Weekend in Buffalo

At the end of February, I took a trip to Buffalo, NY, to visit my sister and brother-in-law for the weekend.  While the dead of winter is perhaps not the best time to see the sights of this region, we managed to have a ridiculously fun visit anyway.  As is usually the case when we get together, there was a lot of laughing, eating, playing with adorable doggies, eating, drinking, eating, and British period drama-ing.  Oh and eating.  But first, the doggies!

Mika (the looker in black) spent most of the weekend building tents with blankets and trying to figure out why there were suddenly two of her mommy (my sisters and I really look alike), while Skye (the aloof lady in white) spent most of her time either patrolling for squirrels or exfoliating my face.

And now, on to the food!  The dining-out highlight of the weekend was when J & J took me to brunch at The Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, NY.  With its lovely Arts & Crafts architecture and decor and its large windows that look out onto its courtyard, it was the perfect setting to watch the falling snow while indulging in mimosas, poinsettias, and more than one plate of scrumptious food from the buffet (we're no amateurs). 

The pretty view from our table.

Plate #1

The buffet spread was quite impressive in its size and variety, but I think that the coddled eggs with spinach cream were my favorite.  I also made a happy, accidental discovery when some of my syrup for my french toast wandered over and made friends with the au gratin potatoes.  Would never have put those two together, but it was a match made in heaven!  It sounds crazy, but seriously, try it sometime!

J can always be counted on to pose for an inappropriate picture.

After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, we did a bit of shopping and then rolled ourselves home to nap.  Always a necessity after an inebriated brunch.

The next day, we decided to put our own culinary skills to the test and made quite the impressive dinner.  First up:  Melon and Prosciutto

 J & J and I took a trip to Italy together last summer, and this dish will forever remind me of our night on Capri, when we had it at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean.  *Sigh*

Next up:  Brown Butter Squash and Sage Pasta.

I am seriously obsessed with this recipe.  It's so flavorful and delicious, but it's so easy to make.  It also seems fancy, so make it for your friends.  They'll be impressed and wonder how you became such a good cook, I promise.

The motherload:  Baked Brie.

 

Need I say more?  This world would be such an empty, sad place without molten cheese.

A lovely dinner to mark the end of a great weekend!  And yes, we ate ALL of the brie.

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