Weekend Dog Blogging #15

A nice relaxing day today. The most strenuous thing we did was go to my parents house for our traditional New Years’ Day Dinner, complete with Hopping John, of course, for good luck.

In Mom’s defense, she had a very pretty centerpiece set out when we got to the dining room table, made with tiled mirror and ornaments, which my sister and I quickly disassembled to make room for the drinks. Mom started a tradition a few years back of having a bunch of scratch-off lottery tickets as part of our New Years’ Day Dinner. Last time, The Brother-in-Law won the most loot ($40 or so?); this year, The Husband and I did, each winning $3.

For starters, she had an Antipasto platter, followed by Claire’s Pepperoni Pie. She’s made this recipe before and although it’s an artery clogger, it’s a yummy one, coming from The North End Italian Cookbook. Mom’s made quite a few winners from this cookbook and although it’s pretty much picture-free, it’s worth adding to your collection. I’ll post the recipe for the pie tomorrow.

Claire’s Pepperoni Pie

The main course, a delicious pasta recipe, also comes from The North End Italian Cookbook:

My parents just returned from a vacation in London and brought Nicholas home a traditional Paddington Bear… here he is on the trip back to our house tonight. Tired, but happy.

Tune in tomorrow to see what’s on tap for the week. Until then… onto the Weekend Dog Blogging #15 participants:

Layla has her very own website (lucky dog!), but make sure to check out her Mommy’s yummy stuff as well, over at 52 Cupcakes:

Meet D from The Hungry Rose – love the floppy ear and matching floppy tongue!

Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen recuperating from a plane ride:

And in the “How Much is that Doggie in the Window?” category, we have Simba from Up a Creek without a Pat-L:

The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz has posted a bunch of cute dog pictures on her site of her pups and a fellow French food bloggers’ – check it out when you get a chance. (Paz – photobucket was having problems with these pictures, otherwise I would have had them here).

Once again, showing his masterful dog training skills, RobWonton checks in with his three happy pups, Choco, Mocha and Buddy:

In the “Can you BELIEVE what my Mom is making me wear?” category, Bailey from The Savory Notebook:

Oxford from The Greedy Goose (commentary is his owners’ – too cute not to include):

Step 1: Practice stealth. Approach the plate quietly and keep it at eye level.

Step 2: Attack swiftly. Keep an eye on the guards who may waste no time in taking you down.

Step 3: Exercise restraint. Never try to pull more than one pancake off the plate at a time. Keep your eye on the prize and wait until the next opportunity.

The trio from Live, Laugh, Love. It almost looks like the three of them have angel wings on:

A newcomer to both WDB and food blogging in general, Buster joins us from Adventures in Food and Wine:

Bear from Farmgirl Fare:

Harley, from Musings, taking the term “lap dog” a little far…

Doolin from Dispensing Happiness – hard to resist that cute face!

Doolin’s older siblings, Wicklow and Donegal:

Lulu from Why Travel to France visiting the port in Nice, France:

A friendly dog-play picture from Urban Agrarian:

First time WDBers join us from You Gonna Eat All That?, meet Biscuit Pup and Java (and see their website for more cute pics!):

And lastly, our very own Eli:

Eli’s New Years’ Greeting