S’Mores And S’more

by Emily

Since I worked the weekend, I had Tuesday off this week, woo-hoo! I used the time to get my holiday gift shopping 100% purchased, wrapped, and packed for shipping, woo-hoo x2!

daytime eats

This week’s tea – Chestnut. This was my favorite flavor yet; not as good as coffee, of course, but still pretty sweet and roasty. And the smell is unbelievable, I got a yummy whiff every time I opened my desk.

With an almond cookie from my co-worker.

Or s’mores trail mix.

Wheat squares cereal, salted brown butter dark chocolate, sweet and spicy pecans, and these fancy marshmallows my aunt and uncle sent me for Hanukkah.

That s’mores box was gone within 24 hours.

This week’s coffee:

Also I enjoyed a Winter Cheer (Stumptown cold brew with mulling spices!) with a cocktail grapefruit (a mandarin and pomelo hybrid that has the tang of a grapefruit without the bitterness).

And one morning I made us pink smoothies – plain Greek yogurt and orange juice with frozen grapes, blackberries, and pomegranate.

I only have one work lunch photo this week, we have been slammed and I ate hurriedly at my desk while I worked so I mostly stuck to pizza.

But Tuesday at home I did eat a tasty yogurt bowl.

Plain Greek yogurt with the last of the cranberry sauce, fresh pomegranate, chia seeds, and Maple-icious Pecan Granola. I’m going to miss that sauce.

nighttime eats

First things first – I started almost every dinner this week with an appetizer of a big hunk of ciabatta schmeared with Smart Balance.

Also cocktail hour with this dream team:

Adam bought me those ridiculously exciting Luxardo cherries for my birthday and I’ve been hoarding them for winter cocktail hours ever since.

Monday night we harnessed the power of the soft-cooked egg yolk and made easy but amazing bowls.

Mine was roasted green beans, maple chicken breakfast sausage, and a sunny side up egg on top. Best meal of the week!

The leftovers weren’t half bad though, scrambled eggs with chopped sausage, frozen spinach, and TJ’s sticky toffee cheddar cheese.

Speaking of, I know it sounds ~~a little~~ a lot weird, but if you see that cheese a Trader Joe’s, buy it, the sweet and savory combo just works. Full disclosure though, it does have dates and raisins in it.

Wednesday and Thursday we ate giant Chipotle-style salad bowls.

Baby romaine base // sautéed onions and peppers // sautéed chicken that was marinated in ginger, garlic, chipotle, lime, honey, and canola oil // avocado // shredded cheese and sour cream.

If I could figure out how to make those fabulous lime-y chips at home we’d be able to stop going to Chipotle!

P.S. Happy birthday to my (funny, handsome, smart, kind) husband!!!

5Dec2015

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

by Emily

December 1st hits and right on schedule my head fills with thoughts of sugar plums! Or rather thoughts of eggnog and hot chocolate, I’ve never actually tasted a sugar plum.

It’s not as big as my pumpkin bounty, but I was still pretty excited to pull out my holiday goods stash.

I’ve marked all of the eats in this post that qualify as holiday foods with a ** for classification purposes, also because it feels me with glee. I’m missing a lot of photos (I ate a ton this week) but here are the highlights…

breakfast

This week’s coffee – Breakfast Blend with TJ’s low-fat eggnog**.

Plus I had an “original” eggnog iced latte**.

This week’s tea – Gingerbread**.

With a caramel apple biscotti (former freebie).

Or a gingerbread biscotti** (meta!) and a juicy pear.

Or a slice of carrot cake my coworker brought in.

It was a good week for workplace treats, another coworker brought me Filipino-style ambrosia from her Thanksgiving.

It was out of control good; I made myself ill scarfing down that container. Less sugar than the American version and loaded with palm seeds and fresh coconut.

snacks

Maple leaf iced latte from Sweet Leaf.

