July 06, 2011

smash's homemade birthday dinner

world traveler turned domestic goddess

this is my amazing friend, ashley. you may remember her from when she came to visit this winter (here, here, and here). we became close friends in kansas city, having known the same mutual group from college. she has lived in australia, england, and spain and has done an extensive amount of traveling in between. confidence is in her bones and there is not a bottle of wine yet that hasn't liked her. i admire her greatly and she inspires me all the time. also, she visits me wherever i am, and frequently. SO, of course i couldn't miss her birthday in good ol' wichita, kansas. never a dull moment!


homemade whole wheat pasta with semolina

homemade pasta sauce

baked homemade meatballs with panko

homemade candied pecans
(so fun! i had always wanted to try this with nuts. it was easy-peasy)

strawberry salad with poppy seed dressing (and the candied pecans) i bought a white onion to thinly slice over this and it oddly disappeared? we looked in the fridge, in the trash, and on the floor. weird

the full spread, complete with copious amounts of wine.
a collaborative effort done by ashley (head chef) and myself (sous chef)
big kudos to the birthday girl for hosting her own b-day dinner and cooking it, too!

success! everything tasted uh-mazing

me, michelle (ash's ksu roommate), ashley, brooke (michelle's sister, in from korea), raegan (neighbor)

raegan was so sweet and had pre-ordered some birthday cupcakes from a local bakery. they failed to tell her that they are closed on mondays, so she quickly got a cake from dillons last minute. we called it the baby-shower-pink birthday cake

happy 28th, Ash!

oh yeah, we kind of made a homemade apple tart, too. (the day before) 
vanilla ice cream on the side = perfection

and just so you know, the only meal prior to this occasion that i had ever seen Ashley cook, was toast in the toaster and the one time in kansas city that we made tyler florence's tomatilla chicken enchiladas.
i think she could dominate any kitchen at this point!

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4 comments

Anonymous said...

Beautiful food, company, surroundings, and a story to match!. I stumbled on your blog about two months ago and have not made a comment yet.

Nice to virtually meet you :)

Jen

Dawn said...

Awesome post Angela, loved your photos and the details. What great friends you have and the food is amazing. That brick wall in her place is stunning. You look so beautiful in your element. Dawn Suitcase vignettes xo

Unknown said...

That dinner looks amazing! I want a dining table that looks that gorgeous...I'm totally pinning your photo.

Marie Pech said...

jen- thanks for stopping by! :)

dawn- i am so jealous of that brick apartment. it's gorgeous!

leanna- pin away! i swear that thing was the size of a queen size bed

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