teacher luncheon

snapped a few pictures from the luncheon. everything went smoothly with the menu.

creamy tomato basil soup

gelato with biscotto

luncheon was a hit. check please.

la dolce vita

honestly, i don't think this day could have been better. i got to spend quality time with grandma and the sister in the always wonderful downtown Pasadena (and eat at this DREAM of a restaurant...(another location at South Coast Plaza)

and shop around the plethora of shops and boutiques. not to mention the fact that i walked through my favorite store, sur la table, and came home to my mouth watering, haagen daaz-like, strawberry gelato and chocolaty biscotti i worked so hard to get perfect. needless to say, i was so pleased with the outcome.

party of 12

next week i'm catering a luncheon for teachers around southern california. menu will include...

lobster bisque

ricotta and spinach raviolis with chopped asparagus in a wine butter sauce

homemade strawberry gelato with chocolate hazelnut biscotti

stay tuned for pictures.

-invitations from papyrus-

smitten

one of my favorite websites is smitten kitchen. when typing the web address in, i forgot to enter in 'kitchen' and instead typed in smitten.com . this website is almost as bad as the 'snuggie'.

the smitten mitten is for friends and lovers

ONLY $13.90

miss dior cherie

once i saw this brilliant advertisement i was hooked. makes me want to fly to france and own a boulangerie. can't get enough of it or the perfume.

papyrus

love this store and LOVE these...thank you cards from papyrus. i have got to get a box of them quick.

happy sumo

nothing is better than sushi with this dream of a group on one of my last nights in provo

ring christmas bells

saturday was the night of the mormon tabernacle choir christmas concert called "ring christmas bells". the guest artists were Brian Stokes Mitchell (also known as the singer from the prince of egypt soundtrack...phenomenal voice, but very broadway/theater) and Edward K. Herrmann (also known as the husband from the movie overboard). of course motab didn't disappoint.

definitely had chipotle for dinner

we had to stop at the salt lake roasting company for hot cocoa

canterwood christmas

i wish canterwood looked like this again

first presidency christmas devotional

december in utah is my favorite month because of the first presidency christmas devotional and the mormon tabernacle choir christmas concert (which is next week!) . tonight was the devotional and let me just tell you our seats were out of this world. we were literally right in the front. the messages given were outstanding like always, and the music......phenomenal. i got to share that experience with some of my good friends....lucky me.

surprise for the birthday boy

nothin' like a little surprise dinner at the brazilian grill 'tucanos' for the birthday boy on the left. he was so surprised to say the least. love the hill boys.

the group

afterwards we splurged with homemade dark chocolate souffle cakes, vanilla bean ice cream, and a fresh fruit sauce

caramel apple crisp

we had too many apples in our fridge to just let spoil, so i decided to make individual caramel apple crisps with vanilla bean ice cream. just picture a scoop of ice cream on top with caramel sauce drizzled over it. the base of the tart is made with oats which gives it a nice crunch. it was AMAZING. just AMAZING. 

peter rabbit stew

this past week was pretty cold. nothing sounded more delicious than vegetable stew. this recipe has every vegetable imaginable...you name it...it's in there. we then served the stew with a roasted garlic ciabatta. 

starbucks and clue

oh the things you do when it's freaking snowing, and you have a major calculus test....

because of the cold, i decided to wear my mafia leather gloves. i also found one last use for my halloween candelabra. please tell me these pictures remind you of the movie 'clue'?! miss scarlet in the study with the candelabra. love it.

LOVED the salted caramel hot chocolate from starbucks. it honestly tastes like warm toffee and caramel. perfect for a hellish day.

craving fulfilled

these girls are a dream. we just had to go to paradise cafe in slc due to the warm gooey chocolate chip cookies....oh and the amazing sandwiches. while we were there we decided to stop by the gateway for a little fun around some of my favorite shops. what a relaxing night. 

podcast #2

torta alla nocciola

house cake

love this idea from here.

site shots

can't wait to see the final product of this beautiful site in roma. ...

travelcostamesa.com

my debut. look who's makin' her way to the top! foodnetwork here i come!

p.s. sisters, i think we're even now.

a night on the town

on friday, my roommates and I decided to drive up to salt lake city to do some shopping and visit the cheesecake factory...of course we had to order cheesecake before we left. i opted to try a new flavor. let me introduce "limoncello cream torte"...

this was a piece of heaven. oh my word. it had a light lemon taste to it and was served with fresh strawberries to add to the bright flavors of this dessert. definitly something to clense the palate.

an exciting reunion

i just received an email saying that my boss, Dr. Luca Bonomi, Director of the Dante Alighieri School of Siena, Italy, will be visiting BYU on Monday, October 27.

i was invited to attend a special lecture given by him on something inspiring.... "Eating Italian Culture: A Culinary Journey through Italian Art, History, Music, and Literature on Monday, October 272:00 P.M.,

after the lecture, the siena alumni are going to be having a private dinner at gloria's little italy. my all time favorite provo italian restaurant.

i can't wait to catch up. it will be good to speak italian again. ill be posting pictures of the exciting reunion.

let me show you one of the reason's why gloria's is out of this world....

she has definitly perfected the art of baking let's just say

our very own local deli market...love it

she's ADORABLE

big thanks to the sisters for meeting this DREAM of a chef....and taking tons of photos for the obsessed italian chef...

i really don't think she could be any cuter or smaller

they had to wait in line at my all time favorite store to get this...

brand new cook book so it could be....

SIGNED!!!!

and the bonus....i have celebrities as sisters

they were featured in the Orange County Register

"Giada de Laurentiis greets fans at South Coast Plaza"

"Sisters Ashley and Vanessa Ricchio, of Temecula, skipped school (high school for Ashley and college for Vanessa) to meet Giada de Laurentiis for the first time. "

job well done girls. thanks a bunch.

giada at home

giada's new show called "giada at home" will premiere October 18th at 1 PM EST. i have a feeling i'm really gonna like this new show. mark your calendars.


Find more videos like this on Giada Network

p.s. my favorite part, "this show gives a glimpse into my everyday life here in california". don't we all wish we had a life like hers.

i did it for the free snacks

i realized that i really like donating blood. this might be so physiologically wrong, but i feel like i can feel the new clean blood running through my veins. everything went smoothly today. didn't feel lethargic, dizzy, etc. what's even better, i filled the blood bad in 5 minutes flat. purely amazing. my poor roommate on the other hand took 13 minutes to fill one bag. so, i snacked on some finger foods, grabbed the free t-shirt and waited patiently for her chocolate sauce-like blood to fill the bag. im definitely going back, and so should all of you who can donate blood. it's quite the experience. my sister would definitely agree with that one.