Yummy, but nothing can top the Voodoo Child (their take on Vietnamese iced coffee). We also had a really yummy Spanish iced latte at a café in Park Slope later in the week.

Holiday doughnuts** from Doughnut Plant.

Chestnut and a marzipan star.

Holiday milkshakes** from Shake Shack.

We tried gingerbread and chocolate peppermint. They weren’t all that good but the penguins on the cup make my day.

Mini cupcakes from Sweet Haus Cupcake Café.

We shared red velvet, salted caramel, and cookie dough. Cookie dough = a literal scoop of cookie dough!

Hot cocoa Hubba Bubba** as an after lunches palate cleanser.

I don’t know how they managed to make the gum so chocolatey!

Mug cookies for the win.

Number 2 Pencil’s winner recipe with salted brown butter dark chocolate.

lunch

Brunch with Adam on Sunday. We went to Greenpoint for Five Leaves. I got a so-so Bloody Mary.

And we shared an amazing braised duck pot pie.

And an egg sandwich.

The pot pie was succulent duck, root vegetables, and parsnip veloute, in an herbed crust with wilted brussels sprouts leaves.

Cafeteria food is listed from least to most enjoyable –

One day there was nothing that looked appetizing so I ate a spicy tuna salad package from the snack stash in my desk. Plus cafeteria baked fries.

Another day I ate Asian tofu and steamed squash and wished I’d stuck with my desk snacks.

This tossed salad – with lettuce, ranch, pickles, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and pinto beans – was pretty good.

And this taco salad was a winner.

From the salad bar and the taco bar I assembled lettuce, veggies, cheddar, sour cream, salsa, and black bean and corn salsa.

dinner

Pizza-pizza.

Turkey pepperoni and mozzarella balls on top of marinara sauce and a TJ’s frozen crust.

With salads on the side.

Arugula / roasted broccoli / balsamic, honey, evoo, and lavender salt / sweet and spicy pecans.

Pasta with veggies and sauce. We topped whole-wheat penne with Bertolli mushroom and truffle sauce mixed with browned mushrooms, chopped spinach, and TJ’s vegan chorizo.

With huge hunks of ciabatta slathered with Smart Balance.

This meal was good several nights in a row.

Veggie miso ramen from Chuko. With scallions, bamboo shoots, butternut squash, shredded chicken, soft boiled egg, and their fantastic sesame greens.

I had a sore throat all week and this – plus a big scoop of honey ice cream at Ample Hills – was just what the doctor ordered.

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

29Nov2015

Turkey Week Eats

by Emily

I hope that all of my American readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We didn’t do anything fancy to celebrate, but I sure was thankful for the four-day workweek! My million-point list of things I’m thankful for also includes this gorgeous city…

Random Thoughts

I made the toffee candy for a work birthday party, this time following the original recipe.

I think my version with graham crackers and pretzels is better, the saltines got a bit soggy.

I reread To Kill a Mockingbird this week in anticipation of starting Go Catch a Watchman and cried on the train at least ten times.

TKM is one of my favorite books but I had forgotten what a fabulous writer Harper Lee is in the few years since I had last reread it. Atticus is my all-time favorite character. I love him even more than Ghosh from Cutting for Stone.

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Daytime Eats

This week’s tea – Adagio’s Pumpkin Spice (former freebie).

With treats from the birthday party… including pie made with fresh coconut

Or with pumpkin applesauce and biscotti.

This week’s coffee – Community Coffee’s Breakfast Blend with skim milk and sugar.

Cafeteria lunch salads. Romaine, blue cheese dressing, carrot, cucumber, tomato, olive, pickle, black eyed peas, and pasta salad.

Romaine, ranch, carrot, cucumber, tomato, olive, pickle, corn salsa, cheddar, and chickpeas.

Romaine, blue cheese dressing, carrot, olive, tomato, cucumber, corn, cheddar, and cole slaw.

And home on Turkey Day I was thankful for yogurt bowls.

