Word Perv

This weekend, we Marylanders were blessed with the perfect holiday weekend weather. Clear skies, light breezes and temperatures that started in the upper 60s on Friday, and reached the 80s by Monday. Yes, it was lovely weather weekend for us.

There were two highlights of my weekend, other than the weather that is: the first was dinner on Saturday night at a local restaurant called Vicenzo’s. There a group of 10 went out for dinner, celebrating my dear friend Jen’s 29th birthday. Having never been there I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than it was an Italian restaurant. I’d gone out that day and treated myself to a manicure and pedicure. The chosen color: Vamp. I couldn’t resist a color with such a great name. And here’s a pic for you to see just how vampy it is:

Vampy, don’t ya think?

Anyway, back to the restaurant - Vincenzo’s. I think I got the best food at the table that evening. My choice: the restaurant’s cheese ravioli in a sweet carrot sauce. Sounds like a strange combination I realize, but you’ll have to trust me - it was DIVINE. For any locals, I suggest trying it soon, though I can’t attest to the other items on the menu. But order the ravioli, you won’t be disappointed.

The second highlight of the lovely long weekend was a friend’s BBQ I was graciously invited to. There was food and drink abounding and everyone raved about the ribs:

Even Daisy got to sample them. She ate the bone in under 2 minutes:

And what would a barbeque be without a beautiful blond girl blowing bubbles? (Wow! Lots of “B” words in that sentence!) Here’s Emma, enjoying the sunsine:

And while those in attendance might think the highlight of the day was when I nearly went face-first into the sand while playing volleyball…only to be caught by Pat from behind…and I think he may have unintentionally felt me up when he grabbed me…but it happened a split second before he accidently kicked sand in my face, which resulted in sand in my mouth, up my nose, in my ears, and down my shirt… So really, who cares?! It was an entertaining sight for all those who caught it.

The highlight of the day was actually the Charity Pie Bake-Off:

NAAP, the National Association for the Advancement of Pie, a ficticious organization some friends made up (I don’t know why, but it’s fun, so who cares?!), sponsored this first ever event.

SMAWL is an organzation that is near and dear to my heart, for they are the group through which I adopted Daisy. And since she is a wonderful dog and a great companion (when she’s not eating chocolate), I knew I had to find an excellent recipe to submit. On Daisy’s behalf of course.

I should inform my readers I’ve never made a pie before.

Nonetheless, I didn’t let this stop me as I went in search of a pie worthy of such a competition. Finally, after scouring the internet for DAYS, I settled on a recipe. I would make a Strawberries & Cream Pie. It was a thing of beauty:

Flaky crust, sweet filling, fresh strawberries, all drizzled in chocolate…

I wasn’t the only one who rose to the challenge though. Other entrants included a Banana-Chocolate Pie (which we called the Upside Down Pie after Emma dropped it!), a Blueberry Pie, and a Cheesecake.

The panel of judges, headed by a pregnant woman and a four year-old, were tough, judging each pie on three very strict areas: crust, filling, and overall taste. Each participant waiting expectantly while the judges tasted each delicious entry. Finally, it was decided, the winning pie was the Strawberries & Cream Pie - MY PIE!!

Now admittedly, since Daisy is a SMAWL dog, and this event benefitted SMAWL, I may have had the pie gods on my side. Nonetheless, we were excited with our achievement!

Overall it was a great weekend - I got a little sun, logged a few miles, took a nap, got pretty nails (toes and fingers!), had a great dinner, attended a barbeque, and won a pie contest. Really, does it get better than that?

And for those dying to try the winning pie, here’s the recipe:

Strawberries & Cream Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 cup whipping cream

• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semisweet and dark chocolate chips)

• 1 tablespoon shortening

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Make pie crust as directed on box for One-Crust Baked shell using 9-inch glass pie pan. Bake 9-11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, approximately 30 minutes.

In large bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy. Graduall beat in sugar and almond extract until well blended.

In a small bowl with electric mixer, beat whipping cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Spoon into baked shell.

Arrange sliced strawberries over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate while preparing garnish.

In small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over strawberries and cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until set. Store in fridge.