Celebrating Chewy

My fabulous sister-in-law is pregnant, and I couldn't be more excited. She's due in November, so not in labor just yet - but Labor Day nevertheless seemed like an appropriate time to mark the occasion.

So I headed up to the 'burb where I grew up for a weekend of celebrating (which in my family basically translates to eating). In case you don't know my family well, it is telling that at one point during the weekend, my mom heard me opening the refrigerator and said, "How can there be somebody hungry in my house?" A good question, as even my eating skills are little match for her feeding skills.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a little shower we put together for Roseanne. The shower was at Northcoast in Wayzata. The food was good, the view of the lake was stunning, and the company was best of all.

My Mermaid Omelette ('cause this is a food blog 'n' all)


The view


Some of the company - Roseanne with girlfriends she's had for practically her whole life

Check out the adorable custom-made banner I won from a contest on my friend Kathy's awesome blog. Kathy is one of the most creative and artistically-talented people I know.


The baby's nickname is Chewy, a/k/a Chewbacca, a/k/a Chewbecca. I can't really explain this, but I love it.





The party favors were also Chewy-themed:



Just to drive home how the weekend went food-wise, my mother tried to feed me both before and shortly after the shower. And then we went to Mandarin Kitchen and had this for dinner.



Having my mom around makes the nickname Chewy appropriate for pretty much everyone.

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Cool Peeps - Perfect Pizza and Cake Pops

If it is true that a person is judged by the company they keep, I must be pretty damn cool.

Take last Tuesday, for instance. I was lucky enough to be invited to a pizza party thrown by Christian and Jamie Bowers, the dynamic duo behind Austin Food Journal. I've had a total blog crush on Austin Food Journal ever since I discovered it - informative writing with just the right amount of snark and just some beautiful, beautiful photography. Love.

Anyway, they throw pizza parties on a regular basis, where Christian breaks out his should-be-patented pizza recipe and goes to town. He starts with a perfect ball of dough - which, by the way, requires a three day process. This man is committed to making great pizza.

Then he gently spreads the crust out:



Adds some topping action:



Does some crazy chant thing:



(or maybe he was just adding some spices)

And cooks it in this oven.



I know, right? The mind boggles.

And yet...this emerges.


The Godfather - Kocurek Italian sausage, caramelized yellow onions and smoked mozzarella


The Polka Dot: parmesan, mozzarella, fried sage and cherry tomatoes


Perfection on a plate.

Christian's pizza photos are much, much, much better. Check 'em out here, here, here, here, and especially here. Luscious.

Oh, and speaking of amazing talent, you should also check out Jamie's gorgeous line of handmade jewelry. I especially enjoy the write-ups on her Brothers Grimm collection. Jewelry that empowers...what's not to love?

Totally unrelated, but further proof of the wonderful company I'm lucky enough to keep, is the amazing Kathy Phan(tastic). Check out these cake pops she sent me for Valentine's Day & Chinese New Year:




(This year is Year of the Tiger.)

She made these. Is that not incredible? She's also made Longhorn football pops, Twitter bird pops, panda pops, and even Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno pops. Also, here are some better photos of her Valentine pops, taken by her talented photographer sister, Tina.

I recently heard somebody say, "You can't cook in the bedroom, but you can make love in the kitchen." I love having friends and family who prove this true over and over again. Thanks, guys.

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