Friday Food

It has been awhile since I shared any recipes.  As you know, we cook at home a lot so we end up trying out lots of recipes.  Couscous salad is a popular one we make during the warmer months and there are so many variations.  But I made this variation last night and omigoodness it is so delicious! I just kind of threw it together so quantities are approximate.

1 cup couscous (you can use regular, or whole wheat, or whatever flavor you like - I used plain)
Lemon olive oil
Basil olive oil
Salt
1 avocado, mashed or diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, cut in halves

handful of fresh mint, chopped into tiny pieces
Red wine vinegar

Make the couscous according to the directions, but before making it, drizzle some basil olive oil on top of it. While it is cooking, cut up your veggies and mint.  After couscous is finished, let it sit out for a bit to cool (or put it in the frig or freezer to go more quickly).  Add the tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and mint to the couscous.  Season with salt and pepper.  Then dish it up onto plates.  Place a scoop of avocado on top of each serving, then drizzle with lemon olive oil and a dash of vinegar.

Enjoy!

Day 15: Cheesy potato casserole with variations

I am so annoyed I missed posting yesterday.  We are halfway through NaBloPoMo, and I think having missed only one day is pretty good for me.  Onto today's post!

I am always looking for recipes that I can make when we have people over for dinner.  If you know me, you know I love cooking, and love hosting people at our house.  I love finding recipes for dishes that do not have to be made when people are here.  This recipe for Cheesy Potato Casserole is perfect to make earlier in the day, then refrigerate until you are ready to throw it in the oven.  It is true comfort food, and with the variations I made, it is better for you than the recipe I started with.  I started with this recipe, then made a few changes to bring down the calories and fat.  The finished result is absolutely delicious, and while it certainly cannot be considered healthy, it is less unhealthy than the original recipe.

My ingredients:

List of ingredients:

• 1 cup 2% fage plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup butter melted (I have not tried to make it with margarine, but might try it the next time)
• one small onion, diced
• 1 can of campbell's cream of mushroom or cream of chicken condensed soup 98% fat free)
• 2 lbs frozen diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded regular sharp cheddar cheese

Set the bag of potatoes out to defrost for an hour or two.  Mix all ingredients in a big bowl after potatoes have defrosted. 

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Pour everything into pan.  If you are like Luca, you will stare at the pan, smile, and admire the deliciousness.

Cook at 350 for about 1 hour - it should be bubbly and have started to brown in some areas.  Friends were here by the time this was done, so I do not have a picture of the completed dish.  And it is already gone today!

With the substitutions I made, I cut the calories to almost half, and the fat content to over half of what the original recipe calls for.  I also increased the protein content. 

Enjoy!

Day 5: Weekend cooking

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend even in this chilly weather.  I continued my everyday posts to keep up with my goal of posting everyday in November for NaBloPoMo.  So check out my posts from Saturday and Sunday:  Day 3: Alone time and Day 4: Liver numbers.

Today's post is all about food.  Weekends consist of lots of cooking in our house so that we have snacks for the week and leftovers for lunches and dinners.  While some people hate leftovers, I depend on them in our household.  We normally have one big meal per week that will last us at least a couple meals.  And while I like to cut back financially in a lot of different ways, food is one of the things that we still splurge on.  We do not eat out often so we make good food at home to keep things interesting.

This past weekend we made a few things (it was not a particularly healthy weekend...must walk lots this week):

• Homemade granola - we have made this before and it is perfect to eat for breakfast or as a snack on the go.  Luca loves it!
• Banana bread - this is my go-to recipe and everyone always loves it.  Just Jenn has some other great baked good recipes.  Ian prefers it without the topping - but he is the only one that prefers it that way, so I typically make half the muffins with the topping and half without it.  I also sometimes make a loaf instead of muffins and it always turns out great.
• Pennette ala vodka - We do not make this very often because it is horribly bad for you (all the cream) but omigosh so delicious.  Ian decided to make this for dinner Sunday night.  And so great for leftovers.
• Lemony cake: I made this for my goddaughter and it is absolutely delicious, without icing.  Same idea as Darn Good Chocolate Cake but different flavor and a couple substitutions/changes.
• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 small box lemon instant pudding mix
• 1 cup 2% fage yogurt (or light sour cream)
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 large eggs
• white chips (optional)
• Preheat oven to 350.  Spray and flour your pan (I always use a bundt pan for this).  Mix all ingredients and add chips last.  Pour into pan and cook for probably 30-40 minutes.  Watch your cake and it is done when it is just slightly tan on top and a utensil comes out clean.
• Roasted cauliflower - Ian swears he hates cauliflower, but he loves this recipe.  We made baked snapper, a salad, and this cauliflower and it was a deliciously healthy meal.
• Pancake squares - great alternative to regular Sunday morning pancakes and it saves you from needing to do batches.

