Ha! Didn't even know Annie fell asleep during Unstoppable!

Now I know when she starts to get comfy on the floor it means the movie is not keeping her attention and she's off to la-la land. Hey, we are in our jammies already. Speaking of which, this week we had a guest appearance by Brenda Kay. She must have missed the memo and came all dressed up. Really? Jammie Night...so for that she will have her picture posted - it's a cute one so she'll be ok with it. But we generally have a rule that there are no mug shots on the blog! You'll understand once you continue reading and see the pic.

Annie and I got to Toni's a bit early so we threw the chicken on a very hot grill to sear - we actually blackened it while having a really nice 'pour' of wine while watching a YouTube video of SNL's junk in a box. Yes, I had never seen it and I laughed my ... off! We turned the chicken over and put the heat on low and let it bake for another 20 minutes or so and Voila! So good with Annie's pasta salad and Trish's grilled asparagus and Brenda's biscuits in a can! That's right - I said biscuits in a can! BK is not one to cook and when she asked what to bring I told her - rolls, biscuits, something like that and knowing she doesn't like to cook I jokingly said biscuits in a can. So cute to see her show up with just that! She asked how to bake them and as she was opening them up they exploded on the floor! I was just taking a nice sip of my wine and promptly snorted it up my nose then ran for the camera while everyone was screaming '30 second rule'!

Annie and I pumped up her biscuits with an egg wash and poppy and sesame seeds - a la Sandra Lee. Check it out!

Now to top off the night Toni made the most outrageous Lemon Meringue Pie - the kind you want to lick the plate like you were 10 again!!! She thanks Betty Crocker and we thank her - we have dubbed her the pie queen - yes, her crust is that good. I am so not going up against her in a pie baking contest. Maybe we can get her on this blogging thing soon to share her recipe.

Unstoppable

I fell asleep.I didn't recognize Denzel until he spoke. I was amused when Earl's brother, Randy, jumped out of a moving train engine. I presume the kids added some suspense, but not enough to keep me awake.

Toni made a lemon meringue pie, Annie grilled marinated chicken, Trish contributed the asparagus, and I, a brown-rice fusilli with vegetable salad.

A Little Taste of Italy

Just in case you don't read my Capellino Pomodoro recipe, I want to recommend that you taste lemoncello someday. It's a liquoer that's Italy in a glass. Enjoy in moderation.

The movie...blechh, as Snoopy would say

My momma had the same advice ("if you don't have anything nice to day...") but I'll say it --- skip Going The Distance. What a loser. Here's the two Drew Barrymore movies that I can stomach: ET. Boys On The Side. However, I admit I haven't seen all of her movies, and I think she's a good enough actress. She's no Meryl Streep, but then...MS was in Momma Mia, so I guess everyone makes mistakes.

Annie described our dinner with flying colors. Thanks, Annie, and here's my Capellini Pomodoro recipe.

Dinner was Great - the movie - not so much

Annie made this fantastic Capellini Pomodoro - wow, so good. You should see this woman create magic in the kitchen. Trish made her ever delish salad with spinach and beets. I made the mushroom gnocchi and an asparagus rice dish. And to top it off, Toni made her famous apple pie! It was sooooooooooooo good. Maybe the others can tell you about the movie but mama said if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all and since it filled up my brain with useless information I'm going to pass on a comment. Hey - you never know - some are good and some are not so good but no harm in trying. It's not really about the movie - it's about the friendships and the time well spent laughing, venting, commiserating and supporting each other. There's always laughter and oh yeah, crazy good food! Good thing we all like to exercise.

"Get Low" ... my advice...

...whatever your choice of providers, find this movie and enjoy it.

Robert Duvall is initially unrecognizable,with his scraggy appearance, until you hear his unmistakable voice. Bill Murray (yes, SNL Bill Murray; Ghostbusters Bill Murray) plays an undertaker who's unquestionably a money-man before a compassionate soul, and Sissy Spacek, who plays a woman with feelings towards the Duvall character's pre-hermit days, all of these characters are ...lovable in their humanity.

What struck me in the cinematography was the use of silence. Watch for it. You'll appreciate that the visuals are not overlaid by unneeded noise. The visuals become significant.

Dinner? Leftovers from Meredith's birthday party the preceeding night. I'm posting my four pizza toppings here.

What goes well with gnocchi?

I've struggled all day, trying to think of something that will partner with Annie's homemade gnocchi. Can't wait to enjoy those!

I've never made it, but the Andiamo restaurant in TierraSanta used to serve this fabulous Capellini Pomodoro, with fresh tomatoes and basil. I found a few recipes, very simple to make, and so...that will be my contribution on Saturday night!

