Ancient Ovens

One of the reasons we have been looking forward to moving away from Paradise is the time commitment it required.  This past weekend is a prime example.

It rained last week, a lot of rain, a very unusual event for us in Texas in August.  Rain meant yard work and lots of it!  If we had still been living in Paradise, I would have spent several days mowing, edging, trimming, sweeping, pulling weeds… you get the picture.  But since we no longer have a yard to worry about, we actually had a free weekend, and what a relaxing weekend it was!

We had been wanting to meet my parents at a place call Ancient Ovens (http://www.ancientovens.com/) for dinner.  My mom read about it in the newspaper, and it sounded like something that was right up our alley.  Curtis and I love wood-fired pizza, and it’s not something that’s easy to find. The website promised “artisan breads, spinach artichoke dip, Italian Teardrops, Neapolitan Pizza, and Dark Chocolate Calzones”.

It’s about a 1 ½ hour drive to Ancient Ovens from where we live.  Curtis and I, along with my sister and her two girls, went early to visit one of the wineries in the area, Blue Ostrich (http://www.blueostrich.net/).  Blue Ostrich was having their “Crush-A-Palooza” event.  We tasted some of their wines, then headed outside with our Sangria for some live music on the patio.  Normal temperatures for us in August are 100+, but on this day it was in the low 90s and there was a breeze.  It was heaven!  We spent several hours enjoying the weather, the music, and the company.  My nieces had fun playing and racing with the resident ostriches.

The drive to Ancient Ovens from Blue Ostrich is a short one, but we still managed to get lost; the entrance is not clearly marked.  There were tables set up outside under a canopy of Christmas lights.  They provide tea and water, but you have to bring anything else you want to drink.  We had a couple of bottles of Chianti, so we were set!  All the food is cooked in an outdoor wood-fired oven, and is served buffet-style one course at a time.

The first course was the bread and artichoke dip, followed by the Italian Teardrops (see recipe at the end of this post).  We had not heard of Italian Teardrops before, but it is something that we will not be forgetting anytime soon!  They were absolutely delicious.  I would have been happy with just eating an entire tray of them.  The pizza followed the Teardrops, and there were many different varieties, so there’s something for everyone.  And the chocolate dessert was pretty darn yummy as well.

As good as the food was, the best part of the evening was being able to relax outside under the stars, after watching a magnificent sunset.  There were no bugs, the weather was perfect, and the company was great.

For entertainment, there’s a blue heeler named Amy who brings her ball to you so she can play fetch.  At the beginning of the evening, she would only let you throw the ball once and then she moved the fun on to someone else.  If she dropped the ball at your feet and you didn’t throw it, she barked at you to let you know how disappointed she was.  Towards the end of the evening, Amy spent most of her time at our table, probably because we are all suckers for playing fetch with dogs.  My mom (Ma) threw the ball once and it missed my dad’s (Pa’s) head by inches.  The ball, which was covered in dog spit, had picked up quite a bit of sand over the course of the evening; when the ball went over his head, Pa was showered with sand.  The next time Ma picked up the ball, Pa told her not to throw the ball over his head again.  She reared back and chunked the ball as hard as she could and beaned him right in the head!  Luckily, he had his hand on his forehead at the time and wasn’t hurt.  We were all rolling on the ground laughing; Ma said he made her nervous.  I think she just hadn’t thrown a ball in a while.

The drive home was long and uneventful.  We got home about 12:15 and immediately passed out.  But we all agreed that it was good time, we’re glad we went, and we recommend Ancient Ovens and Blue Ostrich!

 

Susan Moody’s Italian Teardrops 1- 8 ounce package cream cheese softened at room temperature 1 package won ton wraps 1/2 cup green olives 1/4 cup butter 1 teaspoon garlic powder Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the cream cheese and the olives in a food processor and process on the low setting just until the cream cheese is blended and the olives are chopped to a medium consistency. Lay a wonton on a flat surface and place a teaspoonful amount of the cream cheese/olive mixture in the middle. Fold one edge to the opposite corner to make a triangle. Take the ends of the triangle and bring them to the center corner (like folding a diaper). Place on a cookie sheet and continue with the remainder of the mixture and the won tons. Melt the butter and garlic powder together and brush lightly onto the teardrops. Place in the oven and bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the tops of the wontons are brown.