Monday night, I was one of two lucky invitees to the inaugural dinner for Olivia’s blog Ohlivin!.
That’s right, your prayers have been answered! I know you’ve been dreaming of the day when Olivia would start her own blog ever since you laid eyes on the other-worldly brilliance of the caramelized onion-truffle-goat cheese pizza she made for her birthday party last month. (I had twelve pieces that night, and I’m still dreaming about it.)
Olivia began her inaugural blog dinner for Kate and me with the crack dip (recipe alert! recipe alert!) that has also been lurking in my dreams ever since her party:
The crack paired perfectly with these “Exotic” whole grain jasmine rice & spring onion rice toasts from Edward & Sons.
You can even see the little green onion flecks, awwwww!
Those crackers + this crispy, cheesy, sweet onion brilliance = Sarah was stuffed before dinner even began.
Between our nibble course and our appetizer course, I went around and took the pics of Olivia’s apartment that I was kicking myself for not taking at the party:
In case you can’t tell from the pictures, this kind of space is unheard of here, especially in Olivia’s prime central NYC neighborhood. She soooooo lucked out!
This is actually her roommate’s (messy) bedroom:
Yes, the bedroom contains a couch, a bed, a fireplace, loads of furniture, and is bigger than my entire apartment.
After the tour, Kate and I watched Olivia as she worked on our feast.
Meet “Greater Olivia,” a present from Olivia’s mom:
The.most.incredible.soup.ever. (and I think I’m the luckiest girl ever because I brought home leftovers!!!!)
We all agreed that the souperstar (I’m on a roll) of the cauliflower-sweet potato soup was Olivia’s honey-truffle-garlic crostini, recipe to be found here. (And, believe me, you MUST go find this recipe.) I also got three lucky pieces of this crostini to bring home. I almost DIED of happiness when Olivia handed them to me.
Finally, the main course was this killer salad with braised leeks, roasted asparagus, pancetta vinaigrette and poached egg. (I made Olivia hard-poach my egg because I don’t do runny yolks, but Kate an Olivia did it the authentic way, as you can also observe here.)
I really can’t say anything about this salad because it left me utterly speechless.
Amazing.
Dessert was courtesy of DP (aka Disney Prince), who very well could be my future husband if Olivia doesn’t get to him first and if Princes Harry/William fall through and if I magically change my mind and decide that marriage is a good thing.
I had five. Because Girl Scout cookies only happen once a year (we keep telling ourselves that) and I missed the season!
Ohhhhhhh boy, are you still with me, or has the gourmet quality of this phenomenal meal short-circuited your nervous system? Obviously, if you have not already done so, you need to go pay a visit to Ohlivin! because Olivia is brilliant and knows how to “liv” life. (Just to give proper credit, that’s her pun — not mine :-P)
I got home too late after dinner to get to the gym Tuesday morning and was too full to eat breakfast on time (don’t fear — I just packed it up and brought it to work with me), but it was all worth it. I wish Olivia would launch her blog every night!
What is the best “punny” use of your name? (i.e. Olivia … Ohlivin!) If I get some good ones, I’ll dedicate a post to them so everyone can appreciate your creative genius 🙂 I’ve been trying to think of something for Sarah, but it’s not coming easily!
Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition 
Hi
I had a non food related question (gaaaaaaaaasp!)
I see you are still studying, is that right? I can’t be sure? are you working part time? What are you studying? What is your career plan?
I need details!
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I’m checking out Olivia’s blog now! Those foods all look amazing!
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Wow! Food looks incredible! Awesome to have friends who are geniuses in the kitchen. 🙂
You did not have 12 pieces of pizza!! hhaha Where did you fit it??
What a great look apt too!
Great blog name too…my name is pretty hard to pun up..hmmmmm
Have a great one!
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Oh my, that looks like a WONDERFUL meal! I love her grater, that is so cute!!!
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oh my goodness – all that food looks amazing! and how can you not like runny eggs? 🙂
a fun pun with my name? I don’t know…
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haha I love the “greater Olivia.” So cute!
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going to check out the blog- that food looks AMAZING!
No ‘punny’ use of my name, but my nickname at school was always ‘ellen melon macaroni cheese’ for some unexplained reason! KIDS! 😛
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I need that dip in my life now!
I don’t have any puns but you know how star couples get those names? Bennifer, Brangelina, Tomkat, Speidi? Well Andrew and I have one. It’s Dandrew, people call us that all the time, including my parents.
I like to think if we were famous we’d have the best “couple name”.
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After reading about that meal I’ll be following Olivia’s blog!
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I second that Ohlivin launch parties should happen every night!
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My sister calls me “Lamy.” As in, I’m lame. I know- not very nice!!
So exciting your friend is starting a blog!!!
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I am so speechless. Everything looks to die for.
I can’t wait to check out her blog!
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What a cute grater! I haven’t had girl scout cookies in forever.. I used to sell them back in the day! lol
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omgosh i love this post!! Your friend Olivia is definitely a fabulous cook and wow….crack dip looks like restaurant recipe alert!!! 😛
The punniest use of my name…Michelle = Mickey (as in the annoying song “Hey mickey you’re so fine”) and Mickita?? Yeahhh they all suckkk.
P.s. I’m hosting my very own Big Lucky Giveaway and I’d love to have you come check it out!!
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UMMMM amazing. I demand a re-launch, preferably on my dinner table. Olivia has the right idea!
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Thanks Sarah for coming to the dinner. You know it’s my pleasure to cook for you! It looks like “greater Olivia” is a hit, you all can find it here: http://www.pylones-usa.com/pylones/product.php?product=177.
Thanks all for being soo nice. I’ll cook for you all anytime!!
http://ohlivin.wordpress.com/
PS/ I like Sarahrahrah.
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Love all those eats! And love the mush face on the Boston, so cute! 😀
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What a fun post – everything looks amazingly delicious!
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That food looks absolutely mouth watering! YUUUUUM!!!!
That grater is so cute too. I want one!
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wow, that meal looks so delicious. i bet she just whipped it up and made it look effortless too, right?? 🙂
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Wowzers, the food looks great. I wish I could think of a good pun name, but I am not creative enough to do so….but I will tell you what boys used to call me in middle school: va”GINA” Big House! My name is Gina (like vaGINA, but pronounced geena, obviously) and my last name is Casagrande (Big house). I love my name, but I hated it back then!
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