Plain Greek yogurt topped with cranberry sauce, pomegranate, chia seeds, and praline pecan maple granola. Best bowl of the year.

Nighttime Eats

I met up with girlfriends for drinks early in the week. Pork Slope never disappoints. They had Sorachi Ace, Adam’s favorite beer which is now my favorite beer. It just goes down so easily!

I also had a ridiculous fall shandy – gin, maple bitters, simple syrup, lemon juice, and cider.

Dinners were all about the bird! We cooked turkey breasts in the crock pot on Sunday and then shredded them into meals all week.

Turkey tossed with TJ’s whole-wheat butternut squash goyza on top of sautéed shredded Brussels sprouts with pecans.

Topped with gruyere cheese and cranberry sauce.

Turkey tossed with bbq sauce on a brioche bun (toasted with Smart Balance) with cranberry sauce and goat’s milk brie.

With roasted green beans on the side. Year’s best sandwich!

For Thanksgiving dinner we decided to go super traditional – nachos. TJ’s stuffing flavored kettle chips topped with turkey, gruyere, smoked paprika, and cranberry sauce.

With hericot verts roasted with shallots. So much better than the usual meal! Plus pumpkin pie,

aka Rogue’s Pumpkin Patch Ale.

Friday night, once the turkey celebration was over, Adam and I went on a dinner date in the Lower East Side. Coffee while we walked around Chinatown.

Ice cream at Ice & Vice. Milk Money = toasted milk, sea salt, and chocolate ganache and Shade = smoked dark chocolate with caramelized white chocolate ganache. I’m usually not one for chocolate ice cream but this was fantastic.

Then dinner at Mission Chinese Food. With complimentary dumplings to start.

I ordered the Tea Ceremony – matcha, melon, and fizzy wine.

We shared the green papaya salad with smoked chicken, green tomato, peanuts, and pickled tea leaves.

And I ordered the spicy peanut noodles, with cucumber, mint, and numbing oil.

They were chewy, savory, and beyond tingly; numbing oil is good but intense! The mint was really wonderful with the spice. All in all a good meal, though not as epic as the thousand-plus articles I’d read about the restaurant would have had me believe.

23Nov2015

A Menagerie Of Markets

by Emily

Adam and I went to four different holiday markets/festivals/fairs this weekend. We didn’t actually purchase anything (other than food!) but it was fun to window shop.

Bryant Park Winter Village.

Union Square Holiday Market. <– this one was the best

Holiday Fair at Grand Central.

And Urban Space – Vanderbilt. <– this one was just a food court

We also had double pizza and hot chocolate! Here is some of the other good stuff…

lunch

Hospital cafeteria – fish taco salad.

Greens with ranch, guacamole, corn and tomato salsa, cheddar, and a piece of white fish and a hard-boiled egg.

Urban Space: Asia Dog. We got the Ginny – kimchi and seaweed flakes – on top of an amazingly smoky chicken dog. With a Genny cream ale!

We also got pizza from Roberta’s.

Cheesus Christ = mozzarella, taleggio, parmigano, black pepper, and cream = my favorite pizza.

Root & Bone – Mascato and macaroni and cheese with a biscuit and thyme crust.

The sweet wine went very well with the cheese.

dessert

Froyo. They had Nutella crunch.

With all of the sprinkles.

Boba Guys’ NYC pop up. Boba Guys is a San Francisco company that uses loose leaf teas and local milks. We loved them on our SF visit last fall.

We got Horchata and Thai Tea.

Hot Chocolate with a ginormous marshmallow from City Bakery.

The chocolate is very dark and the marshmallow is very sweet so together they are perfect. However, this couldn’t hold a candle to…

…Max Brenner‘s drinking chocolate.

Best drink, best dessert, best chocolate item of all time. I can barely drink it because I have to stop and die of happiness after every sip. It is sooooo thick, and sweet but not too sweet.

dinner

Milkflower – more pizza.