Recipe finds on Pinterest

I have a confession.  I am addicted to Pinterest.  In all seriousness, it has helped me on a night when I cannot think of what to make.  It has also provided me with some quick household tricks, and even given me lunchtime ideas for Luca.  I pin way too many things than I could possibly try.  But we have tried quite a few recipes we have found on there.  Here are a few recipes we have found, tried and liked:

• Buttermilk Soaked Baked Parmesan Pork Chops  (we made our own buttermilk using lowfat milk and vinegar, you can find how to do that by searching "how to make buttermilk" in any search engine)
• Roasted Parmesan Sweet Potatoes (make sure you spray your pan before placing the potatoes on it)
• Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze - Ian is a big sweets person.  I am constantly looking for ways to cook sweet things but adding some health benefit into it, or at least making it less bad for you.  This cake is great - only two ingredients and tastes delicious.  Even Ian approved.
• Crockpot Lasagne - This is actually a weight watchers recipe that is easy and obviously fairly healthy.  Ian does not like peppers, so I put zucchini in instead.  Really messy when served, but really good.

What are some of your favorite pins you have found?

Two recipes for you

Chorizo Carbonara: I made this recipe a couple weeks ago and it was awesome.  Most definitely not for the vegetarians out there.  It has a little heat to it but if you do not like spicy food, you can probably find some not-spicy chorizo at your store.  I substituted some lactose free whole milk in for the cream and it was still delicious.  When I was mixing the egg and milk mixture into the pasta, I thought "well this cannot possibly be good" but by the time I got it the table, the sauce had coated the pasta nicely.  I topped it with some parmesan cheese.  Also, this recipe was super quick to make!

Creamy Pasta with Leeks, Peas and Parmesan:  This recipe was passed along to me and I made it last week.  I doctored it up a bit, using lactose free whole milk (and a bit of light cream) instead of heavy cream.  I also added parmesan, and some garlic powder.  It was really good!

Enjoy :)

Recipe: Roasted Chicken

Seriously - this is the best whole roasted chicken I've ever had.  So juicy and flavorful.  I used a 4-pound free-range, organic chicken and now have chicken for salads and to throw into pastas and dinners for the week.  It takes awhile to cook so it's really perfect for a Sunday.  Here's the recipe!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roast-Sticky-Chicken-Rotisserie-Style/Detail.aspx

Dinner and a (Scary) Movie

As I've had a few days off from school, I've been getting back into cooking.  Two nights ago, I was in the mood for spaghetti bolognese.  I used this recipe by Emeril - and it was absolutely fantastic.  I would recommend if you're going to make it, cutting back on the cinnamon and nutmeg.  Otherwise, follow it to a T.

We also watched The Lovely Bones.  Before the movie even started, Ian said "why are we watching this?  you don't do well with scary movies."  I'm not really sure why I ever added it to our netflix queue - I think maybe because we had heard it was a good movie from someone.  Well - I hate having to admit this - but he was right.  I am SUCH a little girl when it comes to movies that have anything scary in them.  I closed my eyes through some of the parts.  The funny thing is - the movie isn't even that scary of a movie.  It just deals with a really creepy topic and character.  I was happy when it was over - wishing I had skipped seeing it all together, especially since I didn't even think it was that great of a movie.

We went to bed that night and when I woke up in the middle of the night to pee, I could not get out of bed.  I laid there, willing myself to get out of bed, to not be afraid.  Instead, I gently tapped Ian's shoulder, "honey - can you walk me to the bathroom? I'm scared from the movie."  Meanwhile, our bathroom is about 8 steps from our bed - but I have to pass the steps on the way because it's in the hallway.  Luckily, Ian just got out of bed and walked me there and waited and then walked me back.

I'm embarrassed to admit it...but I woke him again the following night to do the same thing.  I guess next time he'll make sure I don't watch scary movies so he doesn't have to get up with me in the middle of the night.  I'm surprised he wasn't more irritated at having to do this both nights in a row.  But I guess he knew what he was getting into when he married someone who is a weeny with scary movies.  But it's times like these that I think, I am one lucky lady.  Sorry honey!

Parrano and Grapes

Get parrano cheese with fresh red grapes - enjoy for a snack, dessert, or even a light dinner.  I found the cheese at Whole Foods and it's absolutely delicious.

Friday wrap-up

Lots of random things today.

