Do you spend all day thinking about what you are going to eat for dinner? I am one of those people. I woke up this morning so excited because tonight I am making manicotti. And I don't just let it go at that...I start thinking of what wine I want with it, what side dish(es) and counting the hours until I can eat it. Some may call that behavior obsessive or neurotic but I call it reality. Haha.

So last weekend I went to Belini Osteria http://www.belliniosteria.com/ with some dear friends for dinner. I have been there before but not for dinner. The food was amazing! I had spinach risotto with goat cheese. I love risotto but I never would have thought of putting goat cheese in it and it provided such a great contrast in texture and flavor as the risotto was smooth and creamy and the cheese was tangy with a grainier texture. We also split 2 bottles of Toad Hollow 2007 Pinot...great wine...and did you know that the winery is owned by Robin Williams brother?  Look random fact for the day! I do have to say the restaurant is really well decorated in a modern contemporary fashion, however if you are looking for quiet romance this is not the place...it is more of a loud bustling atmosphere but a lot of fun. You will all be happy to know that I took pictures of everyone's meal but this week when I was looking at the pictures on my phone I deleted them thinking to myself...why the hell did I take pictures of all of this food...that is what happens when you take pictures after too many cocktails. So I apologize that I forgot about all of you and my blog briefly and deleted the photos that I took to share with you. Oops

I have to admit I haven't done much cooking this week. I would love to give you some really creative reason why I was a slacker but I just don't have one. I will say thank you to all of you who attended the Avon Breast Cancer Walk Fundraiser that Erin and I did at Wineyard...you all helped to make it a huge success and we so appreciated the support. I would tell you how much money we raised however I don't have the answer to that yet as I told Stacy, the owner, I would get in touch with her later. I did this because after 3 hours of drinking wine and eating popcorn for some reason I was famished and I knew if I didn't get food fast I was either going to A. become a bitch or B. start eating other peoples popcorn and that is a true sign of desperation or C. get popped for a DUI because I would just keep drinking to hold off the hunger. So I opted to leave, get food and find out our proceeds at a later date.

I did however this week make cookies and they were different. I made Rosemary Kissed Orange Thumbprint Cookies Tuscano. http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/rosemary-kissed-orange-thumbprint-cookies-tuscano/ They were good but different as they actually had fresh rosemary in the dough which gave it a herbal spicy contrast with the sweet of the cookies. I thought they were ok nothing to die for and I brought some to work and I never heard anyone comment on them again so I think that might be a bad sign. However, the group was already disappointed as it was Monday and at work Monday is Muffin Monday and I did not bring muffins. Then when I told them they were orange marmalade cookies they wanted to know if they were the orange marmalade cookies that Cheynae makes and when I told them they weren't pretty much everyone was disappointed. So my poor cookies did have a hard act to follow, but they also weren't heaven on earth or anything. I still posted the recipe above in case anyone wants to try them. I also must add a disclaimer as I know that I have been posting a lot of Better Homes and Gardens recipes...just have to say I don't read the magazine but I do have several of their cookbooks.

Well all have a great weekend and I will think of you tonight while I eat my manicotti, Italian salad and red table wine. Cheers!