I am having a fantastic time. We opened Meet Me in St. Louis officially on Friday, Nov. 27, and have had some wonderful audiences to share this wonderful story with. I am having an absolute blast with my cast. For thanksgiving, after our preview, the majority of us all got together and had our own Thanksgiving. Someone brought a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes... we had everything you could possibly ask for, and we had a wonderful time together, eating, playing games, being merry... I can't say that I could have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

Katie got to come see our employee preview on Wednesday. It meant so much that she came. I mean I'm glad that the CBL cast and crew was able to see the designer run through (and the fact that they all came also meant the world to me), but costumes, sets, make-up... it just kinda adds another layer that makes the show that much more... well... real? (I don't think thats the word I'm looking for, but I think you get what I'm trying to say). They actually just closed and ended that tour on Sunday. I wish I could have been there for the last performance, alas, you can't always have everything, and I have to say, I am extremely happy and thankful for where I am now.

So, Mark, the guy who plays Mr. Smith in the show, loves food and loves to cook. So asked him a while ago if he would mind teaching me a thing or two. So yesterday I had my first cooking lesson. We made roasted asparagus served with a poached egg on top and spaghetti marinara. Both dishes were fantastic and full of flavor. I'm just gonna go ahead and post a rough recipe of both here so that I have record of it :)

Asparagus

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place washed asparagus on cookie pan/sheet and toss in olive oil salt and pepper. Put in oven on the lowest possible shelf setting for about 7 min. Serve with poached egg on top. YUM!

Marinara

Sauté half a chopped onion with about 4 cloves of pressed garlic. Add 3/4 cup of white wine (we used Pinot Grigio). Cook until wine pretty much cooked out. Add 3 cans of strained diced tomatoes. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Press sauces through a strainer to give smooth texture. Continue to simmer strained sauce until excess liquid in sauce has evaporated, add a tablespoon of Olive Oil and add a bit of sugar,salt and pepper and fresh basil. And there you go, the most flavorful tomato sauce I have ever tasted in my life! So delicious!

Last night we also went to a place called the Monastery which is this outdoor bar sort place where you grill your own food (burgers, chicken, sausage... whatever you want). There are volleyball courts, and fire pits. So last night we all went and grilled our burgers, and sat around a wonderful bon fire. It was a really nice relaxing night, and i got to spend it with some wonderful people :)

Well, thats all for now. I will post pictures soon! (I would have at the same time as this blog but forgot my camera in my room and I don't get internet in my apt...so yeah, you'll just have to wait :) )