The mattress topper thingie that I talked about on Monday is totally awesome.  A couple weeks ago, I woke up with my hip asleep (did you even know this was possible?  I didn't!) - that's when I realized we really needed the mattress foam thingie (seriously, what is the proper name for it??).  The instructions said that it takes a few nights of sleep for it to get to its optimal comfort. Sunday night I was kind of feeling blah about buying it.  But by Wednesday I was sold.  I haven't been waking up with my hips hurting!  And now, I don't even budge when Ian gets up in the morning.  He also hasn't been waking up every time I go to the bathroom.  I thing the foam makes the bed move less when one of us moves.  All in all, so far we're loving it.

Spring break starts today!  I say that with enthusiasm even though I'm going to be super busy paper writing and researching.  But I do have hopes to get some baby related things done - like narrowing down some of our baby product selections.  I've also been doing some nursery brainstorming and I think we have the basic concept down which means we can start looking for stuff for it!

Also over break we have some lunch and dinner plans with some people - should be good to have some time to catch up with people we don't get to see often.  One of the lunches I am going to is with a fellow pregnant lady, and a lady who just had her first baby.  So I'm sure that lunch will be super informative and have lots of baby talk.

Someone asked us if we have bought a lot of stuff for the baby - and I have to say, I don't think we've bought anything yet!  I've bought some books to read about babies, but we haven't bought clothes or cute things for the nursery or anything really.  I'm really actually impressed as to how we made it over 21 weeks pregnant without buying anything.  So also on my list over break: buy something for our little girl. 

It's supposed to rain here all weekend - so much rain that we're under a flood watch.  It should make it a good weekend to stay home and look up lots of baby stuff online.  And of course, ms. Tessa will be snuggling with me on the couch.  She'll probably look like this:

And yes, her tongue does stick out on occasion when she's REALLY knocked out.

Oh, and tonight is fish Friday night for Ian and I.  I made some awesome roasted potatoes last night and will have those as a side for tonight's dinner.  Last night, I also made Zucchini Gratin because we had veggies to use up before they go bad.  For vegetarians and even non-vegetarians (Ian and I are most definitely not vegetarians), this dish is delicious.  It tastes rich and creamy (even though I made it with skim milk!) and is an awesome twist on the usual potato gratin.  Even Ian, who normally turns his nose up to an entire vegetarian meal LOVED it.

Okay I think that officially ends my randomness for this post.  If you made it this far, clearly you're bored at work :)

I have lots of posts in drafts lined up so I will most definitely be posting quite a bit as we make some baby related decisions soon.  Who knows, maybe I'll even throw in a weekend post in case you're bored at home because of the rain.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Lemon Bars

I was craving lemon bars recently, so when we were snowed in, I thought I'd try to make them.  A family friend always made them for me growing up - it was kind of a tradition.  Every graduation or other big celebration that she came to, she brought them to me.  I really haven't found a lemon bar that I like better than hers, but I don't have her recipe so I decided to search for one.

I found this one, but took some suggestions and changed things a bit.  Here is the recipe as I made it, that turned out buttery, sweet, slightly tart, with the most perfect buttery flaky crust.

Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1.5 cup butter or margarine, softened (I would actually use a tiny bit less than this - probably 1 1/4 cups)
Filling:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice (from real lemons - about 2 lemons total)
a few tablespoons of lemon juice in a bottle
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Combine the crust ingredients. Pat dough into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour, and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot crust.
4. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
5. Return the pan to the preheated oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares.

Devil's Food Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I mentioned yesterday that I was craving this for the past week or so.  Actually, I was craving my wedding cake and wish our wedding cake lady lived closer because I totally would've paid her to make me a small cake. 

But, she lives nowhere close to us so it was up to me to try something to fill the craving.  Over the weekend, I finally had the energy to do something about it. 

I made Devil's Food Cake with a vanilla buttercream.  And holy crap is it good!  The only thing I would do differently is use about 1/2 the amount of vanilla in the buttercream than it calls for - it's too vanilla-y.

I even took a picture - go me!  I didn't make it very pretty which is why I didn't show a picture of the whole cake, or the outside frosting because it is so uneven ha.

The Latest Cravings

My cravings vary from day to day.  The past week or so, I've been loving fruit.  Pears, apples, clementines, grapes, bananas - even canned fruit (mandarin oranges are my recent obsession).  I can't seem to get enough.  For school the past couple days, I've been packing my lunch with a big salad, and lots of fruit on the side.

Which reminds me - I haven't had a lot of energy to make dinner.  So I've been trying to throw together some dinners that are super quick.  Like this delicious salad:

Spinach Salad
Spinach leaves
canned mandarin oranges
bacon/turkey bacon (whichever you prefer)
Marie's Creamy Italian Garlic dressing (umm - this MAKES the salad - and no I'm not being paid to write this)

Mix it all up and you have yourself an amazingly delicious salad.  If only the dressing was healthier!