Andiamo also makes their own pasta, and another of my favorites there was a crab ravioli, with browned butter sauce and butter fried basil leaves, but I'm just not that ambitious...yet. Maybe I'll try that another Saturday.

Getting Ready for Movie Night!

First is Birthday Surprise Friday - check out the Quiche recipe. And then for movie night check out the Gnocchi recipe. Wonder what the movie will be this week? We did recently update the Netflix queue but maybe I should bring over the Roku just in case. We do know that the weather in San Diego will be about more rain - so over it. But next week we will be back to beautiful 'normal' weather - can't wait! We are so spoiled. And so lucky. Great friends, great food, great sunny San Diego where we can exercise and play. Life is grand!

Up In the Air with Crazy Good Food and George Clooney

Well, airports aren't known for their crazy good food, but George Clooney is eye-candy, and our dinner as usual, wonderful. Trish will post the ingredients for a spinach and fruit salad, Annie will post about the delightfully-delicate fish, cheese bread, lite vodka cocktails, and homemade sorbet; I'm sharing a risotto that we second-helped our way to the bottom of the pot.

No Dinner and Movie, but I have posted two recipes

I had two very successful dinners and wanted to share. Find them on our recipes website, here.

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Marty and Dale!

No Movie Night this week because we will be celebrating with the amazing Marty and Dale! We love them so much. Amazing people, amazing couple - great inspiration for all of us. Thank you for all that you are and all that you do!

Game day chili recipes have been posted

I only posted two since I wasn't a fan of the black bean chili and I don't think anyone else was either. It came from a mix - there's your answer.  Click here

I enjoyed the Darth Vader commercial the most - so cute, plus I'm a v-dub person.

We also had a great veggie dish from Trish and we celebrated her bday with a huge cake!

Super Bowl Sunday the Afternoon of Excess

For every adult present at Toni's for SBS, we had 6 pounds of food. Honest. I've posted recipes on JammiesRecipes.

The other Annie will have to post her chili recipes. I've never enjoyed a beef chili like what she offered, and her vege white bean was great. And then her four-layer birthday cake for Trish! Beautiful.

Unlike other America, my favorite SB commercials were Best Buy with Ozzie Osbourne and the kid, and the Audi where the rich are breaking out of Luxury Prison.

No movie, just a good experiment

I had a turkey breast and some lemon and wine and Parmesan, so I made up this recipe. Click here.

Fruit Salad

Some things are known for sure. The most flavorful cheeses come from Wisconsin, not just labeled as an adjective-fortified product, known as “Wisconsin Cheddar”. The finest dark amber maple syrup comes from Vermont. The crispest apples either from my home state of New York or Washington state. The sweetest oranges come from Florida. Yes, Californian’s there is a difference. California oranges are yellow inside and out and are later dyed orange for your eyes only. They have a “getting there sweet tartness”. In contrast, Florida’s oranges are orange inside and out and sweet, sweet, sweet. Take the challenge and thank me later! Blueberries, the best blueberries, are harvested in Maine and at their peak in August. Knowing blueberries would just set my fruit salad into perfection for Saturday’s Jammie Night, I set my sights on Henry’s Farmers Market.

When I arrived at the store’s produce section, I froze. As I looked at the blue marbled pearls before me, I was overwhelmed by the plethora of reflecting containers shining back at me. The blueberries were penny-sized, small, pink, purple, dark bruised blue, moldy, touched with brown, shriveled, green and at most plump. The freshest blueberries look like, well, not from a plastic carton but rather from a wooden bushel and a smiling farmer in overalls. From what I saw, these were not it. I was in a pickle! Wait this is about fruit not veggies. Frustrated, I turned my head away in disgust and found it. There they were sitting in perfection. My mind flashed back to when I was young with my Mom and she taught me that the perfectly ripe and best blueberries have a frosted appearance and bluish purple color to them. My thoughts returned to the present and I saw the deep rich colored fruit my Mom had described to me. Without a doubt, I knew that these blueberries would give light to the firmest and sweetest flavor one could enjoy, I placed the blueberries among the strawberries, mangos, papaya, pears, red grapes, nectarines, pineapples, passion fruit and kiwi. I presented the masterpiece, in a simple glass piece in all its natural glory as delicious!

The recipes don't have to be original!

