Mid week WFO dinner

Steve and Barb joined us last night for the first firing up of the WFO (wood fired oven) for pizza this summer. Mark was keen to get some dough tips from his mentor Steve - and we had a delicious thin crust margarita. This followed some stuffed zucchini blossoms, asparagus and sage leaves. It is such a short blossom season, we can't resist frying them up whenever we find a few on the vine. A great starter, with a glass of champagne- Michel Turgy Blanc de Blanc. Finally lamb kofta grilled in the WFO , with a greek style salad and tsatsiki. Lots of great wine including a Bandol Tempier Rose 2009, Vieux Telegraphe 1995. Sat outside until well into the night.

Steve Adams, oven mentor and our official photographer took all of these photos.

Sunday afternoon on the farm

A beautiful warm day and 8 friends for the afternoon and evening. Time to let WFO mentor Steve Adams try some Pizza from our WFO, time to introduce Penne and John to some of our friends, time to play some boules, drink some wine and eat outside. Our quintessential autumn farm afternoon.

Three pizzas to start, then moroccan/indian inspired grilled OZ lamb, caponata, spinach and sweet and potato salad - courtesy of Penne and couscous with pistachios and pomengranate. Dessert was a hazelnut and chocolate torte. Enough said from me- it is great to see how our friends blogged the lunch http://penneandjohnstravels.blogspot.com/ and http://blog.steveadamsstudio.com/ Thanks for coming!

Pizza with the Mioux

Saturday night and the Mioux family joined us for Pizza - Joe, Anna, Michael, Nick, Jennifer and Christina. I hadn't seen the kids for a while together - and except for Christina - they are no longer kids. Michael has just finished his first year of college at Joe and Mark's alma mater - University of Illinois. They all joined in the fun. Christina went first - although she wasn't too impressed with the artichoke and parmesan topping. Loving the WFO.

The 4th July Party continues

The party never stops. We drove back from Memphis early today, in time to prepare for a Pizza feast tonight. Our friends Angela and Rob had stayed the 4th July in our farmhouse - for some country life and mushroom hunting. They are experienced foragers and welcomed us with the last of the local chanterelles. The WFO was lit, and we got ready for another pizza party. Dale and Ruth were up from Birmingham, Alabama. Stan and Nanci joined us too.

A new benchmark for pizza toppings - Angela and Rob's salmon with Asian flavours and coriander pesto. Dale brought the ingredients for the chicken and basil pesto he enjoys in Birmingham. Three desserts to try - banana cream pie, blackberry pie and a blue berry tart.

A late night sitting outside catching up with good friends. After this weekend I will not be eating or drinking anything for the next few days.