Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam knows how to celebrate in style.

Other than drooling over Justin Bieber and Yoga Cats, Sam always gains 5 pounds on her birthday every year.

And that was her goal for this year as well. I was more than willing to help.

For her 20th birthday, I made Sam Lemon Meringue Pie. I've never made one before, and I was really happy with the way it turned out.

One of the best parts of making pie was the opportunity to use my brand new food processor, recently dubbed Freddy by me and Sam. Our family friend (whom I refer to as "Fungirl" only) gave it to me for my birthday. Such a wonderful gift.

Lily was also excited to greet the new addition--she hung out with him in the cabinet for a while.

The pie shell was delicious (raw and cooked!) and simple with my new processor. Then it was a bunch of whisking and whipping. And we have lemon meringue pie!

Even the topping looked decent despite my lack of decorating skills.

I think Sam approved as well.

And I had extra pie dough, so I made mini tarts filled with peanut butter and chocolate. Yay calories!

So that was my first act in helping Sam pack on the pounds. I actually made the pie yesterday though. For her actual day of celebration I stepped it up.

French toast with maple syrup and powdered sugar for breakfast. I whisked an egg, about 3/4 cup of milk, a dash of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and a dash of vanilla together for the batter.

Sam ate this portion and then another. 6 whole pieces finished!

She ate more pie for lunch (with added reeses cups and sugar cookie dough to accompany as side dishes).

For dinner, we had farfalle pasta with artichoke hearts and a buttery sauce. Recipe at the end of the post.

She ate it while drinking an entire bottle of sparkling cider. Glass and cider courtesy of our friend Sarah. (I think the enormity of the glass is some kind of Cougar Town reference).

She's still working on this part currently. Just kidding. Just realized she's eating more pie.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Farfalle with Artichokes and a Garlic-Butter Sauce

Ingredients:
-1 lb pasta (whatever kind you like is fine)
-4 tbsp butter
-4 tbsp olive oil
-3 large garlic cloves, minced
-2 cups marinated artichoke hearts, diced
-1 tsp red pepper flakes
-2 tbsp lemon juice
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
2. Add the artichoke hearts and garlic and let cook for 7-8 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
3. Cook the pasta for one or two minutes less than the box suggests--it will finish cooking in the pan.
4. Drain the pasta but reserve 1/2 c of the cooking liquid.
5. Add the pasta to the saute pan with the artichoke and garlic.
6. Stir in the reserved pasta water and lemon juice.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
8. Enjoy!