Dining In

I don't know if I've ever made clear just how much I love my living arrangements here in Pittsburgh. As far as I'm concerned I hit the jackpot: spacious house with utilities included, convenient location, safe neighborhood, and nice roommates. Really nice roommates.

Last night was a prime example of this. Whitney, my fellow Californian, was having an old friend from undergrad over for dinner and asked me if I wanted to join. Now this wasn't a "let's have Chinese takeout and reminisce" sort of event, my roommate went all out. Whitney's menu consisted of chicken piccata, risotto, and asparagus with her favorite tart for dessert.

The proud chef :)

There seemed to be a perfect storm of food "know-how" last night. Whitney's friend just so happened to be a chicken piccata expert. Since it was one of the first dishes she learned to cook, Blair was able to help out and make a great sauce. Whitney's mom is a risotto pro and was able to give her tips through the phone.  The asparagus was a recipe from my mom's Real Simple cookbook which never fails to provide simple tasty dishes. Finally, there was Whitney's apple tart cheesecake which she learned to make in elementary school with her older sister and has perfected ever since. 

This homemade tart tasted as amazing as it looked.

Everything came together perfectly and made for a night of good food, good laughs, and a good time.