Life, Glorious Food!: Foodie Friends on the Farm

This past Sunday, one of my most favorite foodie friends, Nicole, invited me to her new house located on a farm in Hammonton, NJ for a cooking date. Nicole and I have been long time friends that began when we became coworkers at Underwood Engineering five years ago.

Nicole is a spunky Italian mother of three who loves to eat and cook. She and I have tried so many delicious restaurants all over the tri-state area and one day hope to start an endeavor together that will incorporate our love of food. We were once dubbed by a table neighbor we met at a cozy BYOB as "Partners in Dine" and I must agree that title describes our relationship to a tee.

We spent all week emailing back and forth specific menu ideas for our Sunday feast. We decided on:

Shrimp ceviche with grilled romaine

Homemade cannelloni pasta rolls filled with artichokes, leeks, and mushrooms topped with a truffle cream sauce

Roasted asparagus with lemon and herbs

Banana cream pie and blueberry pie with homemade crust

Nicole also surprised me with a delicious antipasto and homemade rice balls. She spent the night before making the risotto from scratch. All of the ingredients we used to make our dishes were from Bagliani's, a small family owned Italian market. Even the breadcrumbs we used, which were sold by the bag, were literally made in the back by Grandma Bagliani.

One of our favorite restaurants to lunch at is Sang-kee Peking Duck House in Chinatown. One of the many reasons why we love it there so much is becuase of the Iced Tea. Surprisingly, they make the best Iced Tea we have ever had. It's a sweetened, freshly brewed tea with lots of lemon. The ice - so perfectly crushed - is what really makes the tea sing. Well, leave it to Nicole to try and duplicate it for our special Sunday dinner feast. She came very close, and had she gotten crushed ice, it woudlve been exact!

Needless to say, the meal was absolutely delicious. Thanks again to my devoted foodie friend for allowing me to mess up her kitchen and create another fantastic food memory!