Last night I invited myself to my friends house, however it did come with two stipulations. I wanted to bring her brother with me and I wanted to cook. I know you are probably thinking, damn this girl is a little bit pushy, but never fear I have a few friends in which there are just no boundaries. And she is one of them. 

I had plans to hang out with her brother, but I wanted to see her and so I thought it was a win/win. I also was doing some wine research for an article I was writing and I thought if I offered to cook I would get some article research and a blog out of the experience. Plus as you all know my happy place is in the kitchen and I love to be in other people's kitchens....so seriously everyone was happy. 

I decided to make pizzas after reading an article in Cooking Light. However, although I bought some of the ingredients from the recipes we pretty much decided to do our own thing. And we had so much fun!! The pizzas were all truly a collaboration and it was just such an incredible experience to be in the kitchen with people you care about. The kitchen was filled with laughter, stories and just catching up...wine glass in hand. 

The experience was filled with analysis, tasting research and negotiation. I was teased about the fact that I tasted everything. And although I could have easily brushed it off as quality control, the truth of the matter is I just love to snack while I cook.

I seriously think there is just something about pizza that brings people together. It is a festive food, it is warm and cozy and it is one of the easiest ways to accommodate all needs. 

The first pizza we made had a marinara sauce. It also had ricotta cheese, grilled eggplant, mozzarella and fresh basil. The eggplant was not my idea, but it was amazing!! It was grilled on a grill pan with a little oil, salt and pepper and maybe a secret seasoning. It was cut very thin and it was already cooked when it went on the pizza so there wasn't any added liquid to make the pizza soggy. The other key to this pizza was adding the basil for the last 2 minutes of cooking time. It was delicious! 

And for dessert there was homemade baklava, which was incredible!! 

The entire meal was truly made with love and it showed. It was a beautiful night in Southern California...in March...and we ate outside around a fire pit, under the stars. This was a night with amazing memories, lots of laughs, good friends, good wine and good food. Cheers!!

“Cooking is not about being the best or most perfect cook, but rather it is about sharing the table with family and friends.”

~ Skye Gyngell, My Favorite Ingredients