un bon weekend

the lunch plan was farm fresh crepes, but the place was packed. the next best was pizza. so we wandered into the "pink flamingo." for some strange reason i got the vibe that i was sitting at "pizza jerks" in killington, vermont, on the way home from an icy ski weekend on the east coast. the checkered table cloths, laid back waiter, and the decked out volkswagen van parked in front helped recreate the scene.

even the french can perfect american dishes. i ordered "l'Obama" aka "hawaiian" pizza and it outdid my expectations.

cheese, bacon, pineapple CHUTNEY

my friend stuck with classic french cuisine...

a selection of charcuterie and pickles

 a nice place to hang

for dinner, my dear friend came over to cook for me, though we both chipped in our fair share. 

inventive ingredients

 a first for everything

 the ghetto way to cook chicken

i have to say this was one of my greatest accomplishments...cooking without a recipe. especially the chicken turned out perfect. i smothered it in roasted red pepper and eggplant tapenade, mustard, and grapefruit juice, salt 'n' peppa. the skin was perfectly crisp and the juices were oozing. 

except the poor zucchini shriveled up

 roasted chicken, pesto/squid ink infused spaghetti with creme fraiche, basil, and comte sauce, zucchini, and strange cauliflower-esque vegetable with carmelized onions

this meal required beaucoup d'improvisation, but it was all the better. kwaku stepped in to add the finishing touches. 

we cool

an improvised snuggie

as we eat all meals with candlelight and christmas lights, my photos always come out tinted yellow, but the warmth is palpable. and today i went on a "roomie" date and we enjoyed our carrot coconut milk soup with a dish from my childhood...

 pan con tomate (tomato mush spread) with garlic and oil

c'etait un weekend magnifique.