, and Saffron Rice.  I provided diced cucumbers, fresh Baby Spinach, Pita Bread, Ciabatta rolls, Tzatziki Sauce, and an array of delicious relishes from Harry and David to be used as accompaniments.  I also made an amazing caramel glaze for the cake my girlfriend made.  Don't worry, I had the drinks covered as well; I made a Whiskey Sour slush from a recipe a coworker gave me (uber easy) and a fresh Watermelon-Cucumber Mojito!

During the course of this blog, I will be posting separate posts detailing recipes for some of the dishes.

The Future

A representative from Le Cordon Bleu contacted me today!  Can't wait to visit the campus!

"Closer to my dreams"-Goapole

Pi Day

Today was my best friend's last day in town so I decided to take her to the Central West End for lunch and some light shopping.  We ended up at Pi Pizzeria.  I'd heard many great things about Pi so I figured I'd give em a try, it was fantastico!  Pi offers thin crust and deep dish pizza selections, and being a native Chicagoan I have to admit I had my reservations.  Although a little skeptical, I tried the deep dish and I have to tell you, Pi did not disappoint!  I ordered the Bucktown (named after one of Chicago's trendy North side neighborhoods).  The Bucktown came w/ chicken, mozzarella, feta, red peppers, red onion and we substituted the artichoke for spinach, and held the green olives.  All of those ingredients were held up on a light and airy cornmeal crust, which is what differentiates it from many deep dish pizzas.  All the ingredients were very fresh making the pizza lighter than most but still sufficiently satisfying!  Pi also caters to vegans and those that are gluten-sensitive by offering vegan and gluten-free crusts.  If you are ever in the Central West End, please stop by Pi (and sip on a White Sangria while you wait)!

Pi Pizzeria
CENTRAL WEST END: 400 N. Euclid @ McPherson, 63108, 314.367.4300