Celebration For Brady?

I invited Seyda, Rob and Chris over for dinner yesterday to “celebrate” Brady’s first week in his FOREVER home. The truth is, it was just a reason for me to cook up some food to serve my close friends….. Chris was thoughtful to get Brady some gift; another squeaky toy and some Scooby Snacks! And Brady loved his new toy!!!

Well, Brady’s “1 week anniversary” marked a few milestones for Brady and us! We found out that Brady can really really hold his pee and poop! We brought him out the night before, just before midnight for him to pee, which he did. The next morning like every mornings, it was hubby’s routine to take Brady out for Brady to ease himself except he refused to pee this time! I took him out in the afternoon hoping that he will pee, and again he refused too…… I checked the house to make sure no accidents…..NOTHING… When hubby got home, he took Brady out for his evening “session”….Boy, he sure maximized this session as he pooped and peed all over the neighborhood marking his territories! We suspect this little rascal must be holding his bladder the whole day just to make sure other canines know WHO’S DA MAN!!!! BRADY’S DA MAN!!!!

Anyway, when my friends arrived……we heard something we never heard before..BRADY BARKED! he woofed twice, a low deep woof not those high pitch annoying ones at Seyda when she was chasing him around the house wanting to pick him up. Now we know who sure Brady is capable of barking! We’re hoping he won’t make a habit out of it and will only be an occasional barker! Hehe

So, for our little party… I made some New England Clam Chowder to start with. I’m convinced that canned chopped clams are as good as fresh ones but more affordable! =) . I can add a whole lot more clams without breaking the bank! I used red skin potatoes for the chowder which I thought was the best choice of potato compared to the other ones we had used. We have been cooking clam chowder based on this recipe we found online following it roughly and doing slight changes to it; i.e. adding some chopped celery. As we like the clam chowder think and creamy, a tablespoon or two of all purpose flour is always added to the soup! Here’s a lousy picture of the Clam Chowdah!The whole dinner was somewhat international with different kind of dishes. First up; Spanakopita. The recipe was from food network and I followed the basic ingredients and mix them up! Instead of the fresh spinach used in the recipe, I just used frozen ones which worked out well. Spanakopita is a savory Greek pastry with Phyllo dough on the outside and the filling is made from spinach and feta cheese. It is sometimes served in a lasagna style or in individual triangle package like what I did and prefer! As I did not measure, I thought my Spinach to Feta ratio was a little off. A little too much Spinach perhaps. And the filling was bursting out from the Phyllo….I either did not use enough Phyllo sheets or somehow overfilled it! =P. None the less, it’s still good!Next international meal was pan fried polenta topped with sautéed mushroom. I think Polenta is originally from Italy and is basically cooked cornmeal. The polenta was store bought from Trader Joe’s @ $2.99, or was it $1.99? This was inspired by Giada who topped pan fried polenta with something i-forgot-what-it-was. I browsed my vegetarian recipe book and found an idea quite similar to what Giada De Laurentiis of Food Network made a couple weeks ago. Used the recipe I found as a rough guide again and combined a few different ingredients for the mushroom topping. For my meat eaters, I browned some party meatballs from Trader Joe’s. It’s a good deal for a decent bag of tasty meatballs @ less than $4! I dunked the meatballs in a homemade sauce made from canned tomatoes, onion and green pepper and let the meatballs soak up some of the sauce. My green pepper sauce reminded me of the Italian Sausages with Green pepper and onions I ate over the summer… Mmmm….. I love the meatball and the sauce combo. Hubby on the other hand preferred a crispier meatball. I have half a bag left, so I’ll make him some crispier ones next time! And for some starch in the meal, I made some Gemelli and Fish pasta, baked with some Mozzarella, Cheddar Cheese and Panko crumbs for some crunch! This dish was inspired by one of America’s favorite dish; Mac & Cheese! I thought the pasta could use a little more cream and maybe some Parmesan. Well, have a wonderful weekend. Yet another busy weekend coming up for the household! I wonder what time will I fall asleep tonight. I’m hearing squeaky squeaks from Brady playing his new toy from Chris!! =D