Our Moroccan soup was called "Moroccan Saffron", created by professional chef Derek Ridgeway. It was a tasty blend of garbanzos, red lentils, onion, tumeric, saffron, and ginger. I'm taking no credit for this delicious soup. I purchased the mix from tomorrowproject.org. I encourage you to visit their site and shop for the wonderful products they sell. Tomorrow Project is a Catholic Charities organization, with the goal at teaching homeless women work-readiness skills. I've bought many of their soups and rubs and have never been disappointed. My family can count on one or more for a Christmas present.

If you are in San Diego, their retail site is a pink trailer on 5th Avenue, just south of Laurel.

On a movie note, I felt squeaky-clean after watching Secretariat. No betting, no drugging, no sex or violence, not even one horse tripping the next or one jockey over-whipping his steed(it was a Disney movie, after all). And when Mrs. Whatchamadoodle mind-melded with Secretariat...well, just goes to show that species can communicate. I don't know what language they were using...

No Dinner and a Movie next Saturday. Good luck, Toni, at your volleyball tournament! See you on SuperBowl Sunday!

Secretariat, Pot Pies, Morrocan Soup, Salad, Fruit, Raspberry Ice Cream and Cupcakes

The menu prompts an extra workout today! It was great. Oh, can't forget the Gin and Tonics which made this Annie quite the chatterer (sorry Annie) - but they were so good made with lemon - guess I needed to relax a bit as I had two tall boys. The movie was very good - we picked a good one this week. I'll upload pics as soon as I sign onto my other laptop - watching the NHL hockey game right now in the family room with the family. Briere just scored!

Should be interesting!

This Saturday, Annie's making pot pies and Trish is making a salad. Should we watch Cheech and Chong in Up In Smoke?

Great Post Ann!

After many Saturday nights of friends, food and laughter and many opportunities when each one of us has exclaimed 'that's one for the blog', we are finally posting! There are some blog moments that will not be forgotten and will surely show up here at some point. We are having a blast with our new tradition. Here's to the memories we are creating with amazing friends!

Here's a pic of Ann's Beet Salad:

And the all important Cucumber Basil Cocktail:

And finally, the Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce:

As we start getting this blog thing down we'll add recipes!

Welcome to the Pilot Episode of our blog!

I begin with apologies for the length of this first blog. I promise not to be so verbose next Saturday.

Four friends - Toni, Trish, Annie, Ann - have been having 'dinner and a movie' for about 10 months now. Every Saturday Night. It's expected! Started out just watching a movie with a glass or two of wine, the next weekend, added some appetizers and more drinks, then tried dinner, then another dinner, then realize we had a good thing going and et voila, it's tradition.

We're always at Toni's house; she has a large screen TV, subscribes to NetFlix, and the house is always clean (plus a nice kitchen if we cook on-site, and a conveniently located grill). We communicate via email early in the week, tossing out food ideas so the resulting dinner is cohesive and balanced, with flavors that compliment each other.

The idea of blogging arose a few months ago, when we decided that we needed to memorialize our fabulous food and drink and what fun we were having.

Because we've gotten so comfortable, we now dress for bedtime in our jams and slippers. Hence, the name of this blog: "Jammie Night". When the movie is over, it's 8 hands in kitchen, finish cleaning the kitchen, sorting and refrigerating the leftovers and it's out the door. It's a science. We're a whirlwind of efficiency.

We have taken time off, especially during the hoidays. After all, we're all busy and get invited to work and family and other friend social events that conflict with Dinner and a Movie. In 2010, we had one free Saturday, December 18, and decided to hostess a Christmas Party for friends. We didn't play a movie, but our agreed-upon menu was well appreciated.

January 22, 2011 --- our first 2011 Saturday Night together: the first opportunity to blog.

I'm sorry to say that our movie tonight, Date Night, was less than memorable. I expect more from Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. Maybe next time.

Our dinner, on the other hand, was FABULOUS. We cooked and ate:

• Grilled Chicken Breasts, marinated in lemon juice, rosemary, and thyme
• Tzaziki (homemade - yogurt, lemon juice, dill, cucumber)
• Beet Salad - roasted beets, sectioned orange slices, sweet onion, beet greens with balsamic dressing
• Fresh Fruit Salad
• Rice
• Grilled Veggies on Flatbread
• Brownies with fresh fruit and whipped cream

Annie made us a special cocktail tonight: Muddled cucumber and basil, diet Sprite, lotsa ice, and splash (yea, right) of Vodka. Considerate Annie, she didn't mix the liquor with the mixer, so Trish could enjoy the mixer virgin.

I'll end this post by saying two things about my girlfriends:

"A friend is a person who knows all about you, and still likes you." and

"A friend will help you move. A really good friend will help you move a body."

Good night!