Thanksgiving Recipes

I normally bring just an appetizer to Maggie's for Thanksgiving.  But this year, I brought an appetizer (these Gouda Balls), homemade cranberry sauce, and the green bean casserole.  I was at whole foods and saw beautiful cranberries, and decided to buy some to try to make homemade cranberry sauce.  I found this recipe and decided to try a batch to see if I liked it.

Umm - YUMMY!  I will never buy cranberry sauce in a can again.  The recipe provided a sauce that is fresh, a bit tart but sweet at the same time.  And even better - it's super quick to make, and can be made ahead of time.

Braised Short Ribs

While we watched/listened to football yesterday, I made these braised short ribs, with a few changes.  They took 3+ hours to cook, and probably another 1/2 hour to throw everything together and finish it up.  So it's definitely to be made on a day when you have lots of time (I imagine these might work well in a slow cooker - but don't quote me on it).

The things I did differently: I didn't use lemon grass, I cut the hoisin sauce to 1/8 cup, and added 1/8 cup of teriyaki, and instead of 4 cups of water, I used 3 cups of water and 1 cup of red wine (I used cab sauv, but I suppose any would work beautifully).

The meat - fell apart with the touch of the fork.  It was incredibly tender, had fantastic flavor, and the sauce was tangy and rich.  Oh, and while it's cooking, the aroma fills your house, making you excited and anxious for it to be done.

300th Post

Wow!  Thanks to all of you readers for sticking around and reading my blog.  Can't believe this is my 300th post - I only wish it was going to be a super duper exciting one.  Going back to why I started this blog, it was to talk about planning my wedding.  Coming up in the next couple days, I will have a guest blogger who recently got married so she can share her wedding planning experience and advice.  This is happening because I still love talking/hearing about weddings, and I think its really useful for future brides out there.  Going back to the roots of this blog, if you will.  I will see how this whole guest blogging goes and may try to do this more often in the future.

Our weekend was pretty boring.  It rained and was cold and we spent the weekend huddled on the couch under a blanket.  We watched The Godfather (for the first time) and loved it.  We also watched The Proposal, which we didn't love quite as much.  It was cute, but nothing spectacular.

I slept a ton.  This coming off of that asthma medicine business is making me SLEEPY! 10 hours of sleep still isn't enough.  I'm hoping this is just a temporary symptom of coming off the medicine.

I also cooked a lot.  I love coming across new food blogs and trying out new recipes.  A law school friend forwarded me the blog, Always Order Dessert.  I tried out three recipes from her blog this weekend to see her style: Potato Parmentier (amazing), Buttermilk Pancakes (amazing), and Pecan Milk (this did not come out how I wanted it - it came out kind of watery and not blended well - not sure what to do with all of it now).  I will definitely be using more of her recipes.  And the best part is that we have leftovers for the week!

Do you have any favorite food blogs you'd like to share?

Chocolate-Mint Bars

Wow.  I get the Cooking Light magazine every month and often try some of their recipes.  I was looking through one of them and found a recipe for Chocolate Mint Bars and had to try it.  There's something about chocolate and mint together that I find so refreshing.  This recipe did not disappoint me - I honestly could eat the whole tray.  But having just a square gets rid of the craving and seems like just the right amount.  Go here for the recipe.  These also would be great for parties because you can make them a day or two in advance and refrigerate them.  I think they also would be good frozen!

 * I would like to add that mine did not come out very pretty so there's no picture.  I guess the cake wasn't cool enough because the chocolate kind of got swirled around into the mint layer.  So I ended up purposely swirling the top two layers to make a marble look.  Again not pretty, but pretty freaking delicious.

Birthday Celebration

Ian's birthday was on Sunday, his last birthday in his 20's! So we spent most of the weekend relaxing (per his request), watching football, and eating. Friday I made penne vodka, that was quite spectacular! It was time consuming, but made plenty to provide leftovers for the week. I would make it just as is!

I took Ian to Woodberry Kitchen, in Hampden on Saturday night. I had heard amazing things about this restaurant, which is known for being more ecofriendly by using local grown food, organic foods, and even local or organic wines. The restaurant itself has a very cutesy atmosphere, feels trendy, with tables just a tad too close together for my liking. The food was incredibly fresh tasting. I started with 3 different cold seafood bites (tuna, scallop ceviche, and shrimp cocktail). It was very good. Ian started with a homemade flatbread that they cook in their wood fire grill. It was AMAZING! We would totally go back and just get a couple of those and a glasses of wine for dinner. For our main courses, I had the big-eyed tuna which was cooked perfectly, while Ian had the pork tenderloin, which was equally good. We then split a fruit shortcake dessert, that was amazingly sweet and light. We will definitely head back there but will have to plan since it's a little more on the pricey side for our one-salary home.

