A while back, Dan was talking with our good friends, Brooke and Freeland. They wanted to expand their recipe collection to include some authentic Italian family recipes. Being an Italian, and having a family recipe, Dan offered to share Nana's famous sauce recipe - a recipe that was Dan's great-grandmother's - a recipe straight from Italy.
Dan and Freeland immediately took charge in planning this culinary endeavor. They divvied up the ingredients, went shopping, and decided to make a day of it. Brooke and Freeland graciously offered for us to do the cooking at their house.
So early one Saturday morning, with sauce pots and ingredients in hand, Dan and I went over to their house. The guys really did everything (I can't take any credit whatsoever). It was fun seeing the guys hard at work in the kitchen. Brooke and I basically watched, took pictures, and played with the kids.
To share in this special occasion, we invited all our friends over to enjoy the meal with us later that evening.
Overall, I'd say it was a great success.
Dan and Freeland busy in the kitchen...
Making the meatballs...
Brooke and Freeland had asked us to bring Sydney with us when we visit numerous times. However, we were always nervous because, well, she's a lab. And she can be kind of crazy at home. We didn't know how she'd be in someone else's house, and we didn't know how she'd behave around small kids and their toys.
Since the sauce-making was a day-long affair, we didn't want to leave Sydney at home, so we chanced it and finally brought the dog...
...and we were both pleasantly surprised at how great she did!
Although Sydney spent some time in the kitchen with the guys, she spent a lot of her time with Brooke and Freeland's two adorable boys. Here's Sydney begging/waiting patiently for River to drop something from his highchair.
While back in the kitchen, progress was being made...
At one point, Sydney did sneak up on to the couch (as we suspected she would) but Brooke and Freeland didn't mind. Sydney loved little Wylder. It was so fun to see the two interact.
Probably the cutest video ever. You have to watch it...
After a busy morning cooking and preparing, the sauce simmered all. day. long. We came back that night to enjoy the meal with the company of our friends.
To see Brooke's pictures from the day, click here.
To see my friend Libby's pictures from the day, click here.
Keep Smiling...