S.T. the Ghost = Grafton cheddar, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and burnt honey. This sounds like it should be my favorite pizza, but sadly it wasn’t.

We also had lackluster pasta; bucatini with tomatoes, chili, olive oil, and stracciatella cheese.

We loved the look of Milkflower but the meal just wasn’t as fantastic as it sounded. Dessert was on point though.

Chocolate budino (pudding) with espresso cream and Maldon sea salt. The components went together amazingly; the salt took the pudding over the top.

Sandwich night – roasted turkey and avocado on a brioche bun (toasty baked with Smart Balance) with Sriracha mayo.

Plus apple and baby carrots on the side.

Partial Thanksgiving dinner – another easy night, thanks to cranberry sauce and chicken sausage and cornbread stuffing from Trader Joe’s.

Plus great salads. Arugula / maple pumpkin seeds and rosemary sunflower seeds / dried cranberries and fresh pomegranate / cheddar / honey, evoo, balsamic, and lavender salt.

NYC friends – are there any other hot chocolates I need to check out??

16Nov2015

Weekend’s Best…

by Emily

{Brunch} Adam and I had a great meal at Burnside Biscuits.

A great, giant meal. The Full Ration = 2 pieces of black tea, lemon, and thyme brined fried chicken; pimento cheese biscuits; and sunny side up eggs.

Plus a salty dog.

Everything was yummy, the chicken was both succulent and crispy.

{Lunch} Yogurt bowl. Honey Greek yogurt with pumpkin puree and maple pecan granola.

Plus a persimmon. Plus an apple and a cup of earl grey moonlight as a snack.

{Dessert} Birthday cake frozen yogurt with Nutella sauce.

Plus mochi and Reese’s cup.

{Dinner} Cheeseburger fried rice.

This was a homemade success. Brown jasmine rice stir-fried with eggs, tomato, basil, onion, cheddar cheese, and lean ground turkey.

Broccoli on the side.

The addition of cheese to the fried rice was a good one. We have a similar meal planned for next week now.

9Nov2015

Last Week’s Top Five

by Emily

{1} Time with my husband.

Adam has been on his break for the past two weeks and we have had the absolute best time going out on date nights after my work days. I love every single minute with him!

We loved the minutes so much that I couldn’t be bothered to take out my camera most of the time. We ate some really fantastic meals over the past week and this post only has photos of three of them. Plus an Instagram shot of the best ice cream of all time –

Ice & Vice rocked our freaking faces off. We got a fantastic trio: Milk Money = toasted milk, sea salt, dark chocolate ganache; Splinters = smoked whiskey barrel wood, cracker jack brittle; 9 am = vietnamese coffee, doughnut truffle. All three were amazing (Milk Money was best) and they went together perfectly.

{2} An eggcellent meal at Egg Shop.

I got the drink special – Vodka, St. Germain, fresh lemon juice, watermelon, mint, and a prosecco float.

And we started with the poached burrata -yolk stuffed burrata cheese, crispy chickpeas, tomato agrodolce, and truffle toast. This was our first time trying burrata and it was wonderful.

For dinner I got roasted Brussel sprouts with lemon vinaigrette and two poached eggs.

This dish was so simple, just veggies with eggs, and so delicious, one of my favorite restaurant plates of all time. I was literally shoveling it into my mouth.

{3} Emily loves pizza at Pizza Loves Emily.

<– actually our meal was only ok, but the wordplay was too great to pass up. Our Modern (double sauce, mixed herbs, garlic, basil, double pecorino, onion, and Sichuan oil) was light on cheese and a little burnt.

My drink was great though.

Dune Deck – Rum, Luxardo Maraschino, lime, and spiced grenadine. I’ll love you if you stick a Luxardo cherry in my drink.

{4} Dinner at home.

I’ll pat myself on the back, this was one of the best meals of the week.