Sunday, we headed to church, then grabbed a bite to eat before we planted ourselves on the couch to watch football. I wore my Skins jersey while Ian wore his Ravens jersey. I was addicted to the games because of my fantasy football team. Two of my top players totally failed me over the weekend, but I'm hopeful for a better football weekend coming up!

Labor Day Weekend

Before we get into the next weekend, I figured I should probably tell you about our busy labor day weekend. Friday nights are kind of dead for us these days because Ian's long run occurs every Saturday morning. As he's been getting into longer runs like this past Saturday's 14 miler, I've been trying to make something with lots of carbs for him to eat the night before. So Friday I spent about 3 hours making homemade meatballs and tomato sauce to go over pasta. Holy crap it made a ton of food and it was freaking delicious. My one suggestion if you are going to make this is to double the recipe for the sauce. Also, I would add some spices to the sauce to...spice it up. We've been eating leftovers all week!


While Ian was out for his long run, I pretended like I was going to run errands. Really, I was going to pick up his birthday present to give to him early. When I got home I asked him to go out to the car to carry in the bags from Costco because I was just too tired. I watched him from the window to see his reaction when he saw the box for a 46" flat screen TV loaded into the back of my car. He was shocked/excited/shocked. I had been telling him we'd have to wait until I was finished with law school to get a new TV. He had been saving up giftcards for over a year to buy one. So I finally pulled the trigger, took the gift cards and took advantage of a sale they were having that had dropped the price down by $400.


Sunday, I spent most of the day in Arlington for my friend's baby shower. It was a great shower and because there weren't a lot of people there, we were able to catch up a lot. I wish I had taken pictures! She looks absolutely fantastic and truly has only gained weight in the belly region - I cannot believe she's only 4 weeks away! She is one lucky bitch to look so healthy and normal this far along. And the name of the baby if it's a girl: Katherine. I like it - but I may be a bit biased!


Monday, Ian and I headed to Hersheypark, where we used the tickets my mom had gotten us for our 1st anniversary. We had never been to a theme park together before so it was interesting to see how similar we were in terms of the rides we would/would not go on. Monster roller coasters - not so much our style. Moderate and mild roller coasters were totally our style, along with rides like bumber cars. But holy crap, the people watching is AMAZING at Hershey. I have never seen so many mullets/80's hairdos and denim all at once in my entire life. We had fantastic weather, lines that weren't outrageous, and a ton of laughter (did you see my comment about the people watching?!). All in all, it was a fantastic weekend!

Blueberry Deliciousness

Last week as I organized some stuff around the house, I had the Food Network on in the background. Looking into the kitchen, I noticed that I still had 2 pints of fresh blueberries sitting on my counter. Hmmm - what to do with them? I found this recipe on the Food Network's website. I made it just before Ian got home from work, and it was as if neither one of us had eaten in a week. It was gone that night. Absolutely delicious! And wouldn't you know, I got more fresh blueberries today at the store - looks like I will have to find some recipe to use them in:)

*if you do not have cake flour (I did not), you can make your own by putting 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with regular flour.

Ingredients
For the cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
9 ounces cake flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
5 1/4 ounces sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
15 ounces fresh whole blueberries

For the topping:
3 1/2 ounces sugar
1 1/2 ounces cake flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Spray a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated, approximately 30 seconds. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add 1/3 of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until everything has combined. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:
In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients using a fork to combine. Continue until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden in color. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Clam Dip

It looks kind of - scary - but it tastes delicious!



Clam Dip:



Ingredients:

1 package of philadelphia cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat)

1 small can of minced or chopped clams (right next to the tuna fish at your grocery store)

1 small onion

1-3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 bag of Fritos





Directions:

1. Set cream cheese aside in a medium size bowl to warm up a little.



2. Chop onion (you probably won't use all of it - you can use as much or as little as you want.



3. Using a fork, mash the cream cheese up until it becomes smooth.



4. Drain almost all of the juice from the can of clams, then add the clams to the cream cheese, along with the onion.



5. Stir the clams and onion into the cream cheese.



6. Add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to the cream cheese mixture. Stir. Taste and add more as you desire.



Serve with a side of fritos (seriously the saltiness of the fritos makes this dip amazing). Perfect for parties - super quick and you can make it a day ahead.