Dinner and a Movie

So, I know that "dinner and a movie" is a traditional date.  However, it has turned into one of my favourite girl outings.  I'm a huge fan of repeating activities that are enjoyed (something like a routine,) and, well, there's a reason that "dinner and a movie" is so commonplace.

Last night, we switched it up and did a movie, then dinner.  We saw Confessions of a Shopaholic, fully expecting a thoughtless, silly, fun time.  And that's exactly what we got.  Without a doubt, the most hilarious scene was when Rebecca and Luke dance while away on a business trip.  (May make me feel a bit better about my dancing...)  Also, I'm incredibly grateful to have friends that I'm confident would never make me wear a bridesmaid dress like this at their wedding:

Yes, that is a huge butt bow.  And multi-coloured tulle.  Ack.

After the movie, we went our standard movie restaurant - Cambridge, 1.  If you haven't been there and you live in the Boston area, I highly suggest you make it over there.  They make these amazing thin crust pizzas with unique toppings.  My favourite is the potato, fontina, parmigiano (etc.) pizza - who knew potato (sliced and mashed) would work so well on pizza???  They also have these great breadsticks; you do have to request these, though.  And, of course, dip everything in the chili oil with pepper!  (And add a bottle of wine...)

All in all, a great evening.  Boston folk, get to Cambridge, 1.  Non-Boston folk, see the movie if you're in the mood for silly.

A Week in Food

So...  There was less cooking this week, but no less great food!

Monday, February 9th

Happy Birthday, E!  Another friend turns three-cubed!  We gathered at E's place in Somerville, had fried food (reminiscent of Super Bowl Sunday) and ordered sushi from Hana Sushi.  Due to my vegetarianism, sushi's often a bit on the boring side for me.  BUT, there's edamame, which I love.  And, Hana Sushi has this "New York" roll, which is apple, avocado and salmon - minus the salmon - delicious!  Apple in sushi was a fabulous idea.

I also made a cake - a very raspberry cake!  Serious raspberry.  (I made it in two 8" round pans.  I used two 12 oz. bags of unsweetened raspberries, mixing in a bit of sugar to sweeten them up.)  Unfortunately, I totally forgot my camera, so no pictures...  Yet!

Tuesday, February 10th

Stuffed French Toast, Hash Browns.  So, M1 and M2 were busy, so it was just me and M3.  I was going to unadventurous and make pasta...  But then I got French toast in my head.  And breakfast grew from there.  I found a recipe for stuffed French toast.  I used bananas and strawberries, and for the topping, I used vanilla oatmeal stuff, brown sugar and flour.  (I happened to have vanilla oatmeal, rather than just oats.)  Also, the best thing that's ever happened to French toast - challah bread!  SO GOOD.

This seemed all sweet, so I decided to add potatoes into the mix.  Dice potatoes, coat in olive oil, paprika, red pepper, salt, black pepper.  Bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes.  Spicy hash browns!

And...  Mimosas.  Champagne is healthier with orange juice in it, right?

Thursday, February 12th

wagamama.  wagamama originated in England, and opened their first US location in Boston a couple of years ago.  They are opening another location in the mall where my office is located; it's officially open to the public on Monday, but they had a special preview event.  I signed up, and M3 and I got a free appetizer, meal and two drinks apiece!  I had edamame (again) and some spicy tofu-noodle dish.  And some wine.  Yum!

wagamama is a bit of an odd place.  The food is great, and I think it's a great place for large groups.  However, the seating arrangement could be a little awkward.  They have these really long tables, and they seat groups of people altogether...  So, it's just not very private.  (Luckily, M3 and I were placed next to a guy that we work with and get along with and his girlfriend.)  But, good food!

And that's the food for now.  I'm heading off to Maine for snowboarding (fingers crossed) tomorrow for the weekend, so I'll be skipping Stroller Saturday.  And, hopefully, making it home unscathed, unlike last year!