Living Insanity's Loving Food

We went for dinner to the newly opened Rockville Matchbox and had a 6 minute wait even though they were very busy and told us it would be 30 minutes. DH and I split 6 mini burgers and a small fire and spice pizza. No meat on the pizza and I wish it had a little more on it. There was a smoky flavor and some roasted peppers but I needed a topping I could sink teeth into. I think we should have tried the pizza with meatballs. The staff said it was a spicy one too because the meatballs are spicy. The guys next to us got it and I was a little jealous. We decided Mia's pizza in Bethesda was very similar and we have some favorites there. I guess we'd go to Matchbox to avoid paying for parking in Bethesda. I do love my Mia's alsace pizza more-, gruyere cheese, parmesan, caramelized onion & thyme and instead of pancetta I get arugula. I loved my little burgers with gorgonzola and onion straws at Matchbox. It looked like everyone ordered the mini burgers. Heaps of onion ...

We had our own dinner part back in November. I finally have some photos from the party. Looks like we missed a few dishes though This is the brie appetizer I have made before. It's a Paula Deen recipe I always make mine with macadamia nuts and red and green apples instead of apples and pears. These are Devils on a Horseback. First time we had them was at Mario Batali's Spotted Pig in NYC. Cheesy brussel sprout casserole was eaten but not photographed :) Recipe was from here The star of the dinner. Beef tenderloin with shallots, red wine glaze, and fingerling potatoes with some special citrus sea salt sprinkled on them The tenderloin recipe is located here

I love grilled cheese and tomato soup together!

The annual cookie swap is coming up. Last year there were about 40 girls and it sounds like this year will be the same. So I made over 100 red and chite checkerboard cookies to swap :) I think they taste and look great! This recipe comes from The Way the Cookie Crumbles The recipe is found here 4 cups (19.2 ounces) unbleached flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, preferably room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (7 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar ½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar Liquid food coloring (I used red) In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Break the eggs into a small measuring cup, whisk them lightly, and mix in the vanilla. Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat the butter on medium-low speed until it’s smooth, then add the salt and both sugars. Continue beating on medium-low until the mixture i...