My blog-dom has been a little quiet the past few days. I've been pretty busy this week. Today was Lizzie's Bridal Shower, plus we hosted our usual Sunday night company dinner- with a twist. :-) We were lucky enough to get to spend time with our dear friend Dan tonight. Dan is home from the Middle East for his period of R&R, and we are beyond honored that he chose to spend some of his precious time in our home with us. It was truly wonderful to see him and spend time with him. We miss his laughter. So may the next five months pass quickly Dan, we miss you again already.

My goal for today was to plan a do-ahead menu that required minimal work for today. I also had a huge bowl of chicken salad to make for the shower, as well as the shower cake. And I am beyond sorry that I did not get a picture of the cake I made for the shower. It was soooo good. Yum. And I do say "was good". We made a good dent in it at the shower, and then our friends helped polish it off tonight. So thank God for friends, otherwise I would be adding a few pounds this week. In addition, for tonights dinner of mixed grill, I made a Chocolate Ricotta Icebox Cake which couldn't have been easier. Ricotta cheese is blended smooth, mixed with melted chocolate and whipped cream, and then layered with chocolate wafer cookies. The mixture chills in the fridge and voila. A fantastic chocolate dessert. It was quite good, although I felt something was missing. It could very well have been a splash of vanilla or some Grand Marnier or maybe some Framboise, but it definitely needed a little something. Chocolate Ricotta Icebox Cake was from the latest issue of Everyday Food, and you can find the recipe there or on their website here.