Surprise Party Saturday and Mad Men Monday

AMC is running a Mad Men marathon today in anticipation of season 3’s premier next Sunday. I have a feeling I am going to get nothing accomplished today. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Season 2 but I missed most of it. Today is the day I catch up.

If you haven’t seen Mad Men yet, I highly recommend checking it out. The show is fantastic. It’s well done on every level, from writing to acting to production design and wardrobe. It’s also incredibly addictive. Whenever I start watching, I never want to stop.

Start at the beginning if you can but make sure you don’t miss the end of season 1. The bit with the Kodak slide show is fantastic.

Whatever acclaim this show has received, it’s well deserved.

Mad Men Season 3 premier: Sunday, August 16 at 10 PM on AMC.

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Today is my roommate K’s birthday. About a month ago our other roommate J and I decided we were going to throw her a surprise party. Along with our friend L we took a month to tell people about it, plan it, and get everything together. I never thought we would all actually be able to keep the surprise and pull everything off but somehow we managed.

It was a summer time cookout. The yard was strewn with streamers and balloons, there was a piñata, we grilled. The turn out was great and most importantly K had a good time. Her family even came to town from Phoenix and their presence more or less guaranteed the success. It was wonderful.

Of course every summer cookout needs some sort of delicious summer sides. J made a beautiful fruit salad with lovely fresh seasonal fruit. Melon, berries, kiwi, pineapple. Tasty!

My contribution was a delicious pasta salad from Smitten Kitchen. The dressing alone was sublime.

Summer Pea and Roaster Red Pepper Pasta Salad from Smitten Kitchen.

I really didn’t change a thing beyond using canned peas instead of fresh. I didn’t have any fresh ones and even less time to shell them if I had. The dressing is what made this so good anyway.

Since the first step does involve roasting the pepper for an hour, make sure you’ve got the time. Otherwise, it’s super easy and even more delicious.

My other contribution was spicy corn and peppers. Also incredibly easy to toss together. This recipe actually came from my little brother.



I prefer fresh corn for this one but again I was lacking on the time so I went with a giant can. Worked well enough. Since I was making this for the party I also used more pepper and onion when I normally make it as just a side. For a smaller serving size, go with 2 ears of corn, 1 pepper and half an onion or so.

Spicy Corn & Peppers

1 large can of corn or 2 small
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 white onion
3 cloves garlic
Cayenne Pepper
Hot Sauce (I love the Louisiana Hot Sauce but use whatever your preference is)
2 Table Spoons Olive Oil

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until the onion is soft but be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the peppers and corn. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cayenne pepper and hot sauce to taste. I like it spicy so I usually end up going pretty heavy on them.

That’s pretty much it. Once everything is heated, the peppers are soft, and it’s spicy to your taste, you’re good to go. An easy, fresh summer dish that’s been a hit every time I’ve served it.

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Happy Summer everyone! And Happy Birthday K!