Roasted green beans and Naan from La Brea Bakery.

Scrambled eggs with shredded chicken breast and sharp cheddar.

I cooked the eggs on high heat so they were almost burnt and we loved them.

{5} Yogurt bowls for lunch.

Strawberry Fage with pumpkin o’s, pecans, blackberries, and pomegranate.

A very spring-y blackberry and lemon mix.

And then it was back to fall with pomegranate, chia seeds, pecans, and maple pumpkin seeds.

Now it’s back to work. I hope everyone has a nice week!

4Nov2015

Last Week’s Top Five

by Emily

{1} Date night in Chelsea.

Last Friday we went on a fabulous Manhattan date after work. The High Line at sunset.

Gansevoort Market for an Oreo whoopie pie(at The Bruffin).

Chelsea Market for Ramen (at Mok Bar). Vegan miso ramen – Kombu shiitake doenjang broth / tofu / triple seasonal vegetable / crispy potato. Made un-vegan with a poached egg on top.

And finally a trip through the Whitney Museum.

The 6th floor was my favorite.

{2} City desserts.

The Fat Witch is making sparkly green Emerald City Witches, aka mint chip brownies.

And Brooklyn Cupcake‘s cakes are on point.

We tried french toast, tres leches, and guava cheese!!

{3} Pota-topia potato bowls.

I got waffle fries with all of the veggies, smoked gouda, and truffle aioli.

We were very impressed. Our mall’s food court has gotten downright fancy.

{4} Pumpkin yogurt bowl lunch.

Whole Foods pumpkin spice yogurt, chia seeds, maple pumpkin seeds, and TJ’s pumpkin o’s.

Fun, but I pretty much hate the texture of regular (not Greek) yogurt.

{5} Pumpkin beer on Halloween.

We spent Halloween afternoon in Williamsburg checking out the fantastic hipster costumes. We enjoyed mead and a Chelsea Brewing Company pumpkin pie beer while playing games at Barcade.

Plus we had a very taste lunch at Sugarburg. <– we will be back!

29Oct2015

St. Thomas, October 2015

by Emily

Adam and I took a long weekend and went home to visit my parents last Friday. It was great! We hit the beach, tried some new restaurants and ate at old favorites, caught up with family, and just had a fabulous time.

Here were some of the highlights…

Lots of fancy coffee.

Including an almond joy iced latte from Barefoot Buddha. Alongside a Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich, aka the – egg frittata, smoked turkey, turkey bacon, cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, tomoto-onion coulis, fresh spinach – sandwich I ate on my wedding day!

Bailey’s Delight milkshake from Udder Delight.

Rum and cokes from Woody’s happy hour.

Maple shortbread cookies my mom makes every year.

Pumpkin Chobani with homemade chocolate chip cookie and candied walnuts and ground flax.

Fish tacos on the beach at Iggy’s.

Quick dinner at home for board game night.

Turkey Reuben with smoked turkey, gouda, and cole slaw on rye. Plus green beans sautéed with almonds. And we had locally made chocolates for dessert.

A delicious dinner at The Long Board in St. John. The Carib Sour = Bullet bourbon, Luxardo amaretto, lemon juice, honey, egg white, and whiskey barrel aged bitters.

We started with fried plantains and chicken wings with mango glaze and garlic-lemon aioli.

And my dinner was a salad with romaine, red cabbage, shredded carrot, wakame seaweed, sriracha, crispy wonton, ginger mandarin vinaigrette, and Korean bbq chicken.

Everything was wonderful, just like our trip!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: booze

S’Mores And S’more

daytime eats

nighttime eats

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

breakfast

snacks

lunch

dinner

Turkey Week Eats

Random Thoughts

Daytime Eats

Nighttime Eats

A Menagerie Of Markets

lunch

dessert

dinner

Weekend’s Best…

Last Week’s Top Five

Last Week’s Top Five

St. Thomas, October 2015